It can be argued that UNC is “down” this year.  Whatever.  They start two seniors, both of whom were more highly recruited than any of the Maryland seniors.  This season defines the essence of the Williamses.  Gary is a great game coach who gets the most out of his talent.  Roy is a great recruiter who can’t beat a dead mule without superior talent.  Maybe the great recruiter will wind up with more Championships; but I’m with the great game coach.  When will the HOF realize that Gary’s bust needs to be installed in Springfield?

Before I digress, let’s get back to today’s game.  The seniors, Mibourne, Hayes, and Vasquez all played like seniors.  Vasquez was sublime.  He scored 26 points effortlessly and dished out dimes as if he was working at a cash register.  Eight games into the ACC season and he is the player of year.  There is no doubt.  No one means more to his team and the Terps are in a virtual tie for first place.  The discussion is over.  If Duke sweeps us (I almost bit my tongue off writing that), and Scheyer soundly outplays Vasquez while doing it; then he overtakes Greivis. Otherwise, Greivis is the POY.

Milbourne has redefined his game in the back half of the year.  He is a complete player. He has the best mid range jumper I’ve seen in years.  He can finish in traffic and he can rebound when it matters (see Florida State).  But his most impressive attribute has been his defense.  He blocks the shots of bigger men.  He is all over the place in the half court.  He’s been phenomenal.

When Eric Hayes is hot from deep, the Terps won’t lose this year.  It just won’t happen.  He adds an extra dimension to the offense that makes the Terps nearly impossible to stop.  If he is able to find his shot in March, we will go far. Mark the tape.

A new AP and Coaches Poll comes out on Monday.  Have the Terps earned a ranking?  I believe so.  16-6 overall and 6-2 in the ACC is impossible to ignore.  Apparently, we lack a signature win; but we don’t have a signature loss either (stop losing William and Mary!).  Personally, I think the RPI matters more. I’d like to see the Terps in the Top 20 heading into the dance.  That should give us a seeding with a good chance to get to the second weekend.

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself.  UVA comes to town on Wednesday and they are a solid team.  They have beaten many of the teams that we have and almost beat Wake the other night. UVA hates Maryland and won’t look past the Terps.

It would be insanity to think that Terps would get careless and start taking their success for granted. Gary knows UVA is dangerous and with the annual 5 vs. 8 (5 Dukies + 3 officials) coming up in Cameron on Saturday, we need a win.

The next eight games will be tougher than the previous eight, but we are in the right frame of mind and playing the best basketball of the year.  Bring on the UVAs, Dukes, and Techs.

The Terps are on the cusp of their best ACC season since 2003 and that means that there are no nights off. Huckleberry Hound and his crew of underachievers are not about to ruin things.  Sure, UNC has plenty of talent on their squad; but since when has that stopped the Terps?  Maryland has won three of the last four games against the Tarheels.  Those defeated Tarheels teams were certainly better than this year’s version, and yet the Terps prevailed.

There’s is a difference between confidence and complacency.  As fans, it is time we started believing in this team.  Save your doubts for next weekend.  I can already see the refs calling 2 quick touch fouls on JWill or Landon in an attempt to take the Terps out the game next week at Cameron. But that is a topic that can wait.

Now, it’s time to take care of business and get some national recognition.  Go Terps.

In other news, the University is preparing to let students without tickets into the CC tomorrow assuming may ticket holders will remain home.  If MD students don’t pack the joint than I give up.  The Terps are streaking.  The defending champs are in town.  They better fill up the place.

So here we go. From reading the posts as the game was going on, I know most of you were with me sweating, living, and dying with every possession in the 2nd half. I have loved reading the breakdowns of the game and the performances of certain players and all made great points. Here is how I saw the game.

This was truly a gut check game. The Terps of the past few years did not win games like this, especially on the road. We had our moments in the past 2 years, like beating UNC a couple of times, but in most close games, we were not able to pull out a win. That is what concerned me after Sunday’s loss to Clemson. However, that is what made last night such a big win. Yes, it was a road victory and yes, we got a sweep of FSU and it helps our RPI, but this senior-laden team had to experience a close win like this to take that next step.

Like I have in previous game write-ups, let’s go down the line and talk about each player.

Vasquez - I still don’t like when he drives into the lane and tries to make a tough pass amongst the trees when he is only 5 feet from the basket. However, if a couple of plays like that are my only problem, then GV played very well. He took some bad shots, but that’s him. He will do that, but for the most part, he did what your best player had to do and that’s run the offense and hit big shots when you needed them. He is almost impossible to stop when he drives and hits those runners off the glass. Those final 2 buckets in the last couple of minutes were huge. He ended up with 23, 7 reb, and 7 assists. Very good performance with a bunch of morons yelling offensive things all night. He kept his cool and led the team.

