Is the Comcast Center Half Empty or Half Full?

Welcome to 2009 Terps Nation readers. And not a moment too soon. How did 2008 treat you guys? Good? I read the other day that the stock market lost 35 trabillion dollars in the last quarter of the year, marking the first time that the FED or the GOV or the whoever counts these things, had to use the word trabillion, which means, in lay terms, "take the biggest number you can imagine and add 6.5 kabillion."

I mean, it wasn't good, was it? 2008 was the year of the MEGA story, the Olympics in China, the Election, the Economy, the Madoff scandal, the collapse of the American Automakers and your 401-k account. Does anyone remember an HR meeting where the 401K administrator guy said, "now remember, after you contribute to this thing for about 10 years, don't be surprised if it blows up completely in the matter of a few weeks at some point. That is normal."

Anyway, back to, um, Maryland basketball.

I went to my second live Terps game of the season Tuesday night, taking in Maryland vs. Elon. Elon, for the uninitiated, plays in the Southern Conference (with Steph Curry's Davidson team), came into the game 4-4, and had a reserve guard with a dramatic flap-top in the mold of Kid from Kid n Play.

Their nickname is the Phoenix and famous alums include MLB umpire Joe West, Miami basketball coach Frank Haith, and NASCAR driver Ward Burton. The Phoenix were coming off a big win against Lipscomb, which is based in the suburbs of Nashville, and singer Pat Boone went there. OK then.

So the Comcast Arena was, let's call if "half full" for the game. The students are out on break, the public is also apparently on break, so I guess it would be a little harsh to bemoan the fact that Maryland basketball isn't exactly a hot ticket right now.

How empty was it? It was sooo empty, that my companion Gregg Sweet Music Viola and I sailed smoothly onto route 1 from 495 at about 20 minutes before game time, easily bypassing an area that backs up to roughly Owings Mills on a big game night. Oh it was a thin crowd people. How thin was it? The halftime entertainment was a team of batton twirlers from a local high school and they provided the most flawless, most exciting performance of the night. Not kidding. Half the crowd gave them a standing O, me included.

The extent to which Maryland hoops will become a hot ticket over the next two months will depend on many factors, some of which we'll get into now. To summarize the season to date, the Terps are 10-2; and 2-2 against teams in the top 25, with wins against Michigan State and Michigan and resounding defeats at the hands of Gonzaga and Georgetown. I'd feel a little more confident about this team's chances in the ACC if the Zags and Hoyas hadn't outright destroyed the Terps in those games, but at least Maryland held its own against the teams from Michigan, who may have been distracted by the "going out of business" sale currently being held by every business in their state.

I mean it's bad in Michigan right now, isn't it? How bad is it? I heard Tomos just bought Ford, that's how bad it is. I mean it's bad.

But Maryland basketball, well, they are, pretty good? A good bad team? A bad good team? They have no good big men, everyone knows that, but they do have great guards and the evolution of the rotation through a dozen games has been downright fascinating to watch.

The current starting five is Adrian Bowie at the point, Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez as wings, with Landon Milbourne at the 4 and big Dave Neal at the 5. Now a lot of people like to make jokes at the expense of Dave Neal because he's a big slow white guy, but I am not going to do that. I love Dave Neal. He can really shoot it, plays very hard, and even though he is nobody's idea of an ACC center, how do you not appreciate a guy who has forced his way into a starting role when everyone thought he was this group's version of Mike Grinnon. No, Dave Neal is no end of the bench, mop up minutes kind of a guy. He is Maryland's best 3-point shooter and largest body on the block with a clue. There are other guys who are big (Viola quote from Tuesday night, "can anyone prove that Dino Gregory and Braxton Milbourne are not the same person?"), but they are all NRFACCP = Not Ready for ACC Play. Seriously Gary, maybe you could sign one more mediocre frontcourt player, the Terps have at least four in Gregory, Dupree, Goins and Jerome Burney.

Gregory is probably the best of the bunch. He can rebound, can't score and is undersized; Dupree just isn't a good basketball player, not sure what else to say about that guy; Burney looks like Joe Smith but doesn't quite play like him, and Maryland signed Goins out of desperation to fill their roster before the start of the season. His second choice was Goucher, OK?

