Terp Basketball Offseason 1: The Returning Players

I was going to do a 2009-10 season outlook, but I realized there are way too many question marks still out there about the personnel that will be playing next year. So, I decided to do a two-part post about the possible personnel for next season. The first post will be a discussion on those players definitely returning to contribute to the team next year, and the second post will be about the question marks.

DEFINITE PLAYERS ON THE ROSTER NEXT SEASON

1. Landon Milbourne (SR): Milbourne followed a terrible freshman campaign (1.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg) with a so-so sophomore season (8.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg), and just followed that with a good junior season (11.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Terp fans can only hope he continues to progress and have a great senior year. Although his level of play diminished in ACC season because he was continually overmatched being a 6'7 power forward, Landon showed great toughness and the rare ability to consistently make a mid-range jumper.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: Milbourne is a definite starter next season. It could be at either forward position, but he will be in the starting lineup from the first to the last game, barring injury.

2. Sean Mosley (SO): Mosley was a fan favorite last season because of his incredible grittiness and determination. In only one season, he established himself as the Terps' best defender. Throughout the course of the season, he was matched up man-to-man with team's leading scorers, whether they were a guard or forward. He played much larger than his size (6'4), and often forced jump balls. Offensively, Mosley needs plenty of work. He showed flashes of terrific spin moves and ability to get into the lane, but rarely finished down low. His jump shot always looks good coming out of his hand, but his 37% FG% and 24% FG% (3-PT) need to improve. It would also be good to see his FT% (70.7%) jump up about five percentage points.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: Mosley started 16 of 35 games this year, including the last 15 games of the season. His role largely depends upon other personnel, but Mosley will probably (75%) start at either the shooting guard or third guard position next season.

3. Eric Hayes (SR): Hayes is almost as big of a "love him or hate him" type player as Greivis Vasquez was for the team this year, largely because it seemed that if you loved GV, you hated Hayes, and if you hated GV, you loved Hayes. Either way, nobody can argue with the seeming revitalization of Hayes, starting in the ACC tournament. After being one of the key factors in the loss to UVA to end the season (he missed his first six three-point attempts), Hayes singlehandedly led the team to victory against Wake Forest, and kept the team fighting against Duke. To Hayes's credit, after losing his starting job to Sean Mosley following the BC loss, Hayes never complained, and embraced his role as sixth man for the Terps. As the team's second best returning three point shooter and one of three seniors, Hayes will have a big role for the team next year.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: This is going to be one of the more interesting cases next year. Hayes will likely start if Vasquez leaves, but likely will come off the bench if Vasquez does indeed leave, so I'll call it 50%. Either way, he will get his minutes.

4. Adrian Bowie (JR): Bowie was arguably the most inconsistent player on an inconsistent team this season. He saw his points and assists greatly improve from his freshman to sophomore season (3.7ppg and 0.9 apg to 9.0 ppg and 3.0 apg) but also saw his FG% decrease from 58% to 45%. Bowie will almost always be the fastest player on the court when he plays, but teams (Memphis especially) were able to game-plan for him by sagging off him in the half-court and forcing him to take jump shots, which he could not consistently convert. His size often was a liability on defense, as he had to fight extra hard to get through screens on the perimeter, but his speed in the transition game was invaluable.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: Bowie started 28 of 35 games as a sophomore, but will likely be squeezed out of a starting spot as a junior because of the team's ability to field a serviceable front-court. Since the Terps will most likely play almost exclusively man-to-man defense next year, Bowie's minutes will largely depend on the opposing team's speed.

5. Cliff Tucker (JR): Tucker returns as the team's best three point shooter, and when he gets in, he is a key part of the team's offense. He didn't see much time during the year, though - a mere 12.2 mpg - because of his lackluster defense and apparent poor practice habits. Coach Williams is known to give minutes to those who do both of those things well, and has hinted that Tucker has disappointed him in both regards. Because of what he gives the team offensively, though, there will be minutes for Tucker if he can step up on the defensive end. As they say, he just needs to pretend he's playing against UNC every game (whom he averaged 20 points against).

