By Clark, on January 28th, 2011 Maryland Guards, especially seniors Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie, had their way with Virginia last night beating them 66 – 44. The young Terps guards, Howard and Stoglin, also contributed well in this decisive win. This was an overall impressive performance by the Terps in evening their ACC record to 3 – 3.
Bowie had a season high 22 points, 4 steals and Tucker chipped in with 13 points, 3 boards. Bowie was one fire in the second half seemingly making everything he put up there. He was making three’s, lay-ups off of steals and with a few jumpers thrown in there, it was a one man scoring show in the second half. Most folks thought this would be the norm for Bowie coming into his senior season, but it hasn’t completely held true so far where he’s had to fight for the starting job with freshmen Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin. Howard and Stoglin continued to impress as well with 9pts/4assts and 7pts/3assts respectively.
Maryland defense was at its best last night misdirecting shots and holding the ‘Hoos to 33 percent shooting. The Terps added 46 percent shooting from threes which is out of the norm, but there is potential from these guards as seen last night. There’s no way they can replace the hot hands of Vasquez and Hayes, but they can hold their own. A key note from last night though was the end of Jordan Williams’ double-double streak. Jordan ended the night on a dismal 2 – 5 shooting amounting to 4 points and 6 boards. That’s certainly not going to help this young team finish the season strong without contributions from him. It was clear though the Cav’s had a game plan around stopping Williams down low.
A few final thoughts from last night. One, The Terps need to get to the line more. Eight attempts is not enough and definitely not enough when they average around 63 percent. Two, Jordan Williams needs to get other guys involved when teams target him. He’s a known presence around the league and teams are going to give a full scouting report on just him so he needs to find other ways to score and be more involved with the offense when he’s bottled up. Finally, the Terps have to out-rebound other teams. They held a 27 – 26 advantage last night, but they need to widen that gap to a plus 10. Keep other teams off the boards and it will kill any rally the opponents have. Next up for the Terps, Georgia Tech Sunday the 30th. Go Terps!
By Clark, on January 22nd, 2011 Maryland plays a renewed Clemson team, now headed by Brad Brownell of Wright State. Clemson and Maryland have had their battles over the past ten years with the Terps holding a slight 9 – 7 advantage. Clemson and Oliver Purnell have always been that team that has given Gary fits. Hope fully Maryland can avoid a three game losing streak and pull out a quality conference win today.
After last game, look to see Gary shuffle the starting lineup again as the Tucker and Howard starting guards didn’t quite cut it. Maryland looked flat-footed, their shots were flat and they allowed a Tech team to run all over them. I would expect Gary to go back to the Stoglin and Bowie in the starting five. READ MORE >>>
By Clark, on November 21st, 2010 
Maryland playing in its second game in as many nights, was pushed to a 80 – 76 loss by the Illini.
Maryland looked a little tired on the court and it was evident by the early sluggishness by both MD’s big men, Gregory and Williams, each picking up 2 fouls in the first 7 minutes of the game.
Maryland at first was led by Tucker offensively. He attempted to show his senior leadership by cutting the basket and hitting key three pointers, but it wasn’t enough. Stoglin picked up the scoring in the second half with some key three pointers as well along with drives to the basket that at time, didn’t look that pretty. Stoglin is trying to establish himself as one of the top freshman on this young team. Stoglin, along with Howard, have put in solid minutes early this season as freshman, something Gary is not accustomed to. Maryland needs to find more scoring though. Williams is probably their top threat and if he’s sitting most of the game with early fouls, other guys have to step up. Mosley tried to get back on track with 14 points, but he’s been very inconsistent as an offensive threat this year and throughout his career. MD shouldn’t be looking to him for offensive numbers in attempt to fill the void left by Vasquez, Hayes and Milbourne. Free throws were better Friday, making 13 -18 and hopefully this is something they’ll be working on most of this early season. The Terps are hurting for offense and they can’t afford to miss free points.
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By Clark, on June 28th, 2010 Despite recent signs, and the general feeling that Debbie Yow needed a change as well as Maryland needed a new AD, Yow’s departure has come as a pretty big surprise. Will she be missed? Some say yes and some no with the latter of that coming from the fans and media alike. Yow has had a great tenure at Maryland winning 20 national championships, but its the big time programs, football and basketball, that seemed to suffer a bit as a result of Yows commitment to “spreading the wealth.”
