I would personally pay $100 to see Lance show up at Duke.

DBR;

Any cloaked rumors in the pipeline? As you are the resident "Watergate Deepthroat" ... you've got to have somethin' cookin'.

Hey Ricksterps...any truth to the rumor that Elliot Williams is getting his release from Duke and transferring to Memphis? This was kicked around months ago on this board, but it seems to be thisclose to happening. Poor kid, word is that his mother is terminally ill.

Let us know.

It's on the ESPN homepage: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4283176

Watch, Duke will be the next school that "sources" say is recruiting Lance Stephenson.

Yea, he wasn't real happy at Duke, at least that was the scuttlebutt.

More on Brenda's recruiting efforts, from TT, in landing the new 5 star recruit (from her father):

"It's just that Maryland had it all. The style, the location, and the personal attention she got from Brenda. She doesn't leave the phone calls and letters to the assistants. She does a lot of it herself. As a recruit, you notice things like that."

Gary does a lot of that too, of course.

Anyone starting to feel sorry for Lance Stephenson? I mean I am sure he brought some/most of the concerns on himself, but everyone is bailing on him.

According to Andy Katz, FIU is no longer recruiting Lance

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4279088&name=katz_andy

Damnit, there go my dreams of the ultimate reality show w/ him and Thomas

Hahaha it looks like some workout instructional video or something

There is something faggy about us dudes checking out the Milbourne/Mosley poses...lol...maybe we are all commenting on the hot chick to compenate/reverse the disturbing feeling, huh? tee hee...lol

Read the comments under the pics...they are hilarious and just the kind of stuff we'd be saying.

Wow. That chick is hot. That'll get you into yoga!

NYMets9631- you buried the lead. what's up with the trainer? she is ridiculous.

haha. i just meant that the hotness of the trainer was a bigger story than SM and LM doing yoga.

Oh lol haha I got ya. Yea she certaintly makes going to the lead worthwhile lol

Jeremy, what do you mean by buried the lead lol? I'm not sure what that means, were you able to access it okay?

Here are some new pics I found of Mosley and Landon...looks like they are working hard!

http://www.insidemdsports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15949

Unfortunately, it is a different ballgame in men's BB. You can do all that personal touch stuff you want but at the end of the day factors outside of your control determine where the kid goes. Take that kid Wall for example. NC State was all over him for the past few years. They were in constant contact for years. Then he blows up and the big boys come calling and State gets throw to the curb like yesterday's news.

AAU and the big money in the NBA make the recruitment in men's BB unlike any other in college sports.

I'm sure you are right in many cases. Yet I have to feel that persistence pays off, regardless of gender, among the star recruits. I think of the following sentence and feel that, yes, this is the right attitude for the successful head coach:

“I think with Coach Frese, she recruited me the hardest out of all the coaches,” Mincy said.

LOL Persistence does not always pay off with Men's basketball recruiting. If it did, we would have gotten Will Barton.

LOL Remember when he said this:
“I like Maryland, too,” Barton said. “They’ve been recruiting me since 9th grade and they’ve been recruiting me hard. They’re definitely up there at the top of my list, too. I like coach Gary Williams. They get up and down, play aggressive defense. And he lets the guards go. So I’m definitely taking Maryland seriously, too.”

Clearly we were recruiting him very hard, and very early. Apparently his family was pushing him to come here at one point as well,

But alas, they didn't want to stay in Maryland. I know a lot of people get on Gary for losing in-state recruits but honestly, a lot of recruits want to get out of this state and there's nothing you can do to convince them to stay here on their own accord.

LOL sorry for my long post, but even with the "right attitude for a successful head coach," you still won't be guaranteed to win recruiting battles in men's bball.

Agree, you won't get them all by being the most persistent. Even Roy Williams doesn't. Barton did say MD was "recruiting me hard." However, the standard of the Mincy quote is "recruiting me the hardest."