Eric Hayes - The broadcasters had it right when they said the ‘old’ Eric Hayes would not have driven to the basket after missing 2 wide open 3’s early in the game. He has built confidence in himself and that allowed him to get hot in the 2nd half and hit 2 big time 3’s, plus calmly drilling 2 free throws in the final minutes.

Sean Mosley - You didn’t see much from Mosley in this one on the offensive end and we’ll need him to help out in that department come Sunday, but he grabbed 4 rebounds, had 3 assists and 2 steals and played pretty good defense as Singleton shot 1-7 and was in foul trouble most of the 2nd half. He is more valuable than stats say.

Landon Milbourne - He was back after a no-show on Sunday. Milbourne may not be able to hit a layup, but he is drilling those mid-range jumpers with so much confidence. His offensive rebound with the game tied late was perhaps the biggest play of the year. FSU had all the momentum, and no doubt would have probably taken the lead, but Milbourne flew in there and kept us alive. He was pretty damn good in this one and hopefully that carries over till Sunday.

Jordan Williams – Wow. This guy is a freshman. Let nobody give Gary any crap for recruiting after bringing this guy in. He has truly been the reason we are 5-2 in the conference right now. His ability to defend bigger men has allowed our defense to play like one of the best in the country. Like with our team in general, his offense may still be a little inconsistent, but when you play defense (and rebound) like that you will always have a chance to win. JW dunking the ball with confidence shows another step for a guy who will be a superstar very soon.

Dino Gregory – Who knew this guy was shooting so well from the line!! It would be nice for him to be more aggressive and get to the line instead of settling for those short jumpers, but this game will always be remembered for ‘The Charge’. You usually do not get calls like that on the road, but give those officials credit. They made the gutsy call and it was correct. Dino could have gone for a block or something, but he took one for the team. Look, Dino plays because of his defense. He is not your starter and that’s perfect. I have no problem with Dino getting good minutes because he will rarely make a bad play on the defensive end.

Bench - Padgett got in there and looked a bit lost during his one minute, but any time in there helps his development. I don’t have a problem in how Gary is giving out the minutes right now. Tucker did not play in the 2nd half (if memory serves). He has not shown the confidence in the past 2 games and Gary can probably get a feel on how he’s going to play pretty quickly. Tucker has a mental issue that has plagued him for years now. When he gets going, he is great, but when he struggles, then tries to make up for hit with some ridiculous attempt at a steal that not only lets his man get a free drive to the basket, but also gets JW to commit a foul that could have been really costly, it’s not right to have him out there. As for Bowie, he is really lost right now. He threw up 2 air balls and didn’t pay attention to the defender with a wide open layup that also could have cost us the game. I do have a fear for next year, but if JW can come in and play well as a freshman, then perhaps one of next year’s freshman can do it as well if Bowie and Tucker can not get the job done. The seniors will get the chance, I’m sure, but they will have to fend off the young guys.

Coaching – Last night was another example of Gary Williams out coaching his opponent. After another sloppy first half, he made the necessary adjustments and his players followed the plan. To slow the game down and use patience was a perfect foil for what FSU wanted to do. You aren’t always going to get patience with college players, but for the most part they did what they were told and it worked.

So now we have a very dangerous opponent to look forward to. Carolina has been pretty bad in the past few weeks and they are ripe to get beat again. But they are a desperate team and we need to match that desperation or yesterday’s win means nothing. To get through the first half of the league schedule at 6-2 would be so huge considering the tough games that are coming in the 2nd half. To beat UNC is essential and we will have the home crowd. Well, at least the students will be there. I know the weather will be an issue for the rest of the crowd, but it’s really important that they don’t take Carolina lightly and come out and jump all over those guys. The Tar Heels will have had a rough travel schedule and if we get an early lead, they just might quit. Keeping them in the game just gives them life and a hope they can pull one out in the end.

I am proud of last night and very much enjoyed reading about it and talking about it, but now that’s in the past and UNC is waiting. Gotta get those guys too.

The Terps have to win tonight.  I expect to see a little bit more from Padgett; but other than that, the rotations will be same.  We need the same guys to step up and come through. Tonight is not a time for nerves.  The Terps need to do work.  They need to prove that they are who we thought they were at the beginning of the season.

I had an entirely different intro written and ready to go before the Clemson game happened, but it really doesn’t seem appropriate anymore. Instead I’ll say that no one other than Gary Williams and the players, and perhaps not even them, know who the Terps are. Are they the team that walloped BC, Longwood, NC State and Miami in consecutive games? Are they the team that collapsed from top to bottom against Clemson when the pressure kicked up a notch?