Being the first woman ACC AD came with strikes against her. Could she live up to the job? Was she tough enough to rebuild the Athletics department of a major university? Basketball was well on its way to a turnaround (thanks to Williams) but Maryland’s Football program was nonexistent. Women’s sports were just filling space and had no direction. Yow did bring respectability to Field Hockey and Women’s Basketball, but do they bring in money for the program? They are the sports that “keep the lights” on in the department and that’s just barely.
Yow cut budgets and brought in big names for smaller programs such as soccer coach Sasho Cirovski and lacrosse coach John Tillman, but its the bigger names in Friedgen and Williams that she seemed to have the most trouble with. She had burned her bridges enough and with the recent announcement of Maryland president Dan Mote, she felt her time had come to an end. Good thing as the coming president may have other ideas and she may have been first on the list to go. Yow’s underlying attempt to have Friedgen bought out and constant quibbles with Williams the past few years has tainted her legacy.
Her behind the scenes attacks does nothing but cause others to grade your tenure on the job. Gary Williams had nothing bad to say, but he had nothing good as well. For a time at NC State, fans will love her and her promises, but if her present job is any indication of whats to come, the Wolfpack faithful will soon be disappointed.
If you’d like to read John Feinsteins take Yow, click here.
By Clark, on May 18th, 2010 If the shoe doesn’t fit, then don’t wear it. Andy MacPhail discussed the O’s yesterday and their consistent lack of focus in the batter’s box. In particular he was asked about Garrett Atkins and whether there was anything there could be done to reverse the trend. MacPhail continued his stance on “This is not a suicide pact” and was quite honest about his thoughts of first base production.
“We’re not getting enough out of first base,” MacPhail said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re trying to add to our options. We need to get more production out of that than we are. We’ll go the way we are for the time being, and we’ll see how things evolve.”
– The Baltimore Sun
With that lack of confidence vote from the general manager, I think it’s safe to say that Atkins may be sitting the bench more frequently in the coming weeks. With absolutely no offensive production from first base, who could blame MacPhail. Batting .236 with no homers, 6 RBIs and an on base percentage just barely above .300 is the bottom of the barrel for first baseman.
Where do the Orioles go? MacPhail is hinting at bringing someone in to pick up the slack, but who’s next on the depth chart? Salazar? Reimold? Gonzo? If Gonzo can’t pitch maybe he’ll be more effective as hitter. Trades aren’t heating up yet and the O’s aren’t going to get much for him anyway unless they packaged him with other players. Where do you think the Orioles move to shake things up?
By Clark, on May 11th, 2010 As Maryland is still feeling the pain of the last second loss against Michagan State six weeks ago, they received a bit of bad news this week. Assistant coach Driesell has been named head coach of The Citadel. Just as the coaching staff was creating some chemistry, another coach gets plucked from the Gary Williams coaching tree.
Speculation around town has been that former assistant Jimmy Patsos is the front runner as the replacement. Williams has denied that Patsos has been rehired, but did not deny that he’s been considered for the position. Quoting the Baltimore Sun:
“There were online reports Friday night that Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos has been hired — or is about to be — to fill the post. Williams said that was inaccurate. But Maryland officials weren’t ruling out Patsos as a candidate.”
— Jeff Baker, Baltimore Sun
Patsos has been with Loyola University for the past six years and has had mediocre success. He has an 83 – 99 win/loss record there and although his teams have fire, they lacked the necessary intensity to have winning seasons. Patsos was a great coach and recruiter here at Maryland, but I think that ship has sailed.
Other possibilities include promoting Keith Booth which would be a great for the former Terps player. He has earned his time so far with Maryland and the players look up to him. Another could be Juan Dixon now that he is out of work. Why not follow the Mike Krzyzewshi coaching philosophy and hire back all your former players?
By Clark, on April 19th, 2010 Check out Marylands 2010 Football Schedule starting with their renewed rivalry with Navy.
It’s no news Maryland had tons of trouble protecting the Quarterback last year and we have a breakdown of all o-linemen competing for starting jobs.
Latest scrimmage news with Da’Rel showing no ill effects from last year’s broken wrist.
Two-time All ACC selection Alex Wujciak on Lott Trophy watch.
Read up on one of Maryland’s top recruits, Titus Till.
In with the new, see which position battles are heating up and who is the front runner so far.
Wild turtle?
With Torrey Smith being the nations leader in total yards last season, is he a Heisman candidate?
With Turner gone, is Jamarr a shoe-in for starting QB.