But the guards, the guards are solid as a rock. Greivis is an annoying showboat at times (how much would you hate him if he played for another team?) but he is borderline great, probably an NBA player, and fills up the stats sheet all over the place. Put it this way, Maryland is 2-14 in the ACC without him, of that I'm certain. With him? Not really sure, but I think 8-8 is do-able and might get them in the tournament, but that's a discussion for another day.

Hayes has been Hayes, very solid, not quite as good as you want him to be (I mean let's just say it, right? We want him to be Steve Blake and he's not nearly as good as Blake. Of course, Blake used to frustrate us too, and now he's a starting guard in the NBA, so maybe no one knows anything, which is probably the case).

Where was I? My favorite (and 11-year-old hoop prodigy Connor Werrlein's) favorite player on this Maryland team is Adrian "you can't keep him off the court" Bowie. Straight from the Dave Neal playbook, this guy looked like someone who'd play occassional minutes. He's only about 6-2 and not a pure shooter or ball handler, so why is he the starting PG?

Dude just knows how to play. He's the best finisher in a Maryland uni since Drew Nicholas and can rebound, defend and do all the little things. How could a coach (or a fan for that matter) not love this guy. It is officially time to start appreciating the Adrian Bowie era.

Then there's Milbourne, who is a small forward playing out of position, but he's going to get his points and he is a solid, ACC caliber player. And off the bench it's an interesting mix. Cliff Tucker started the year as a starter and looked like he might emerge as a star, but has since been pushed to the bench by Bowie's play, and pushed in the rotation by freshman Sean Mosley. Mosley is a work in progress, but the kid is strong and, give him some time, will do some great things as a Terp.

I could write 1,000 or just 10 words about the 6-8 South Korean on Maryland's team, Jin Soo Kim. I'll go with 10. He's not quite ready yet, but he's tall and has potential. (that was 11 words, but you get the idea).

OK, that's about all I've got for now. Should be a fun season. Hey look, after the national championship team we all thought we had reached the upper stratosphere in college hoops. That Maryland had finally re-arrived as a year-in, year-out national power. Hasn't happened. We're back to being scrappy underdogs. It may not have followed the script you had in mind, it's intriguing nonetheless. See you at Comcast, there's room.

GA

Did Somebody Say "Road Trip?"

Have you always wanted to visit Boise on a Tuesday in December but just couldn't find the right excuse?

Well here it is Maryland fans: The Humanitarian Bowl!

It's Maryland vs. Nevada for nationwide bragging rights on just WHO is the BEST 7-5 team in the country. Oh, it's ON people.

Massive Amounts of Love for Steve Blake in Portland

After the 2002 national championship season, who might you have guessed would be the most successful Terp from that squad in the NBA?

You may have thought Juan Dixon, just because he is, well, Juan Dixon and carried Maryland to that championship. But a longer and more thoughtful analysis would lead you to to the eventual and correct realization that he's a little small to be a force in the NBA at the 2 and not a natural PG to make an impact at the 1. Hence, he's had a journeyman's career, reliably putting up points when given an opportunity, but never developing a presence as an important and long-term piece of the puzzle on anyone's roster. It's a shame but it's true. I will always stop and watch when Juan is in the game for the Wiz, or whoever, because Juan is the THE MAN for many reasons, but an NBA star he is not. This year, it seemed like he was going to be a regular in the rotation for the Wiz under Eddie Jordan, but Juan hasn't played particularly well and new coach Ed Tapscott has forced Juan to have a lot of DNP-coach's decision next to his name. I'm sure it'll get better eventually, tough times for the Wiz right now.

Then there's Chris Wilcox, the freak of nature athlete who left after his sophomore year. He's making big money in Oklahoma City(about $7 million per) and has career averages of 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds. Wilcox is solid, not great. Since he's been out west his whole career, I honestly haven't seen him play much. My take from reading boxscores and the occassion article is that he is solid, but has never done anything to distinguish himself from other very capable forwards who do enough to stay in the rotation, but not enough to carry a team forward in a meaningful way (like, say, an Elton Brand).