Then of course there’s the scary possibility that we all know exactly who the Terps are. They can beat teams worse than they are, and lose to better, more athletic teams. There’s a chance that there is actually no gray area, the Terps just don’t have that next level to play against the elite, or the level below elite, and come out on top. We, as fans, refuse to accept this as a possibility because of the Terps’ illustrious history, Hall of Fame coach and star player. We know that the Terps should achieve bigger and better things than they have of late. We just haven’t seen it come to fruition on the court.

I remain cautiously optimistic. This team is so well coached and has such strong leaders that I don’t believe we’ve seen the peak of this team. I think we’re still capable of taking anyone down, and I think the FSU game and UNC games, while not signature wins, will prove that the Terps can win must-wins.

The end of the ACC is definitely the toughest part of the schedule. Which is good. As the guys play more, I think they’ll get better and better and do more of the things I’ve already praised them for. Georgia Tech and Duke are two of the best teams in the conference, and Virginia Tech isn’t a joke anymore. We can definitely beat all three of these teams, and here’s how:

Georgia Tech (Home on Feb. 20)

Breakdown: First of all, I’m psyched that our only game against these guys is at home. We have such a good home court advantage, which can make a world of difference when one of the team’s best players is a freshman. By this time, the ACC race will really have taken shape, and hopefully the Terps will be at or near the top. Comcast is going to be nuts for the remainder of the season, and opponents are going to absolutely hate playing there.

Georgia Tech has a three-headed monster of very talented players: Gani Lawal, Iman Shumpert and Derrick Favors. Lawal is their leader and their best player, but not their most talented. That would be Favors, a 6’10”, 246 lb. beast of a freshman. He’s already had three double-doubles in ACC play, and is kind of a matchup nightmare because of his height and his athleticism. We haven’t faced anyone like him yet this year. Tracy Smith is athletic, but shorter than Jordan Williams. Alabi is tall, but not incredibly athletic. He’s a scary player.

Luckily, he’s not without flaws. He shoots under 60 percent from the line, so fouling him, while not what we want, won’t kill us unless it’s Williams who’s doing it. He has no outside game to speak of, so we won’t need to try to put Dino on him to prevent the deep ball. Williams is also just a freshman, and he’s been fearsome on defense in recent games. Although I think Favors will hurt us, he won’t kill us. Jordan can handle him. He just needs to box out, move his feet, and try to force Favors out of position and into difficult shots.

The Terps may have more trouble controlling Favors’ frontcourt counterpart, Gani Lawal. If they can manage that, they’ll have a great chance to win. In the Yellow Jackets’ five losses, Lawal only averages a little over 10 points. In their wins, he’s averaging 16.5 points. If they stop Lawal, and the Terps will stop the Yellow Jackets. Lawal also averages 9 boards a game, and doesn’t shoot outside. He’s 6’9”, so he’s bigger than everyone not named Jordan Williams on the Terps. Milbourne’s going to be on him to start the game, and he and Dino Gregory will switch off depending if Williams is on the court or not. The Terps’ interior D will either win or lose the game for them.

That’s a good thing, I think. Against NC State, they couldn’t do anything in the middle. Williams was everywhere, Milbourne was helping masterfully, and even though Tracy Smith got 18 and 10, the Terps absolutely dominated the inside. They will need a performance as good, if not better, to beat GT. I think we’ll see it, and Greivis and The Guards (50s doo-wop group name?) can take care of the offense for the most part. With Sean Mosley’s pinpoint accuracy (4^th in the ACC in FG percentage. Who would have thought that after last year?), Greivis’ newfound maturity and always-there creating ability, Hayes’ shooting, Bowie’s driving, and Tucker’s energy, we should give the weak GT backcourt headaches.

The Jackets, like many ACC teams (including the next on this list), are not a good outside shooting team. Their big men don’t shoot it, so their team .359 rate from behind the arc isn’t brought down at all by big men who jack it up too much, à la Rasheed Wallace. However, their starting guards, led by Iman Shumpert (who’s vastly overrated and has an “early Vasquez” type assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.24:1. For a point guard, that’s awful. He also shoots 33 percent from deep, and chucks up almost three and a half of those likely bricks per game. Good for the Terps, bad for his teammates and his coach.

One guy the Terps will need to look out for from behind the arc is Brian Oliver. He only averages about 15 minutes a game but leads the team in three pointers made and attempted, and shoots it from deep over 40 percent. He’s a 6’6” freshman, and he’ll probably see a good dose of Mosley and Tucker on defense. Remember C.J. Harris in the Wake game? Well Oliver isn’t as good as Harris, but he could have that type of an impact in Comcast if the Terps aren’t aware of wherever he is at all times.