By Clark, on April 13th, 2010 Sunday marked the 2nd Annual Orioles Blogger Day and the only thing missing from the event was an Orioles win. At a time when the Orioles are attempting to rebuild from the bottom up, the front office, with the help of MASN, took some time to give back. The Local braintrust from Camden Crazies, Camden Chat and others alike were given a day to enjoy behind the scenes visits and one-on-one conversations with some of the Orioles most notable personalities.
We started off in the MASN Suite and had our first taste when we were able to visit Mike Flanagan and Gary Thorne in the MASN television booth. Both were very cordial and answered an array of questions including the much anticipated – “Can Mike Gonzalez turn things around?” Flanagan seemed to respond well to the question and agreed there are some problems that can be fixed with a tweak here and there, but Flanny didn’t seem to divulge too much and understandably so being a person in his position.
After traveling back down to the suite, we had surprise visits by Andy MacPhail, Rick Dempsey and Tippy Martinez. Having MacPhail answer questions seemed routine and for some reason, I wasn’t completely impressed. Not that he means nothing to the organization, but I’ve heard his answers before. The real fun came when speaking to Dempsey and Martinez. Dempsey commented on his array of highlighters while keeping score and made it known that his days of running in the rain with towels under his jersey are over. Tippy spoke casually about how he has been involved with the organization since retiring and although he has no official role, he still lends a hand anytime he can. With Gonzalez having trouble, I had to ask if Tip wanted back in and from the sound of his chuckle as well as complaints of arm/shoulder soreness, that would be a no.
The day ended with a visit to the MASN production trailer and that didn’t disappoint. The amount of televisions used for all the angles, replay and other miscellaneous tasks was astounding. As we were visiting, the technicians were putting together the highlight reel to show during the next inning. Too bad they had to do it over again ten minutes later.
The only disappointment happened as we were coming back from the production trailer. Jose Bautista put a 1-2 breaking ball into the left field stands with a man on to put Toronto up by one, 3-2. That did mean the O’s were probably going to put another L in the loss column, but it was minor in comparison to the day as a whole.
By Clark, on April 1st, 2010 Two weeks of some of the best tournament games in the history of the NCAA tournament and we are down to four teams. We’re going to take a look at two of the final three games and my take, despite the Final Four odds. Of course, if you are like most people, your bracket is probably toast at this point.
Michigan State vs. Butler: On one side we have old reliable, Michigan State where making it to the Final Four is almost customary for Tom Izzo. On the other side, we have the not-so-cinderella-anymore Butler, who has recently become a regular in the tournament. State will bring tough defense, good rebounding and key shot making abilities to the floor this Saturday. They will make the shots when they count and play with their hearts on their sleeves. They play ten deep and have great leadership from Raymar Morgan and Korie Lucious. For Morgan, this is his last chance at a National Championship, so he’ll do whatever it takes to get into the Championship game. State is not a great three-point threat as they get most of their points around the basket and they’ll probably continue with that game plan against Butler.
Butler and coach Brad Stevens have been making a name for themselves the past few years. They come with solid guard play from Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack and rarely turn the ball over. Their big man Gordon Hayward, who is listed as a small forward, averages almost a double-double (15 pts/8brds) and can play anywhere on the court. He rebounds and he can score inside or beyond the arc. This team is solid in rebounding, distributing the ball and not turning it over.
Duke vs WVU: Huggins has this team playing very well together. He also plays about ten deep and keeps his players fresh. The Mountaineers play great defense and rebound well. They share the ball averaging almost 16 assists a game as a team. They handle the ball well and with Mazzula starting for guard Darryl Bryant (broken foot) the Mountaineers haven’t missed a beat. This team gets to the basket and gets their second chance points which may prove too much for the Blue Devils.
Coach K has this gotten this team to grow throughout this year. The Plumlee brothers have emerged as solid replacements to Zoubek and Thomas. Zoubek has been a beast on the boards ever since his explosion against Maryland earlier this year and with every game his confidence has grown. Duke plays fast, they score points fast and in bunches. Just when you think the score is close and opponents have a chance against Duke, the Blue Devils blow it open. Singler, Smith and Scheyer are the best scoring trio of any of the Final Four teams. Duke has good rebounding ability and are always around the basket. They get a good amount of second chance points and take care of the ball.
Of the two games, I think the Duke/WVU game is going to be the most thrilling to watch. Both teams play well as a team and are good at the same things – scoring and defense. At this point, I could see Duke and State playing for it all. State has the advantage with Izzo’s experience and his teams stout defense, but who knows, maybe a team like Butler can make the Final in the biggest surprise in the tournament.