In other words, as coach Gary likes to say, from a production standpoint, he's a lot like his current teammate and fellow Terp alum Joe Smith (career averages of 12 and 7). In fairness to Wilcox, his career numbers would be much better if he played more during his first few seasons with the Clippers (he backed up Brand). In the last 3+ seasons, Wilcox is averaging about 14 and 8 as a starter. That's very good, not exceptional, enough to make a lot of money for sure. His numbers are a bit down this year, perhaps because OKC is horrible. As a pro, let's give Wilcox a solid, slightly disappointed B.

Then there's Steve Blake. Out in Portland this season, Blake is averaging a career-high 11.4 points with 4.2 assists and shooting a career-best 43.3 percent on three-pointers. He's my pick as the best Terp in the NBA (especially given that Steve Francis has fallen off with injuries the last few years. Remember Steve Francis???) Blake puts up good numbers and has earned a role as an important, well-liked piece on a good young team. It also helps that he has largely overachieved during his NBA career. I would have guessed career back-up, with a John Crotty like run of a dozen seasons getting 10-15 minutes a game and basically being counted on to not screw up.

Blake has found a home in Portland, doing his unassuming thing, just moving the team along, and recently taking more and more big shots. He hit a 3-pointer in the last 10 seconds Sunday night to give the Blazers a big road win in Toronto. Shockingly to me, he has become a better long-range shooter than Juan Dixon.

Allow me to let the Portland Oregonian's outstanding beat writer Jason Quick make the case for Blake and his impact and importance on the young and very promising (15-7) Blazers team.

Here's a choice excerpt from a recent blog post:

Behind the scenes, Blake is a fiery competitor who can instantly set a tone in Blazers practices. He is the player most likely to kick over a bench in practice or punt a ball into the rafters, and he is the only Blazer who spent part of his summer wrestling and working out with a professional Ultimate Fighter (Nate Quarry).

His teammates also call him one of the smartest on the team, knowing just the right time to call plays for certain players. But above all, he is perhaps the most selfless guy on the team -- not caring about his points, or statistics for that matter -- which is such an important trait for a point guard.

"He's just leading this team," McMillan said.

Here's a link to the full post. Don't miss the reader comments so you can read how much Blazers fans appreciate Blake. Good stuff.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/12/timeout_for_blake_its_time_to.html

Signs of Life

Terps showing nice signs of life last two games.
While the rest of the world was focused on Ravens-Skins, Maryland whipped GW Sunday night in a game that was never close, 76-53.
You know, I've been thinking a lot about how Maryland has zero good big guys down low, but they do have big guards, which has to help. Greivis is 6-6 and Eric Hayes is 6-4, and lately GV has been rebounding the ball - he went into double figures in boards the last two games.

After the two horrendous losses to Gonzaga and Georgetown, the Terps have bounced back nicely. The win over Michigan looks ever better now that the Wolverines beat Duke over the weekend; and after lots of tinkering, it seems Gary is starting the find a rotation he trusts.
Cliff Tucker, out. Adrian Bowie in.
Braxton Dupree out, Dino Gregory in.
Dave Neal - real minutes, every game = good news.

The last two games, the starting five has been Vasquez, Hayes, Neal, Bowie, and Milbourne; with Gregory off the bench first in the frontcourt and Mosley looking like the first guard/wing off the bench.

Not exactly sure how/why Tucker has fallen so far out of favor so fast - he started the season starting, but me likes some Adrian Bowie. Dude is the best finisher around the basket Maryland has had since Drew Nicholas and find ways to score time after time.

I still think this is not a great team, but they aren't bad either. Onward and upward.

Next up -- we now enter the "we better win this game" portion of the schedule, with six consecutive home games against Delaware State, American, Bryant, Elon, Charlotte, and Morgan State before the ACC schedule starts. Win them all and Maryland will be 12-2 and looking a lot like the counterfeit Clemson teams of the past 15 years who always start 12-2 and then go 6-10 in the ACC.

Zags Win Big

Time will have to tell whether Maryland's win over Michigan State on Turkey Day was indeed a big-time victory over a top 10 team. The Spartans' ranking said 6th, but they certainly didn't look or play like it. It was a perfect set-up for a Maryland win - their big 7-footer was out with an injury and their athletic, do it all, 6-8 forward got into early foul trouble and was never a factor. As a result, Maryland got to play a game against a team as small as they are; and the Terps got it done. 