“I think with Coach Frese, she recruited me the hardest out of all the coaches,” Mincy said.

LOL all you want. But if you meet that standard of "the hardest", you will get your share of the good ones, men and women. (Still, you will miss more than you get. Brenda misses too.)

My point is that it is great to see we have a coach at MD who lands a top recruit (one site calls Mincy "Lady LaBron") by being the most persistent of all the coaches. Not just persistent, but the most persistent. There's a difference.

Gary is definitely increasing his efforts significantly as well, by all accounts.

True dat. UMD was persistent with Lance Stephenson

This article provides a good insight on what it takes to land a 5 star player (for women's BB).

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/recruiting/2009/06/terps_women_land_nj_shooting_guard.html

Maryland began recruiting Mincy during her freshman year and never ceased in its pursuit.

“I think with Coach Frese, she recruited me the hardest out of all the coaches,” Mincy said. “She made the phone calls when she needed to. The coaches e-mailed frequently to keep me informed on how the team was doing [on the court] and outside of basketball. ... [Frese is] also close to my parents. Just the other day, she just wished my dad a happy birthday. My mom’s a newlywed, so she e-mailed my mom, asking her how she felt having my stepfather [experience] his first Father’s Day. A connection with my family is very important, so I took that into account in making my decision.”

As I mentioned 3 days ago, new 2010 big man target James Johnson is on campus for his unofficial visit today. And he's playing pick up ball in Comcast. Another 2010 recruit is also on campus and playing today...Terrence Ross.

FWIW...Brenda Frese got a big commitment today for the class of 2010 from Laurin Mincy. One of the top women's basketball guards in the country. Mincy picked UMD over a long list of schools that included Rutgers, Georgia, South Carolina and UConn.

Seeing how Brenda recently missed out on a recruit that picked Rutgers and Strickland transferred to South Carolina and UConn is the NC this is really a sweet victory for Brenda.

Are JWill and Padg on campus and playing pickup?

When did Milbourne break his foot? DBR refers to him being in a cast as well as Rome?

Landon didn't break his foot. I believe he had an ankle injury that he gutted out and played through the pain during the season. Had some minor work done in there and has been in a foot cast since then. I mentioned it in a post weeks ago but it was in one of those really long threads so it was easy to miss.

Found this on ESPN's website. Go and vote the Terps #1 and be sure to put Kentucky somewhere near the bottom (just because their fanbase can be effin annoying).

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/rank?versionId=1&listId=299

I got a txt today saying that Hippolyte Tsafack really enjoyed his recent visit to UMD. He's made an unofficial visit before but I believe this was the first time he'd played ball with current Terps and other Terp recruits. The feeling is that Tsafack could commit to a school before the start of his senior year of HS.

No official word from Will Regan or his father, but it appears that Stanford may be slightly ahead of the other schools recruiting Will.

After dropping my son off at Gary Williams Basketball Camp Sunday I was told also on campus Saturday playing with some current Terps and "others" were Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and James Gist.

Kewl stuff. Had only all three come to UMD to play when they had college eligibility lol

Since Maryland hasn't denied that they are no longer recruiting Lance, can we assume that Maryland is definitely out of the running?

Do we think that Maryland will go into the season with 1 scholarship open (given back to Pearman?)

Coaches can't come out and say if they are or are not recruiting somebody. So you wouldn't ever hear Maryland come out in the open and say the offer is off the table.

According to a tweet from Gary, Nik Caner-Medley is playing for the LA Clippers summer league team. Good for Nik.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/recruiting/2009/06/reports_terps_land_georgia_de.html

"Delic, a three-star prospect who also plays tight end for Northwest Whitfield in Dalton, Ga., pledged to the Terps at their summer football camp.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder told Rivals.com he could play defensive end or tight end in college."

Another Terp fball commit.

Saw this, too. At that height and a reported 5.1 40 time, this kid has left OT written all over him. He'll be 275 lbs after redshirting and 300 lbs by the time he plays.