I think the Terps take this game by around 6. Close, but not too close. Gary will have the boys ready as always, and I think our great defense will shut down their frontcourt and our great backcourt offense will lead the way on that end of the floor. A win in this game would be monumental because it’s a quality win, and in the last 10 games, which tournament officials count as its own category.

Virginia Tech (Away on Feb. 27)

Breakdown: Virginia Tech always seems to be a better-than-mediocre bubble team. They haven’t been bad in recent years, but they’ve never been all that good. They’re 3-3 in the ACC, having split with Miami, beating UVA (in Charlottesville) and BC but losing to UNC and FSU. In short, beating the teams you expect them to beat and losing to the better teams.

The Hokies live and die with their leader, Malcolm Delaney, the ACC’s leading scorer at almost 20 a game, more than 22 against ACC opponents. He’s a 6’3” junior from Baltimore, so you can bet he and Sean Mosley are well acquainted. I think Greivis will guard him a lot, but if you see Mosley on him, watch that matchup because I think it’ll be as entertaining a one-on-one matchup as we’ve seen this year.

Delaney can kill teams in a number of ways. He’s not the greatest shooter from deep (only .339 this year, which is lower than each of his previous seasons), but his numbers have been hurt by a recent cold streak he’s been on, which includes going 0-11 in his last two games and 2-20 in his last four. By the time the Hokies host the Terps, I don’t expect that trend to be ongoing. He can also distribute, and averages 4.2 dimes a game.

Probably the scariest thing about Delaney to me is his performance in the Hokies’ biggest games: 27 points in that overtime win over UVA, 28 in their win over Miami, 27 when they beat Penn State, 31 in knocking off Georgia (which looks like a better win with each passing week), and 32 in a tough loss to Temple. On February 27, you can bet that the Hokies are going to consider Maryland a must-win game, and Delaney will come to play. The Terps had better be ready for him, because he’s going to be a load.

If Mosley’s on Delaney, I have supreme confidence in whatever defense Gary draws up besides the two. Although Greivis has gotten exponentially better defensively this year (and if you haven’t noticed that you need to pay more attention to defense), He hasn’t seen anyone like Delaney, and the Terps need to draw up a game plan to help him. That’ll probably include a lot of Landon Milbourne double-teams when he penetrates, and a lot of Hayes and Mosley switching off picks. Defensive rotation will be key because Delaney knows how to find guys off double teams.

I’ll stop prattling on about Delaney. In reality, there are only two other guys on Tech who can really hurt teams. I realize that I got it totally wrong against Clemson by not even mentioning Jerai Grant, who dropped a double-double on us with a few ferocious blocks, but I honestly think that there are only three dangerous guys on the Virginia Tech roster. One I’ve already talked at length about, the other two are Dorenzo Hudson and Jeff Allen.

Both Hudson and Allen average in double figures (13.5 and 11.2 PPG respectively), neither shoot very well from long range (.316 and .286), but the similarities stop there. Hudson is a 6’5” slasher on the wing, and doesn’t do much but score and play defense. He doesn’t force turnovers but he usually guards the opponents’ best perimeter threat. He averages just over 2 assists a game, so he’s not a distributor, averages fewer than 4 rebounds a game, so he’s not a Sean Mosley-type banger inside either. He’s simply an above-average perimeter player.

Jeff Allen is a different type of player. He’s 6’7” but plays like a bigger guy. He averages 7.6 boards a game, but also 2 steals and a block per game. He’s basically a Landon Milbourne-type guy with a worse jumper but more athleticism. He’s not a particularly good shooter, and shoots under 70 percent from the stripe. He’ll be an easy guy to lock down because he’s not capable of overpowering any of our big men, but he’s a solid complementary piece to Delaney and I expect him to reach his average in points but only grab around four of five boards because of Williams’ ever-improving box-out ability.

As you may have guessed, I predict the Terps to take this game. It won’t be as easy as it was going up to BC and demolishing the Eagles, but it won’t be very difficult either. Going to Blacksburg for a basketball game is a far different endeavor than going there for a football game, both on the field and in the stands. They don’t have the home court advantage of a Duke, a Clemson, or a North Carolina. We’re also just a better team.  I think we win by 9 and break 80 again.

Duke (Away on Feb. 13, Home on March 3)

Breakdown: I would say that this is the one you’ve all been waiting for, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how little I need to break down this matchup. If the Soupers, and all Maryland fans, look ahead to one game on the schedule it’s the matchup with the Dookies. That being said, I’ll try to keep this much more succinct than my previous previews because I’m really preaching to the choir.