Last night against Gonzaga, Maryland ran into a team that looked and played much more like a top 10 team. The Zags were huge and athletic and pretty much man-handled Maryland, winning easily, 81-59. 

Last I checked, this was a "big time" program, right?

As readers of this blog and my other stuff know, I enjoy Maryland basketball. Even when it's bad, it's good. There is never a shortage of story lines and intriguing player developments. Is Greivis really that good? (maybe) Will Gary ever calm down? (don't bet on it) Will the fans embrace the team even if they lose more than they win? (only the die-hards). My favorite subplot this year might be just simply watching Jin Soo Kim. He's interesting.

Hell, wouldn't it be a little boring if Maryland just clicked along in the top 10 every year like ... well ... nevermind. Here at Terps Nation, we embrace the underdog role, we even like it.

So it is that to keep myself informed, I often venture over to umterps.com to check on the basics, like the stats and the schedule and to find out which network is carrying the game, and then get annoyed when the SEASON OPENER is not on televesion. But I digress from where I'm going with this, which is online.

I am often amused, but the right word is incredulous, to see that in this era, the basketball program does not A) don't do anything particularly interesting or innovative on their site; and B) does not even make sure the content is up to date.

Here then, is a short list of exciting things you can do on the Maryland basketball portion of the UMTerps.com website:

Watch a video with the click inducing headline "Maryland All Access," with about half the picture missing from the little box, encouraging viewers to buy tickets to the upcoming 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. The only problem is that this took place in early November. Last year.

Link to a copy of the 2007-2008 men's basketball media guide, just in case you wanted to re-read Boom Osby's player bio.

Link to the Coach Gary Williams website, where our fearless leader welcomes you with a "message from the coach" that begins, "The 2007-2008 season is quickly approaching and I am very excited about our team this year." I was too coach.

You can also link to the always fun, "Terps in the Pros" section of the site, which informs the inquisitive reader that Maryland's all-time leading scorer and ultimate hero, Juan Dixon, currently plays for the Toronto Raptors.

Listen, I'm not saying everything has to be perfect. I don't think anyone is going to bitch if you don't have the link to the team Mike Jones is currently playing for in Romania (link courtesy of the fabulous, "Maryland Basketball: Where are they Now?" But wouldn't it be fun if it did? Why shouldn't Maryland's own basketball website keep religious track of its former players in the pros for the enjoyment of its fans?

I simply cannot imagine that there is not a hoops crazy Maryland student who would like nothing more than an internship with the sports information department where his sole responsibility in life is to update content constantly on the basketball portion of the site. A few minutes cruising around to other ACC teams' sites might even inspire some creative new ideas. They could even just look at what the women's program is doing on the web, which is pretty cool. Tons of video and exclusive content.

There was a time, and it wasn't long ago, that Maryland didn't need to do much to promote its men's basketball team. They had great college players, won a national championship, and opened a beautiful new building. The fans came running, wallets open. Those days, however, are long gone. The seats will likely be filled for the top ACC games, but if the early season is any indication, there very little buzz about this team, and plenty of apathy. More fans than anyone inside the program would like to admit, even in the student section, seem to be disguised as red seats. One place where the program could get it right and encourage more and better fan interaction is online; and right now, the Terps are dropping the ball.

Greivis Heaves Us to Win, But it Was Not Pretty

I attended the game Friday night at Comcast and here are some thoughts, impressions, questions and random observations after Maryland's 89-74 overtime win:

They are 3-0 with wins over 2 bad teams (Youngstown and Bucknell) and one win over a quality small conference team in Vermont.

Vemont should have won the game. They played better.

Don't know about you, but if I'm UVM coach Mike Longergan, I foul Maryland with 10 seconds left when I'm up by three. To tie the game, Maryland has to hit two foul shots and foul again and hope for another possession; or make the first, miss the second intentionally, get the rebound and score. I am convinced that it's WAY more difficult to pull off either of those scenarios than it is to make a contested 3-pointer. Your D is typically paranoid and doesn't want to foul, so sometimes teams get good looks, and it just seems to happen all the time where the team that's trailing forces overtime. On the flip side, I've NEVER seen a team come back to tie or win when they are down 3 and then forced to shoot 2 and get a rebound and another basket, doesn't ever seem to happen.