Yanda is just possibly upset that he couldn't matriculate into a real J-school. He's so negative in his prose, esp. when MD wins - it makes you sick. The only quality NW grad is Mike Wilbon and he covered MD objectively.

Eddie, I think if we took a poll on this site, it would be determined that 100% of us think that MD would be better off without "fans" who thinks GV makes this team worse

Steve Yanda wrote in the WaPo that Terrapin fans had a "mixed reaction" about GV coming back for his senior year. He had a poll in the same article and 93% polled felt Maryland would be "better or significantly better" with GV than without. Pretty funny.

On campus today, and playing full court pick up ball in Comcast with some current Terp players were: CJ Leslie, Hippolyte Tsafack and Terrell Stoglin.

Hopefully T-Sto loved the experience, and everyone else loved what they saw from T-Sto, so that CJ Leslie and Hippolyte Tsafack want to be Terps.

Any word (not official of course) on how things went?

Tomorrow, or maybe even later tonight, I hope to have an update on the visits.

I did get a txt from one of Tsafack's AAU coaches that Hippo likes UMD. Personally, I'm concerned about the number of people involved in "advising" Tasafack. Thus far I count three and none of them are his parents or coaches. Terps tend not to get recruits with those "advisors".

Thanks DBR. I look forward to any update. My impression is that Gary is putting in unprecidented recruiting efforts this year. If he continues in this fashion in future years it cannot help but pay off. Also, any word on efforts and improvements by current team members would be great. Are JW and Padg participating in the pickup games, and how do they look?

No word on Padge and J-Will but:

Eric Hayes played very well during the Elite Camp.

Cliff Tucker is getting over the flu.

Dino Gregory added some muscle to his upper body.

Rome is out of his foot cast.

Landon shuld be out of his foot cast in a few days.

All I got right now.

Mychal Parker to visit Kentucky next week per the Courier-Journal (Louisville paper I think).

Roscoe Smith will attend Oak Hill next year according to reports. Roscoe is still holding out for an offer from UNC and appears content to move at a slow pace with his recruitment. Personally, I believe he will speed things up if Harrison Barnes commits to UNC. Because if that happens Smith won't be getting an offer from Roy.

No!!! Don't let that slick shoe salesman jive you Mychal!

REST IN PEACE

LEN BIAS

:(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvyHXqJIxTw

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was all excited about graduation and the hope for a wonderful future and then I heard it in disbelief. Len will always be a Maryland legend. Almost the same kind of feeling as 9/11 in the pit of your stomach.

Terps recruiting net getting wider still. Meet James Johnson 6-foot 9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWKp8ZbiUGQ

He's a former Canadian national prep standout who now attends HS in San Diego.

He has offers from Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington State and San Diego.

Johnson will be visiting UMD on Monday.

And that Alex Kirk big man I posted about last night claims an offer from UMD.

I hope Gary changes his mind. If BR wants to come, let him.

Did anyone notice the vitriole exhibited by the poster with yankee id at the end of the article?

If you were a Yankee fan you'd prbably be upset too Chuck. Didn't the Yanks just lose 2 of 3 to the Washington Nationals...IN Yankee Stadium? LOL

I'll say this though, the sources that Jeff Barker has for his story that the Terps are no longer recruiting Lance Stephenson are as good as it gets.

I think the story has ended except with the BR camp. They don't want to announce that they now have no where to go.

I think you're right Rickterps. The jerked everybody around too much, and now they're stuck.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high_school/2009/06/18/2009-06-18_choices_fading_for_lance_stephenson.html

It's the never ending story....but Lance is still a remote possibility for the Terps? Huh??
Quotes from the story...

As of Wednesday night, Lance Stephenson Sr. had no knowledge that Maryland has stopped recruiting his son.

"As far as we know Maryland is still an option," the father said.