You guys all know about Scheyer Face. He’s turned himself from laughing stock of the college basketball community to legitimate All-America candidate. I still don’t know how he’s managed to do this, because I watch him and I can’t help but think that I could totally take him in a game of one-on-one. How he puts up a line of 18.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 5.6 APG is astounding to me, because it would appear he is void of any athleticism in his 6’5, 190 lb. spindly frame. Appearances would be deceiving, however, because he’s consistently performing well against top-flight teams. Not incredibly, not exceptionally, but he’s doing well. I think he’ll present problems for us because he’ll probably be shooting three-pointers in high volumes, against which, in case you haven’t heard, we tend to struggle.

One other addition to my incredulity over Scheyer: he’s incredibly efficient. He has a 3.3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is stratospheric. He shoots 39 percent from beyond the arc, which isn’t incredible, but he takes so many shots that it’s still a very positive impact on his team when he launches it. Oh, and he shoots over 90 percent from the stripe. Every good thing he does reminds me of every other annoying Duke star over the years (well, really just Redick and Battier)(and I’m no longer annoyed by Battier, because he plays for my Rockets, but even when I was 10 he annoyed me in blue and white).

There are two other monsters who roam the hardwood in Durham: Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. Smith also averages north of 18 a game, and he’s Duke’s #1 perimeter defender. He’s very good at it too. I’m not sure if he’ll be on Vasquez or not because he’s a little undersized (6’2”) while Scheyer is more of a height matchup with GV. Smith also has been an absolute dead-eye shooter this year, hitting his threes at an absurd .465 clip. This looks like an outlying stat to me, however, as he hasn’t shot better than .386 in either of his previous seasons (last year was .346). I think that’ll come down, but he’s definitely dangerous. Like Scheyer, Smith also hits the gimmes: he’s shooting a clean 80% from the line. In other words, the guards can shoot from anywhere, and they do it a lot and that’s how they get their offense.

The third member of their little three-headed monster is probably the guy with the most talent, but least production: Kyle Singler. Singler, not unlike our own Landon Milbourne, is probably more equipped to play on the wing. However, because of Duke’s own size issues, he’s been forced to move inside, and has performed admirably there. This year his numbers have decreased marginally from last year pretty much across the board, but that could be attributed to Scheyer’s meteoric rise to relevance. He’s improved since ACC play began, however, highlighted by dropping 21 and 15 on Wake Forest in mid-January. He and Milbourne will see a whole lot of each other (fitting, huh), and I’m not nervous about that matchup. In their three games against each other last year (and you’ll remember those two guarded each other then two), Singler only scored 11, 13 and 14; all three below his season average of 16.7. This year he’s averaging 16.2, but Landon’s playing much better and he has Jordan Williams helping him out. I would be mildly surprised but not shocked if Singler fails to reach double digits.

When Maryland’s on offense is where the trouble happens for me. Although logic would dictate that either Smith or Scheyer would guard Vasquez, after the way Tanner Smith handled Vasquez in the Clemson game, I’d expect Coach K to stick 6’8” SF Lance Thomas on GV to really try and give him problems. The sad thing about this plan is that it will probably work. Historically, Greivis struggles mightily when picking on someone his own size, and if Thomas is on him, don’t be surprised if GV throws up a clunker.

Unlike last year, however, our team doesn’t die if Greivis isn’t himself. Mosley and Milbourne are more potent offensive forces, Williams can exploit a soft Duke interior, and Tucker and Bowie can provide some explosiveness off the bench that Duke might not be ready for. They’ll all have to step up big if Thomas is guarding Greivis, which I think will be the case.

I don’t think the Terps have much chance in a couple of weeks in Cameron. Duke plays much better at home, the Terps play much worse on the road, and Duke has more talent than the Terps. They won’t lose by 40 (sorry to even bring that up), but they won’t be very close either.

That March 3^rd game, however, will be a different story. I’ll try to paint a picture for you:

It’s Vasquez, Hayes and Milbourne’s senior night, the last game in Comcast of the year. It’s against our most contemptible rival, and we’ll probably need this win to either get in the tournament (hopefully not) or to get better seeding than last year. I have little doubt that this game will be the loudest in Comcast history. The building will shake. I’m excited because I have a press credential, but if Maryland wins, I won’t be able to rush to celebrate afterwards with my peers because I’ll be stuck writing a game story. C’est la vie.

Do I think Maryland will win this game? My heart says yes. In my short experience as a Terp fan, we have yet to beat Duke. Greivis, Hayes and Milbourne haven’t beaten them since they were freshmen. They’re going to get framed jerseys that night, and I guarantee none of them will have ever wanted a win as badly as they will want that win. In fact, even though none of them will ever admit it, I have a hard time believing March 3^rd isn’t circled on each and every basketball player’s calendar or iCal or BlackBerry or whatever.