Maryland doesn't appear to have anyone in the frontcourt who is even decent for this level.
Dave Neal might be their best big man, he can certainly shoot - made two HUGE three points to help save the Vermont game down the stretch - but I would venture to guess that Dave is not going to win a dunk contest anytime soon. Not that you have to win a dunk contest to be good big man. But you do have to be able to jump or be taller than he is (listed at 6-7).

Braxton Dupree started Friday night and played 8 total minutes. OK...

It's kind of an interesting coaching challenge for Gary. He really does have impressive guards and wings in abundance - Greivis has been outstanding and Hayes is solid. Both Tucker and Bowie appear to have improved since their freshman year and can be relied upon. Then there's the freshman Sean Moseley, who is skilled and strong at 6-4, 200+, but his minutes might be sporadic early on as he learns Gary's system. Milbourne is solid but clearly playing out of position as a 4; and then you have the X factor in Jin Soo Kim, the 6-8 South Korean who has yet to get off his feet for the jump ball that started the overtime period against Vermont.

So what we're seeing Gary do is play 4 skilled guys and one big man, and those four guys rotate among the group that includes all the guys I just mentioned. The 5-man is a rotation between Dupree, Steve Goins, Neal, and Jerome Burney. It's definitely interesting, not sure if it's any good, but it's interesting. Put it this way, James Gist would look like Dwight Howard on this team.

The crowd was about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Not a packed house, but I would say the house capacity was about the equivalent of my hair line back in about 1995; there were still remnants of the jew-fro, but it was retreating quickly. Now I don't expect Maryland's crowd to, uh, go Chrome Dome, but the Terps could use some Rogaine in the form of wins against good teams. [What ever happened to Propecia? I tried all that stuff in the 90s by the way and eventually just said forget it, I'll be a bald guy, been happier ever since.]

I sat for most of the game with friends who actually WENT to Vermont directly behind the Catamounts bench. Cool view to see what the coaches were saying and doing. Not so cool to not see about 1/3 of the action with the players an coaches standing. "um, excuse me coach, down in front?" Nah.

The Maryland fans love Jin Soo Kim. They go crazy whenever he gets in the game. Something about a 6-8, 135 pound Korean guy just gives them the feel goods.

You know, in basketball, it is possible to have a very good team with only one GREAT player and a solid supporting cast. Look at what the incandescent Stephen Curry is doing at Davidson. So if Greivis really is a special player and not just a good player, perhaps Maryland can have a solid year. But I think the reality is that Greivis is very good, like second team All ACC good, but he thinks he's Magic Johnson, and Maryland will be OK, but will be climbing uphill against any team with a decent front court.

This week will be a good test. It's Michigan State on Thanksgiving night, the winner or loser of Gonzaga/Oklahoma State on FRiday, and a consolation game Sunday.

Random plug here, but if you ever go to a Maryland game and can get there early and want to grab a drink, head straight to the golf course bar off 193, delightful scene in there, really.

After the game, we went to Bentley's for a few drinks. We got there are 10:30 and the crowd was light. By 11:30, it was a packed out college crowd. I felt ancient, but it was entertaining to watch the youngsters take lots of camera pictures, I assume to post immediately to Facebook. College.

That's all I've got for now, I can't decide if I want to care about this team.

Md. 73, Youngstown State, 49

Maryland won easily over another bad team last night, 73-49 over Youngstown State. From listening the game on the radio and reading a few reports, sounds like Greivis was great and everyone else was, eh. GV had 28, a career high, with his family in town in the stands. That's good stuff.

What's not is Maryland getting outrebounded by 10; I guess it doesn't matter when you're winning by 25, but the frontcourt, or lack of any talent on the frontcourt, will continue to be a problem.

Give credit to the schedule makers, for making sure that the young Terps were not tested by anyone decent en route to a 2-0 start; now it gets tougher.