By Clark, on March 20th, 2010 Maryland, coming off a first round loss in the ACC tournament, needed to win and they picked a good time to do it. Playing for the last chance to make a statement in the NCAA tournament, Greivis and company didn’t want to disappoint and they didn’t. The Terps played good defense and scored easily in beating the Cougars, 89 – 77.
The first half of this match-up was all about understanding the team they were playing. The Terps weren’t struggling but they also weren’t putting the game out of reach from the Cougars. Maryland exchanged baskets with the Cougars through most of the first half and thanks to the nations leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman 26 points and 8 rebounds, the Cougars were able to keep up. Jordan Williams kept Maryland in the game, coming up with his best game of the season scoring 21 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Williams definitely benefited from Houston’s lack of size and looked like a man among boys.
In the second half, the Terps turned it up with a 16 – 5 run the first 4 minutes. They played better defense on Coleman, Kelvin Lewis (24 points) and ran their half court more efficiently. Maryland started to flow very well offensively and shots fell more easily. Vasquez and Mosley came into foul trouble, but with the help of Milbourne and Bowie (9 points) the Terps kept things going. Maryland held a rebound advantage as well, 47 – 26, which helped them to numerous second chance points.
There were a few keys to the game. First, the reemergence of Landon Mibourne (19 points and 7 boards) was a good sign. His effort was huge and contributions offensively were well needed. Second, Jordan Williams has become more than Gary had ever imagined. Having Williams inside to compliment Vasquez and Hayes on the outside has made this team a little more complete. Lastly, the Terps have become a solid team defensively. They alter shots, they block shots and just make it tough for teams to score. Gary always has had that in his teams, but this years team does it without much effort. Next on to Michigan State.
By Clark, on March 2nd, 2010 Some fans hate him. Some love him. Its hard to argue with the numbers Greivis has put up over four years, but without Greivis, the Terps may not be where they are today. Over four years, his numbers have improved. Scoring and assist/turnover ratio have improved, but one thing that stands out the most is his ability to change the game when its needed most.
 Photo courtesy of ESPN.com Vasquez’s most recent example of taking over a game comes in a 41 point, 7 rebound and 6 assist double over time win against Virginia Tech on their home court. Another could be the 25 point effort against Virginia in the first half. Theirs no doubt Greivis can score and this year he has added different dimensions to his game. He can score with his back to the basket. He can shoot the 3 much better. He can drive the lane and get to the free throw line. He can get rebounds when their needed.
This year, Vasquez has moved himself into the top spot in the ACC with 2000 points, 700 rebounds and 600 assists. No other player in the ACC has ever done that but him. With a win against Duke at home, on Senior night, Greivis should solidify himself as a POY candidate. Scouts and media members don’t remember games against Virginia or BC. They remember games against top teams like Duke, Villanova or Virginia Tech.
By Clark, on February 21st, 2010 Maryland, for much of the day, couldn‘t seem to shake the Yellow Jackets. Before a sellout crowd at Comcast Center, fans were treated to a great game and buzzer beater in the end by Cliff Tucker to grab sole possession of second place. Greivis Vasquez also made history tonight becoming the first player in ACC history with 2000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds.
For most of the first half, the Terps looked like they had things somewhat in order, leading Georgia Tech by a much as 6. However, they couldn’t put the Yellow Jackets away as they botched a few layups and free throws. Georgia Tech did have their way on the boards out rebounding Maryland in the first half and for the game. Greivis led all Maryland scoring with 18 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Hayes chipped in with 15 points and 5 assists.
The second half was much different in that Maryland looked tentative and momentum shifted to Georgia Tech. Tech, already with an advantage in rebounding seemed to step it up offensively. They were able to get key offensive rebounds and put points on the board. Hayes had great contributions in the second half, but again, the Terps could not break away from Georgia Tech thanks mainly to Derrick Favors. The Yellow Jackets did move ahead with 3 seconds left and it looked over until Hayes found Tucker for a three with 1.5 seconds left. Tucker hit the three and Maryland stole the win from Georgia Tech.
Maryland seems to be on a role now and will face Clemson this week at home. Maryland has an opportunity to keep their position in the ACC and grab a high seed in the ACC tournament if they continue to win.
By Clark, on February 17th, 2010 As we move past the midpoint of the season, I’d like to discuss the back-court of the Terps. With Greivis, Hayes and Milbourne all being seniors, I’m sure its in their best interest to make the post season and the best way in doing this is strong play from their back-court.