Nothing to do with the Terps but the O's just took 2 of 3 from the Mets and the Nats took 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium. They just play better baseball in the Beltway than they do in the Big Apple. :-)

CJ Leslie will visit UMD this Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Terps continue to cast a wide net with regards to 2010 recruits. Newest name in the net is 6-foot 10/230 pound Alex Kirk from New Mexico.

Kirk currently has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon State, Stanford, USC, New Mexico, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Colorado. He is also hearing from Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Arkansas, Florida and UCLA.

ESPN has him ranked as the #5 center in the class of 2010.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=67227&season=2010&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d67227%26season%3d2010

Word is that Kirk has a nice jump hook in the lane, can occasionally step out and shoot a mid-range shot. And is a shot blocker around the rim. The knock on Kirk is his foot speed but people that have seen him play say that he makes up for that with his overall skill set.

Hell yes... Leslie is so legit. I would love to steal him as payback to NC State for making out w/ Painter

BTW - in the 'don't believe everything you read' category...It is false to say that 8 of the top 9 scorers from 2009 are returning. Dupree, who was the number 9 scorer, is transfering. So only 7 of the top 8 scorers are returning.

Or the pundits might say 10 of the top 12:

The #10 scorer last season was JSK - he's returning.
The #11 scorer last season was Burney - returning
The #12 scorer last season was Goins - returning

The pundits might also say 11 of the top 13 are returning, but #13 was Pearlman, who is also returning, but since he didn't score any points last season, it's iffy to include him as a scorer.

.....but in any case, 8 of the top 9 is incorrect.

Mets,

Dana O' Neil is now espousing support of our beloved GW. What a biatch!!! She was one of the crumbs that stirred the pot of negativity last year. I wish her and Prisbell a case of Montezuma's revenge that will last a month.

I copy you dude. O'Neil is definitely a biatch. Her articles from last year made me sick. On another point, I think it is misleading to say that Dave Neal was our best 3 point shooter because of the %. He took less 3s than Eric Hayes. So did Tucker. Our best 3 point shooter has got to be Hayes because he made a decent % of 3, while attempting more 3 point shots than Neal, Tucker or Milbourne. Vasquez attempted even more 3s and made less...we gotta add some speed to Hayes game. Dude has to learn how to dominate. Smack somebody in the face! Show me some umph!

Very true chuck, I remember having some debates in some ESPN Chat's with her about GW and Maryland back and forth.

Thanks for the info DBR. Here is some video of Akil and an interview. He has a 4.0 GPA and wants to be a doctor. You have to root for a kid like this...

http://www.courtcred.com/2009/06/akil_mitchell/

From Dana O'Neil's - What to watch for in '09-10, from A to Z

V is Greivis Vasquez. He is a simmering cocktail of potentially disruptive emotion, but he also put up a triple-double on North Carolina. Vasquez's return means eight of Maryland's top nine scorers are back and the vultures will need to find another place to feast. Gary Williams isn't going anywhere.

-Seems like good news for us and I love the fact that Gary isn't going anywhere because I have always been a huge supporter of him!

The Terps may have made a conditional offer to Akil Mitchell a 6-foot 7 combo forward from North Carolina...Charlotte I think. The forward position is new to Mitchell as he had a five inch growth spurt last year. Kid grew up in Largo but family moved to NC by the time he was nine.

Terps will watch him on the AAU Circuit next month. He's the true definition of a student athlete. In fact I believe he's got a visit planned to the Naval Academy.

Wow. Just got back from a little vacation in Vegas and the world has flipped upside down. I think GV coming back is a win-win. No chance he hurts chemistry because he's playing for the scouts. The fire in his belly to win is too great.

Joe Lunardi had us out of the tournament with GV in the draft and has us as an 8-seed now. That's alot of respect for one player.