Friday night, Vermont will come in expecting to win the game, as Gary said in his post-game press confernece last night. The Catamounts, coached by Mike Lonergan - who spent many years building Catholic into a DIII powerhouse and one year on the sidelines with Gary -- bring a quality squad to College Park. They were picked to win their league, the America East (same conference as UMBC) and are 1-1 so far, having blown out Yale and losing to George Mason in overtime.

By the way, no TV for the first two games is a joke for a wannabe big-time program. Find a way Maryland, how many regional sports networks does one market need before every game is on TV? I've also heard rumblings that Gary is pissed that the seats aren't full. I'm guessing the tickets are sold, but plenty of the boosters who ponied up when the Comcast Center opened don't bother attending the non conference games, hence empty seats and a subdued atmosphere. Maryland wanted a new, modern arena and to get it, they sold Terp points like PSLs and priced out the old, and brought in the new. The new blood doesn't care much about Youngstown State on a Tuesday night. Hopefully a Friday night game against a decent team will encourage more fans and more noise. Maryland might need it.

Terps Beat Bucknell Await Youngstown, Vermont

Maryland is (whew) 1-0 through the first of its "you must win this game" games on its schedule, with a sound if not exactly smooth thrashing of visiting Bucknell last week. According to those who attended the game - who were, incidentally, the only people who actually SAW the game because there was, unforgivably in my opinion, no TV coverage -- Maryland played OK and Bucknell stinks to high heaven and doesn't have anyone who is any good.

So a bunch of guys scored in double figures, led by Cliff Tucker's 14, a career high; everyone played, and Maryland avoided embarrassment. Onward and upward to tonight's game vs. Youngstown State, then Friday night against Vermont. Then it gets real interesting, with a game on Thanksgiving night (no turkey for the Terps) against Michigan State in the first round of something called the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.

Having not seen Maryland play in actual competition, I will reserve judgment and evaluation on this year's team. I have tickets to tonight's game and may go if, at 7 p.m., I feel like driving to College Park for an 8 p.m. tip on a really cold night to see the Terps take on Youngstown State. I read somewhere that Youngstown has five Juco transfers on its roster which is, incidentally, five more than Maryland. I think this might be the first year since Steve Francis that Gary hasn't grabbed a juco guy, ending a line that included Ryan Randle, that point guard who got into a car accident, what's his name, Jamar Smith, Boom Osby, and I'm sure I'm missing a few.

My chief concern about this Maryland team is the fact that they don't seem to have anyone over 6-7 who belongs on the court in an ACC game. I am willing to suspend disbelief and give Braxton Dupree a chance to prove that he can become the second coming of Lonny Baxter's third cousin, Sal, who played briefly for Virginia Commonwealth and averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds a game back in the 80s, but I fear that he is a beefy, semi-competent placeholder until better talent arrives.

Welcome to the Start of the 08-09 Season, Inspired?

I have been kind of avoiding my own blog lately, not sure what to say about Maryland basketball these days. If you pay any attention to preseason polls or previews, most people think Gary and the Terps will be either A) bad or B) largely irrelevant.

The Maryland season tips off Friday night at home against Bucknell at 8 p.m. in a game they could definitely lose. Bucknell is a decent team and Maryland might not be.

The Washington Post pointed out that some previews didn't even mention Maryland in their ACC games, teams, or players to watch list; Maryland has become uninteresting.

Time will tell. I have always said, "let's evaluate the product on the court" as opposed to getting worked up about which players are on which recruiting top 100 lists. Put it this way, Juan Dixon was on no one's lists and Mike Jones was on everyone's. Who was the better college player?

So let's give Gary a chance this year to show what he can do with a new team. It should be interesting to see Greivis playing the 2 and the wing with Hayes running the point. I am curious just how good Sean Moseley might be; and if Landon Milbourne has improved from a decent role player to a solid ACC performer.

Then there's perhaps the season's most intriguing subplot. The 6-8, 190-pounder from Suwon South Korea, Jin Soo Kim. Apparently the dude can play, he had 20 points in 20 minutes in the Terps' only preseason game, and get this, he has three names, all with three letters, and he likes to shoot 3-pointers. Coincidence? I don't think so.