Greivis Vasquez – this team seems to live and die with him. The first four games of the season, he had season lows in scoring but ever since he has been up to his old self with errant passing and trigger happy shooting. Although at times his fans cringe with some of his passing and quick shooting, we all love his scoring and Maryland wouldn’t be where they are right now without him. Greivis looks to finish his career second all-time in scoring history behind Juan Dixon. He can shoot the three and drive to the basket well.
Eric Hayes – Mr. Cool. Eric has been the most underrated player for the Terps the past fours years. He’s currently setting a career mark for three point percentage and always seems to sink a three when needed. He’s able to dish the ball, cut to the basket and play stellar defense when asked. His entire career he has played in the shadows of Greivis and would be more of a scoring threat if Vasquez was not around. I think Hayes will be the one guy the Terps will have a hard time replacing.
Adrian Bowie – Good ball handling skills and has a good ability to cut to the basket. He sometimes gets lost when he drives and defenses collapse resulting in turn overs. He’s gotten better though and will be a sound replacement at the point when Hayes and Vasquez are gone. He can shoot the three, but his defense can sometimes be suspect. He has good mid-range shooting abilities and will probably be one of the leading scorers next season.
Cliff Tucker – Touted as a three point threat, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. He’s had good games shooting the three, such as last years game against UNC, but overall he has been average. He has stepped up his all-around game though this year with good defense and great shooting from all over the floor. Next year he’ll have to step up for the departed Hayes.
Sean Mosley – Started off this year with career highs in scoring and was really looked at more for his defense. Although his defense has stayed true, his scoring has dropped off dramatically. He seems to have a knack for swiping the ball, but he needs to round out his offense to go with good defense.
Maryland looks to have their back-court safe for the next few years, but after that they’ll need to reload. Look at next years incoming class with Terrell Stoglin and Mychal Parker to fill some back up roles to Bowie, Tucker and Mosley.
By Clark, on February 14th, 2010 In a statement game, where Maryland was hoping to make one, the Terps looked unstable and lost during a beating from the Blue Devils. The Terps trying to stay close to the top in the ACC only needed 10 minutes to realize they were over-matched at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Today’s game wasn’t pretty as the Terps lost 77 – 56.
After last years defeat to the Blue Devils at Cameron by 41 points, Greivis and company were hoping to reverse the nightmare of what was, but couldn’t seem to get on track and pull out the win. Offensively, the Terps didn’t have it. They looked timid and couldn’t find any rhythm running their offense. Greivis was held scoreless for the first 15 minutes, but did eventually led all Maryland scoring with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. That was the extent of the Terps scoring though as only one other person, Cliff Tucker, reached double digits with 12 points. The Terps had a hard time going inside as the Blue Devils seemed to get a hand up on every shot. They also couldn’t score from beyond the arc going 2 – 13 as a team.
Defensively, the Terps looked slow. They were slow in getting set up to defend, slow reacting to screens and slow getting rebounds. The Terps didn’t defend the three very well either as Scheyer and Singler made some open three’s that killed rallies. The Blue Devils were 5 – 15 from beyond the arc, but it could’ve been worse due to some open misses. Williams and Gregory had a hard time boxing out Plumlee and Zoubek with the latter grabbing 17 rebounds to go with 16 points.
This loss today is a tough one to swallow. The Terps haven’t played the tougher teams in the ACC, but they looked like they had good cohesiveness in the games they played. The only bad loss so far this year was against Clemson and one would think they would’ve made a stand against the Blue Devils. After all, this was for first place in the ACC and the first of three tough games in the next five days. A few observations from today are, first, why couldn’t they score the for 7 minutes in the first half? Maryland is one of the top scoring teams in the ACC and they couldn’t make one basket for 7 full minutes! Two, what happened to Milbourne? He might as well have sat on the bench. He seems to get lost in loud arenas when the game is big unless its at home. Three, where is Sean Mosley? After being one of the top scorers, if not the top scorer for the first month, he’s barely averaging eight points a game. He has a knack for getting inside and grabbing rebounds and defensively he does a decent job, but he looks like he lost his ability to score. The Terps now have a n off day before hosting Virginia on Monday. Lets hope they can bounce back from this and put a win up on the board.
By Clark, on February 5th, 2010 Coming off an ugly road loss to the Clemson Tigers, Maryland needed to get back to the basics and prove they were a legitimate threat in the ACC. Maryland did just that last night as they fought hard against a more athletic Seminole team and came away with a road win, winning 71 – 67. The Terps improved to 5 – 2 and will face Carolina this coming Sunday. READ MORE >>>
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