I fully agree with above poster in that Eric Hayes is the x-factor. He needs to become a reliable scorer this season. 15-ppg would be about right. He showed in flashes last season that he's not just a stand-still shooter. I think he has hampered his game because everyone expected him to knock down the trey. Hayes' game is better when he's multi-dimensional. He is more than decent going to the basket. If he decides to score in the mid-range game it will ultimately make his 3-pt shot better also.

One thing we should all remember is that last year's team overachieved immensely. Andy Katz' rating is based on returning players. That's not always a full-proof way to predict success. Even with GV, we don't have Top 20 talent as a roster. What we do have is perhaps the most experienced backcourt in the country, alot of guys that have played in big games and the best damn coach on earth. We will play alot of close games and those will determine whether we go 11-5 or 7-9. I hope the boys don't feel entitled to anything because of last season. That won't work with this team. Not enough raw talent. That being said, I am totally PSYCHED for next season!

I didn't know there were so many Jersey guys on this site. I am originally a Marylander but have lived in North Jersey for 16 years. Maybe we should get together for a big game this year.

Eddie - Outside of MD, N.VA, DC, NJ-NY (particularly LI) has one of (if not) the highest pop of UMD alums. I'm a second-generation alumnus and when I went, the tags clearly broke down the D/M/V and outsides, such as on Frat Row - MD, VA, NJ, NY, CT, DC, NJ, NY, MD and so on.

Like you and others, I do believe that Hayes will be an x-factor. However, Milbourne and/or Tucker must also step-up when GV isn't performing well offensively.

As for the alumni-game, there's a Terp Club for No. Jersey but I can't remember who runs it for the UAD.

- Jersey Terp

Mark the tape, eh?

JSK is vastly overrated. C'mon guys, stop being homers. JSK at best may be a role player.

Mr. Kim would be potentially ok at a CAA school but really is limited. Make whatever excuses you want - the clearinghouse, the language barrier whatever.

The fact of the matter is that being skinny would not be an impediment to draining a wide open 3 ball. You guys know it, he missed so many wide open threes it was unbelievable.

It's great to have a Korean kid, a fan favorite no doubt. I've read scouting reports that specifically have stated to double anyone else when JSK has the ball.

Sarunas J could drain the 3, must not have been the language barrier, clearing house etc in that case.

I agree with the previous poster that JSK has shown absolutely nothing. Hope he proves me wrong - but I've seen enough Playa's to know he ain't one.

As far as the leadership void goes, that is easy. GV will lead this team for better or worse. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I think he has matured a lot and can handle it.

In my opinion last year's team was co-led by Neal and GV. The yen and yang they brought worked well. I think Neal was the only guy who got away with saying "Calm the %$#@ down" to The General. Hopefully, this next season GV will either not need the calming influence or someone will step up and fill that role.

DBR -- you mentioned something about good news or rumors swirling about a Terp target in another thread... any more details on that?

No but email me at HOBBYIST908@AOL.COM

New Joe Lunardi Bracketology. Terps #8 seed in East. I know it means nothing but nice to see.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology

What? I missed the entire freakin' season? I sat down to take a nap and awoke to find it March 2010? Wheels Van Winkle at your service.

I'm not a big fan of JSK. The kid deserves a break, to be sure, as last years debacle with the clearinghouse etc did nothing but set him back.

Still, that being said, he's supposed to be a 'sniper' and outside shooter extraordinaire. Bullshit on that. He drilled one 3pter... against Gtech I believe where the crowd went nuts. Still there were MANY times ... when did get minutes..... where he was passed the ball beyond the arc with NO pressure on him... wide, wide open and he missed badly.

JSK is a stiff. Albeit a stiff in progress. Perhaps he'll rally and have a career game in O.T against UNC like former stiff Mike Mardesich had. If we get that much, consider him a success. Doubt you'll get that much.

In 2 years JSK replaces Milbourne in the starting lineup and goes gangbusters. Mark the tape.

And fulfills my dream of seeing him tear down the lane, throwing down a two handed jam, and yelling (in Korean) "Deez nuts..."