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: There is likely going to be minutes for either Bowie or Tucker next year, but not both. Because of that, depending on the game, it is very likely that Bowie and Tucker's minutes will come inversely proportional to one another. I have a hard time imagining many scenarios where both are on the court at the same time next year.

6. Dino Gregory (JR): Gregory was bested only by Dave Neal as the team's biggest surprise this season. At 6'7 with not much weight on him, Gregory was undersized every time he stepped on the court, especially because he was forced to play center for a lot of his minutes. He made up for it defensively, though, because of his supreme leaping ability. He also probably took more charges than anyone else on the team. Offensively, he was not able to get much more than about one put-back on an offensive rebound per game, but he showed flashes of an ability shoot a short jumper. He should get with Keith Booth and focus on acquiring some low post moves this summer.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: Dino's going to play next year, and he may play a lot. Ideally, he and the two freshman will play in a three-man rotation at the two big positions, but Gary might be reluctant to constantly fill two positions on the court with three players who have a combined one year playing experience (Gregory only got in 16 games as a freshman). He probably won't start, but he will be one of the first two "bigs" off the bench.

7. Jordan Williams (FR): I have never seen Williams play, so all I can tell you is what I have seen on this page. Instantly, what has to jump out at you is his size: at 6'10, 240, Williams is going to be a big body for the Terps down low. Other than that, we will have to wait and see.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: I see Williams starting next year from day one. Don't get fooled into believing that what Dave Neal did this year (be a serviceable starting center in the ACC at 6'7) can be relied upon to be replicated. Williams is going to be the only player on the Terps with real size, and will be thrown into the fire early and often.

8. James Padgett (FR): Same deal with Williams. I've never seen him in person, so you can know what I know by reading this. At 6'8 with a little weight on him, he has good build for apower forward. I like the comments about him, especially about his toughness. This is the guy that scored 50 in a game this year. I don't care if that means he played against bad competition; I want a guy that can score 50 in a game on my team.

WAY TOO EARLY PROGNOSIS: Padgett has about a 25% chance of starting. He will start if either of the following happens: he outplays Williams in practice, or the Terps want to play a traditional lineup, but don't sign Terrell Vinson. If he doesn't get the starting nod, he will be a contributor for the team off the bench.

I'll be posting soon (likely tomorrow) about the players whose roles on the team are uncertain at this point.

(Photo Credits: umterps.com)

Vasquez Lashes Out at Student Section

The Terps - despite their complete inability to knock down a jump shot for the majority of the game - played good enough defense and hit some clutch free throws to start the ACC season off on the right foot, beating Georgia Tech 68-61 at the Comcast Center. At the game, it was very evident that guard Greivis Vasquez, who struggled for much of the game, was visibly upset with a part of the student section. He came on in the last 10 minutes of the game, and every time he made an assist or knocked down a shot, he would look toward one section of the crowd, and the big screen at the arena caught a visible "shut the f--- up" come from his mouth. Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun, here's what Vasquez (pictured, right) had to say after the game. 

"I don't know if they were booing me or booing the other team. It doesn't bother me. My mind is strong. We're 12 and 3. We were 9 and 5 last year about this time. What the hell are they thinking? If they don't want to believe in us, get the hell out. We don't need them here. We need the people who are going to support us and be with us. I want to say thank you to the people who were supporting us and believing in us. If you don't want to support us, get out."

Strong words, particularly to your own student section. You know what, though? Vasquez is absolutely right, and here's why. 

I am by no means saying that, as a fan, you shouldn't be allowed to criticize your team. I did it just the other day, writing that post about Gary Williams. When I'm at a game, though, do I boo Gary Williams as he does his traditional locker room-to-court march? No, because I'm not moronic. There's a thing in sports that is a proven factor, and it's called home field advantage. By booing your own team, you take away all home field advantage, and even reverse it so that the other team has the edge psychologically. What makes you think that by booing Greivis, he is going to play better?