With that in mind, I can’t in good conscience bet against Maryland. I want it too much, and they want it too much to let a loss occur. I really hope I’m right, because I really want to tell everyone that I was there for Greivis Vasquez’s senior night when Maryland beat Duke.

Yet, we were winning with 4 minutes to go. So how do we look at this game?

Did we give this game away? Yes. No doubt. I mean, 26 turnovers. Vasquez had 9 of them. 9 turnovers. I think 8 of em were legit, since I’ll argue the elbow to the face late in the game. That was a bad call and he would have scored on the play, giving us a better chance to tie things up. Now before some of you start to think I’m trying to blame Vasquez for this loss, calm down Gerry! He was a part of it, but everyone has to deal with blame except Jordan Williams who busted his ass and played his heart out. 13 points and 13 boards while dealing with a very good front line. He was a warrior.

Now to the culprits:
Landon Milbourne - Classic ‘bad matchup’ game for Landon. He could not get open for those short jumpers and could not drive to the basket. His one nice drive, he tried to lay in a reverse and missed. Gotta dunk those. Anyway, he battled, but just seems to have bad games against teams like Clemson.

Eric Hayes - Did not have his shot going, and was too slow on defense. He also made some uncharacteristic turnovers trying to force the issue. For most of the game, the entire team was playing a bit too crazy. Obviously not doing the things they did the past couple of weeks.

Sean Mosley - Did well on defense for the most part, but was 3-8 from the field including some misses close in. He always plays hard, so I can’t be too tough on him, but we could have used more offense.

The Bench – they shot 3-13 on the night. Not good. Gregory struggled. After a couple of good baskets, he regressed to the ’scared-looking player’ he’s been at times. I’m not saying he is scared, but sometimes when he gets the ball, he seems to panic or at least look panicked. Bowie and Tucker did very little. Bowie should know by now he is not going to get a call driving into the trees, so stop doing it unless you have a plan!!

Greivis Vasquez - I blame Vasquez big time for this because he took himself out of the game in the first half. Sure, he started off a little wild, but we would have been in much better shape had he been in there during the first half. After an offensive foul that he just cannot take (especially on the road, where you don’t get the benefit of the doubt), but he tries to contest a shot with 17 minutes left in the half. That’s 37 minutes left in the game. Can’t do that if you are a senior leader. You saw in the second half what he was able to do to help lead us back, so taking himself out of the game in the first was huge. You can argue shot selection late, but those curls around the screen and hitting off the glass is his bread and butter. If anything, you could argue he should have taken more shots instead of trying to pass inside. It’s far better to miss and have your guys ready for rebounds then force them a pass with those big guys waiting.

Okay, now that the blame has been doled out. Here is the good news. WE WERE WINNING THIS GAME WITH 4 MINUTES LEFT. That’s amazing to me. You can say that Clemson missed a lot of shots, but our guys had something to do with that. We battled and scratched and clawed our way to the lead, then just forgot what got us the lead in the first place. But in past years, if we play like this and commit 26 turnovers we lose by 20+. That’s why this team is different. That’s why I still have optimism.

However, you can’t continue to live on these kinds of losses. Eventually, these games have to be wins if you intend on doing something special with your season. There are no more moral victories. We’ve had two of them already. That’s it. We must go to Florida State and get the job done. They’ll have all week to digest this one and learn.

We can beat any team in this league. Now it’s time to prove that.

Clemson’s coach, Oliver Purnell has called the Maryland game the Tiger’s biggest game of the season.  High praise perhaps, for the Terps; but it also means that Clemson will be properly motivated.  However, Clemson is not without its challenges.  Two of the their best players, are injured.  Demontez Stitt is nursing a sprained ankle and is doubtful for the game.  Trevor Booker just broke his nose and has been fitted for one of those protective masks.  He will start and should be unaffected, but you never know.  Many players have complained about the need to get used to playing with the protective mask.

None of this should matter.  The Terps are the better team right now.  Gary Williams has his players hitting on all cylinders.  They are shooting so well because they are executing the offensive scheme and most importantly, trusting each other.  Our defense has been incredible as well.

If the Terps win tonight, they will be playing with “house money” for the first time since 2006.  We will enter the month of February off the bubble in a good way.  That’s the opportunity in from the Terps tonight.  Will they seize the moment?  I’m ready to believe.

Go Terps!

Pe’shon Howard Interview 2010 PG – Oak Hill Academy

1. What made you choose Maryland and can you describe how the recruiting process went for you?

“It was a crazy process.  I just wanted to make sure I would make the right choice and see how I would fit in.  The coaches at Maryland gave me the opportunity to play early right away and I really liked that.  Plus, the ACC is a great conference and I figured why not take advantage of it.”