On replacing Neal.....

As this board knows, even though Neal did not have dominate stats, he contributed a lot last season. His graduation leaves 3 holes that need to be filled for the 2010 Terps: (1) inside presence, (2) a 3-pt shooter, and (3) leadership.

The inside presence is maybe the easiest thing to address. Neal was a good position player and set some evil picks (ask Nolan Smith). Between Milbourne, Dino, Goins and Burney getting a year older and the incomming frosh, however, I think this will be covered. Side note - Dino has to stay out of foul trouble to be more effective.

Neal's 3 pt shooting prowess came out of nowhere last season. Where will those shots come from next season? JSK? Maybe you guys that have a different opinion of JSK saw him play before college, but the only time I've seen him is last season. He showed me nothing. I'll jump on his bandwagon as soon as I can, but until then I'm thinking that Hayes, Tucker and AB are the best chances at being the outside shooting threats. All 3 of them had stretches last season when they did it. Now, they need to all step up their consistency. BTW - if ever all 3 of them are hitting, the Terps can score with anyone in the country.

The most important gap that Neal's graduation leaves, however, is leadership. He had a steady personality during crunch time, and he wasn't silent about it either. He'd bark at his team-mates when needed. It is less clear to me where this leadership will come from. GV fills the barking role naturally, but GV needs to show more maturity. Playing to the crowd is good for GV, but it creates spectators out of your teammates. As a senior, GV needs to tone that down a notch or two. Milbourne and Hayes, on the other hand, need to step it up a notch and be less passive when they see a team-mate out of position. Between the 3 of them, however, this gap should also be filled.

Bottom line, despite losing Neal's career year, the Terps are well positioned to improve on all 3 areas where Neal made his biggest contributions last season.....essay question complete.

Very well said talaya. Neal's shooting prowess pulled bigger defenders outside of the paint, meaning our guards could get better looks around the rim. I'm not sure how well the two froshes shoot - I'm imagining it's not anywhere close to how well Dave shot the ball - and I feel like I would throw up in my mouth if I saw Dino or Burney shoot from beyond the arc. This lack of versatility from our bigs could be a big problem next year, especially if our guards still don't shoot with consistency. As for the intangibles, like leadership, EH and Milbourne need to step it up both on and off the court.

FTR...Tucker shot it at the second highest % last year, following our beloved Dave Neal.

Which begs the question, if he can shoot the three ball why can't Cliff Tucker make a free throw if his life depended on it?

I seem to remember Mr. Eric Hayes taking over games in the ACC tourney as well as playing very well in the NCAAT. This does not mean that he will carry it over to next year, but he did show he could be a bigtime player when the lights shone the brighest. He's more consistent that Tucker, Bowie, and Milborne when it comes to scoring, but he's not as consistent as GV.

You'd have to say that Hayes is MD's second best scoring option, period. As he goes, so will MD will go.

I thought Goins was going to transfer, was I mistaken? I knew Dupree left, I thought I read somewhere on this blog that Goins was leaving too.

It was rumored Goins was leaving and, indeed, looked like it would happen. It probably would have happened if DeShawn Painter had committed. But Painter chose NCSU and Goins reconsidered. Has lost weight and playing better than last off season.

I'm assuming Neal was number one. That would be a hell of a trick question...

Milbourne? Tucker?

Where are we getting consistent and timely 3 point shooting from this year? I'm slightly concerned about this. Neal was clearly our best shooter from long range last year, especially the last month of the season.

Hayes passes on his shot too much, and isn't consistently clutch. Greivis shot 32% from beyond the arc last year.

I challenge you to name the number two 3-point shooter on the Terps last year in terms of %.....no cheating.

JSK. Three letters = 3points.

Honestly, though, I would bet it was Neal.