One more thing about Vasquez. He is easily one of the most frustrating people to root for in sport history. He is cocky, he throws up bad shots, he plays out of control, and he plays without thinking a lot of the time. Here's another thing about Vasquez. He is by far Maryland's best player, and without him they probably would not score 60 points a game. He is the only player on offense that defenses need to account for. It was good to see Hayes step up against GT, but really, just guard him on the three point line. It was apparent in the first half what happens when he drives. Put a quick guy on Bowie, eliminate his drives, and you're golden. Milbourne can't score in the post as a power forward, and the Dave Neal dream was shot down rather easily once we got into conference play. Vasquez, though, will post up smaller players, drive by larger players, and can kick the ball out for an open three better than any Terp I've seen since Steve Blake. 

So, say what you want about Vasquez on your own time (even though I feel like if you think the team doesn't need him, you have problems), and I'll say my things about Gary on my own time. If you're at the game, though, use common sense. Root for your team. 

Exhibition Win for Terps

It may have only been an exhibition game, but the Maryland Terrapins looked pretty good on Saturday, beating the Northwood Seahawks 104-60.

The team was missing star guard Greivis Vasquez due to suspension (I'm told it was due to an off-the-court violation, i.e. he skipped a class or similar), but didn't miss a beat on offense. Junior Landon Milbourne and sophomores Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker picked up the slack.

Those three players contributing comes as no surprise. If the Terps want to compete with some of the best teams in the ACC, Milbourne will have to be the leader he says he's becoming and Bowie and Tucker have to score points on a regular basis.

What was surprising was freshman Jin Soo Kim. Kim, who was ruled eligible by NCAA Clearinghouse just last Monday, struggled in the first half, going 0-5 and 0-3 from three-point range. But in the 2nd half, Kim was lights-out, going 6-9 with 18 points (he finished with 20 total). He made several drives to the basket and was playing with confidence. He even used a nice head-fake to drive the lane, score, and get fouled for an extra shot. Comcast Center was as loud as it could possibly be for an exhibition game when Kim scored the shot I just mentioned.

Kim may very well be the x-factor for the Terps this season. If he can come off the bench and score 8-12 points a game, then they should be able to run with a lot of teams in the ACC. And for his height (6'8") and weight (a skinny 195), he plays pretty physical. He isn't afraid to get his nose dirty around the basket. With a small front court (the Terps' starting center, Braxton Dupree, is 6'8"), Kim could be a key player down the road.

But enough about the Korean sensation. It's just one exhibition game and no one has seen him play in a game that counts against a good team. He's still raw and unproven. But, Terps fans should be excited about his potential. It showed on Saturday.

My other thoughts about Saturday's exhibition win:

• Eric Hayes looks much more comfortable as the starting point guard. He ran the offense extremely well and made good passes. He even drained a couple of threes and was confident in himself. After the game, he said the win was important for not only the team, but the fans. Good to see him acknowledge the fans and his desire to make them happy, considering how much scrutiny he faces.
• Landon Milbourne is going to be one of the best Terps this season. On Saturday he was all over the court and made plays on both the offensive and defensive ends. He told me after the game that he's been working on being a leader and that he made some speeches before the game. Milbourne is one of the team's tri-captains (along with Dave Neal and Greivis Vasquez) and it definitely showed Saturday. He set the tone early on and the team never let up, even when he was on the bench.
• Braxton Dupree needs to make his presence felt. He was generally invisible on Saturday and didn't get involved with the offense until late in the game. We'll see if that was result of Northwood's height (3 players 7 feet tall or above - one was 7'5") or Dupree not being aggressive. On the defensive end, he held his own, which might be all they need from him.