2.  What did you think of Coach Williams during the recruitment process and as a coach?

“I liked him a lot and all of the coaches.  They were straight up with me how I could fit in and all with the team next year.  Whenever Coach Williams talked to me he mentioned many different ways he could use me and that he really wanted me as a player on the team.  I like him a lot as a coach.”

3. What are your strengths as a basketball player?

“I can do many different things.  I can score, pass and play aggressive defense.  I take a lot of pride and focus to make sure my defense is the best it can be.”

4.  What are your weaknesses, if any, that you need to improve?

“Probably just my mid-range game and learn to score a lot of different ways.  I want to try to make games easy for me and my teammates and that comes from improving my decision making.”

5. What is your relationship with the other incoming recruits?

“Me and Mychal Parker are really close and cool.  We’ve known each other for along time and all of high school, we will probably be roommates once we are at Maryland.  Ashton I know a little from his high school team and AAU.  I don’t know Terrell personally but I have a heard a lot of goods things about him from the coaches.  They are all real excited about him as a player and for our entire class.”

6. How do you see yourself fitting in with the team?

“I think maybe playing on and off the ball, it’s hard to tell right now.  On offense, I will be able to shoot the ball and help create things to get the offense going.  On defense, they play alot of man so I will have to match up strong with my man and prevent him from scoring.”

7.  What do you think of the Maryland team this year so far and their potential?

“I like them a lot.  I think with last year’s team they surprised a lot of people but this year they are expected to win and are still surprising a lot of people with the way they have been doing it.  They have high expectations and I think they will be ranked soon.  They can go deep in the tournament if they continue to play smart.  I really like the direction they are headed in.”

8.  What are your goals at Maryland?

“Really to win is my number one goal.  I got to work hard to play and help my team.  I feel if I do that, and a lot of people talk about the All-ACC Rookie Team, I can put myself in good position for that.  But all awards come with winning.   That is my first goal.”

9.  What are you looking forward to the most at Maryland?

“Just to be part of the team.  I am real excited to go to college, ya know you work hard for your whole life to get there.  Also, to be with my team and getting into the process of a new beginning.”

10. Do you feel you can get Maryland to a national title some point during your career?

“I wouldn’t say just me, but the recruits we have coming in and how we play we can definitely do that.  The team has a good chance to get there this year, they are really good.  With 3 seniors leaving, hopefully we can contribute right away and keep it going.  We got to get off to a good start.”

11.  Word is you’re a really solid student and smart kid, what are you majoring in at Maryland?

“I’m not sure yet.  I am still in the process of talking to my guidance counselor and my dad.  I plan to make a decision towards the end of the school year.”

12.  Will you be attending any other games this year at the Comcast Center?

“I’m pretty sure I will.  It’s hard with the basketball schedule we have at Oak Hill.  I think our break is in early March so I plan on going to the game on the 3^rd which I know is going to be a real big game with Duke coming I think.  I will try to be there for as many games I can.  I also think they are playing around that time at Virginia Tech so I am going to try to make it to that game as well.  I love the Comcast Center a lot, it is a great arena.”

13.  Anything special you want to say to the Maryland fans?

“I don’t know how much they really know about me or our recruiting class but with the class we have I think we can do a lot of big things and live up to the expectations.  We just have to come in, work hard, and it will pay off.”

Let’s put this all in perspective for a minute here. We have clobbered the doldrums of the ACC. Miami’s so bad that BC beat them twice. BC’s so bad that they lost to Maine and a few other mid-majors in non-conference play. NC State’s so bad…well they have one great, two good, and 9 mediocre-at-best players. I don’t mean to belittle the wins in any way, mostly because there have been bad teams in the ACC before and we haven’t beaten them like this since ’03, but to me, conference play begins now.

We have road games at Clemson and Florida State coming up. I’ve heard a lot of talk about how hungry Clemson’s going to be because they lost to BC. That’s garbage. This is the ACC. Maryland’s number one in the conference. They’re at home. If they weren’t as hungry as possible already, Oliver Purnell isn’t doing his job. They have Trevor Booker, and we have Maryland’s best defensive big man in years, and he’s a freshman. Oh, and we also have a rotation filled with guys who can drop double digits (save Dino Gregory) on any given night.

I’m getting ahead of myself now, back to the Miami game. I’m going to go all Jeremy here and list my most important stories of the game. I’m going to one-up my co-blogger, though, and list my five key developments from last nights thrashing:

Landon Milbourne: Holy cow. Where has this guy been for 3 and a half years? I knew he was talented and a good shooter, but his big problem was inconsistency and wearing down. Not this year. He’s just getting better and better. He’s shooting 21-30 in his last three games (a ridiculous .700 clip), and is giving defenders nightmares. He’s consistently matched up against bigger and slower guys, giving him open looks from midrange out to three-point land, and he just flat-out isn’t missing.