Regarding next year’s Terps, I don’t expect anything more from EH than what we have already seen, but I guess one can always hope. However, even though they are freshman, I think Padgett/Williams will be an upgrade over Neal. Hopefully, the others can pick up their games and make us a serious contender. Also, I hope GW does give away the open scholarship this year in the last minute as he did last year with Goins.

Jersey Terp, being a South Jersey guy myself, I completely understand where you are coming from.

If we could get alot of the EH that we saw in this year's ACC Tournament I'll be thrilled.

JMS - As the old saying goes, "It takes one to understand one." Jersey still has two faces since 1664 when England took over for the Dutch, Swedes, and other foreign interests. And, it'll be like this for a very, very long time. - Jersey Terp

Let me clarify the two faces - NJ was split between East and West Jersey w/ NW corner undef. Dutch had East; West was control partially by Swedes and Wm. Penn. Then England took over in 1664, it consolidated Jerseys into New Jersey and why you have N. Jersey linked w/ NYC and S. Jersey w/ Philly.

For you Marylanders, the Washington-Baltimore push-pull is a similar feature.

And finally, tomorrow is the release of Len Bias movie. I don't see any listings for NJ theaters, looking thrice. Is the movie a regional one for DC/MD/N.VA? Does anyone know? Like to watch it.

"As long as they've got some Jersey or Caracas in them, they'll make do." Amen. North Jers right here.

We need to get some of our younger players on that doo-doo all-star team that Milbourne played on a few years back. Remember? That seemed to help his confidence a bit. Sometimes you just need to get in a uniform and remember what it feels like to fill it up--when I played, or rather, when I sat the bench, whenever I got in, I'd immediately get dry-mouth. Couldn't do anything about it. But that goes away when you start to do good things on the court...

If JWilliams can be LB, we're gonna be great. I'd even take Ryan Randle. What he can't be is early Taj or late Mardesich.

Imagine Sean Mosely with a jumper. With a pull-up. Doesn't that totally change his game?

I think the key for Jin Soo is learning to speak the language. It's hard to learn and offfense or defense from people pointing fingers and talking gibberish.

That is a very valid point Lee. It's easy for fans to overlook that the kid is in a new environment in a foreign country to him.

Ricksterps- I completely agree. I'm just staying that in the offseason he needs to be working on bulking up and understanding how to play in Gary's offense. His natural abilities will come through if he works on those two things.

We need to show a bit of patience with JSK. He got on the team late, had a language barrier and had distractions about his eligibility. That kid can shoot, no question about it. We all expect these kids to come in and rock it their first year. Take Milbourne for example. What did he do his freshman year? Not much.

He will now have a full year in the system, including off-season activities he miss out on last year.

The kid can play, mark the tape...

Earl Badu- you are right. jin soo was confident. I should have said "court awareness". He was just lost out there last year.

I appreciate the props from Andy Katz, but one needs to take it with a grain of salt. Where is Missouri on the list? And Louisville isn't in the top 25? I don't believe that. And how the heck could California be ranked #11 after the spanking the Terps gave them in the NCAA? In any case, it has to give the players a good feeling and maybe this helps with the summertime recruiting for next year, too.

The ACC will be more competitive at the top next season. I don't see why folks are giving BC or WF a lot of pre-season credibility. It seems to me that they lost too much from last year. Clemson should be good, again, however, and I also think NCST will be improved. I see the Terps, dook, UNC, Clemson and NCST as the top 5. We'll see.

Regarding the returning players, we'll miss Neal's leadership more than anything. Neal's skills sucked, but he was always steady in a storm, and he had a knack for hitting the 3's at important moments in the game. Hayes/Milbourne/GV need to fill that void. AB/CT/SM all need to score more - CT especially. CT showed his potential against UNC last year and if he can do that consistently, he can make us forget about Lance Stephenson faster than a NY minute. SM should just practce layups - he left 6 points a game on the floor last year.

Also - don't forget Goins and Burney when thinking of the returning players. Just like Dino showed his worth as a Soph last season, I am expecting a similar break-out campaign from Goins this season. And let's also cross our fingers that Burney's injuries are all in the past. I like that kid's game when he gets his chances.