What’s most impressive to me is when you further break down his incredible shooting percentage. First of all, he’s fifth in the ACC in field goal percentage on the year, second in ACC play (behind Trevor Booker). Sean Mosley doesn’t have enough attempts to qualify, but he’d be higher still. However, Landon’s 6’7” and he’s playing against guys who are 2-3 inches taller than he is. That means his layups are more difficult than their layups, which makes his shooting percentage more impressive. Then when you consider how many jumpers and three-pointers he takes? That’s truly incredible.

Against Miami, he was deadly. They left him a bit of room; he’d knock down a jumper. He stepped back and hit a three, he grabbed offensive rebounds and got easy putbacks. He kicked out when he didn’t have it and set screens for Greivis. It was just an all-around studly performance from arguably the hardest worker on the team (according to Mosley).

Greivis Vasquez: Another blowout, another shimmy. He’s getting better at them too, more rhythmic, less spasmic, and his most recent version against the Hurricanes was right in front of, and directed at, the Hurricane bench. Not sure I’m okay with that, but no one was yelling at him from there and they didn’t seem too upset (about the shimmy, anyway. They look depressed all game long).

Greivis had nine assists to only two turnovers in this one. That’s the fourth straight game for our fearless leader with only two TOs. Think he’s playing a little smarter? The incredible thing is, despite his not forcing things, he’s still making absolutely insane passes. Not insane in the lack-of-sanity way, but in the “how did he just put that ball there?” way. Gary’s offense works so well because he finds cutters everywhere on the court from everywhere on the court. Sometimes I think “how on earth did he see that cutter?” Truly astounding, and he was at his best against Miami, dominating smaller guards as is his forte.

Jordan Williams: I’ve said this before, and I’m not making an exact comparison, more a remark about the similarity, but Williams looks like Tim Duncan on defense. High praise, and he’s not that good (not even close), but the way he seems to control literally the entire paint when he’s in the ballgame is jaw dropping.

There were a couple of possessions where he stepped out to stop a guard from slashing to the basket, then when the guard dished it to the big man, Williams would slide over and contest the shot and force a miss. Then he’d grab the rebound, and make an outlet pass to start a break. That happened at least three times, and happened even more against NC State. Gary mentioned in the postgame how he really helped Landon offensively, but Maryland hasn’t only won the points in the paint battles the last few games, they’ve dominated them. In the last four games, they’ve scored 180 points in the paint. The bad guys? 76.

That’s the kind of defense this kid who can’t drink, can’t gamble and can’t rent a car is bringing to the table. Think of how good he’ll be when he puts in summer work with the Maryland strength coaches and learns the game a little better instead of on-the-fly, as Gary would say, this year. Scary, exciting stuff.

Hustle: Okay, a trademark of great Maryland teams is hustle. But for the last two games guys have been diving all over the floor for loose balls and forcing turnovers – multiple guys on the same play. Greivis did it, Mosley did it, Bowie did it, Dino did it. Not only did these plays really hype up the crowd, but also they forced the other teams to burn timeouts, and beget more plays just like it. It’s great watching players do this, it’s a coach’s dream, and it’s what every fan wants to see. These guys eat, sleep, and breathe basketball, and it’s really showing on the court.

Consistency: This has been a big-time buzzword for Maryland teams in the Vasquez era. So many times we’ve watched as the Terps pull a big upset, only to witness a puzzling loss soon after. Since William & Mary, that hasn’t happened. There haven’t even been those long stretches of stagnant offense where the other team gets back in it. The team has kept the pedal to the floor for 40 minutes since ACC play started. It’s great to see, and I hope we see more of it.

Obviously, this all starts with Vasquez. Other than for five minutes against Wake, he’s been leading the consistency charge (I think that’s an oxymoron, but I like it, so it stays). He hasn’t been making silly plays, shimmying aside, he hasn’t been selfish, he hasn’t been careless and he’s working his tail off and using his length on defense.

He’s been consistent, and Hayes is Hayes because Hayes is consistent (and calm). Milbourne’s been, as previously mentioned, ridiculous, but also consistent: double-digit points in nine straight games. Williams has been the one thing that no one ever expects from a freshman, which is consistent. Mosley has consistently played well on D and grabbed rebounds (3rd on the team in boards by the way, over 5 a game). What more can you ask for when your starting five just doesn’t take games off ever?

There’s a lot to be excited about. If we go down to Clemson Sunday and play the same game we played against Miami, we’ll win, and it will look easy. In fact, the games against Miami and NC State we played were so good, that if repeated, I’d guarantee we wouldn’t lose to anyone in this conference, including that team in Durham. That’s how well we’ve been playing, and that’s how well we need to keep playing to keep our top spot.