Here's a Mike Wise column (6/17) that's interesting and backs Katz's constructive analysis.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/16/AR2009061602729.html

Pay attention to a comment on NJ mentality. It was key to last season's dramatic run to the NCAAs.

I grew up and still reside in the Garden State, getting the gist of Wise's comment and how Williams' personality aligns with Vasquez's. NJ is notorious for passive-aggressive behavior, which is due to the dual-split between North and South Jersey - NNJ aligns w/ NY; SNJ aligns w/ Philly. Those from Joisey understand this and the explanation takes too long.

Now on Wise's comment on GV mentality... if GV can develop into a strong field-general, like Blake, and start to really understand game situations, he'll be a top-20 NBA prospect. How GV reaches that level? He must use his emotional intelligence better by using the 58th ranking as NBA PG for motivation.

Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne's development in senior leadership must be the cornerstone for any team-wise productivity and progress. If everyone from last year's team works on both their strengths and weaknesses, Katz's preseason analysis may be correct for us. With the additions of Padgett and Williams in the post, we have quality front-court presence, unlike last year - struggling w/ team rebounding and controlling the tempo of the game.

It also appears that we'll be in a four-way battle between Dook, UNC, and BC for the top-four spots based on Katz's analysis. And if our guys solidify as a team further based on the experience of last year's dramatic run, I can see a realistic 23-26 overall, 9-12 ACC winning Sweet-16 or better season (depending on bracket placement). I like our chances in that fight for first, second or third. If we don't jelly, we'll remain in the upper middle (5th-7th place range) because of the inconsistency in performance, like in the past two seasons. Right now, I can't see that happening because of Williams-Vasquez relationship.

I glad LS isn't coming either - that may have actually destroyed team chemistry besides a probable NCAA violation for a one-n-done player. Plus, that 'ship is rolled into '10, adding another three-star or greater prep (Painter?) along Stoglin and Ross. This event of subtraction of addition actually can benefit the overall team chemistry and Vasquez's status of the star player of the BB program. If LS was in, the marketing experts in sports media would potentially appoint BR as the real Terp leader, not Vasquez.

In the end, we could be the surprise team in the tourney and make it to the Final Four or bust out in an early round or make another dreadful NIT appearance. However, the key is the emotional energy that Vasquez brings, as it's the best weapon in his arsenal. Now can Williams teach him to channel that aggression into a field-general, like Blake? That's the main overlapping question I see this off-season and early regular season. If he can and the entire team rallies around GV's leadership, it could possibly be Elite Eight appearance. That's how the dualistic relationship is cornerstone of any NCAA appearance. If not (any schism), I don't want to think of the possibilities.

Go Terps!

I remember reading about how hard AB worked last summer. I hope he and others on the Team are at it again this summer. I also remember that Hayes went out west to spend time practicing with Steve Blake. Is that going to happen again this year? I thought that Eric showed added confidenbce from that experience, and a second dose of the same couldn't hurt. I'm not trying to single those two out. It would be interesting to know what all of the team members are doing this summer.

JAMES GIST SIGHTING:
James was at my sons AAU practice tonight, helping out the coach. He had a successful season in Italy, made some money and lived nice in Milan. Now he is negotiating to be on the Spurs for next season, Go James!

Wow, after a drought of Terps info, everything seems to be happening at once. I am psyched about the ranking and hope that it is our lowest of the year :)

Jeremy, in your comments about the players development, you mentioned Jin Soo improving his confidence. I always got the feel that when he got in he was almost over confident: Huckin' up shots as soon as he could. Am I mistaken or are you thinking more about his need for confidence in his inside game?

Hey if the Terps can live up to their fans' expectations, then they shouldn't have any problems impressing Andy Katz

If Katz has us at #17 in the preseason, we should easily make the final 4.