In my experience, there are two types of under-performing sports teams to root for, and I have the distinct pleasure of having a basketball team in each camp right now. The Maryland Terrapins basketball team is the kind of under-performing that’s ultimately forgivable. They kind of remind me of every round of golf I’ve ever played. Every once in a while, for a streak of 2 or 3 holes, I look like an actual golfer. My drives are straight, my irons are smooth, and when I chip it doesn’t look like I’m trying to butcher a live cat. Things are good.
And then, just as quickly as that blissful oasis appeared, everything crashes back down to earth. My drives develop a wanderlust, my irons go from smooth to chunky, and you couldn’t identify the aforementioned cat by its dental records. But ultimately, I don’t really get that upset about it, and why? Because I know I’m not good enough to adequately correct my mistakes mid-round.
Maryland has the very same issue. In the first halves of the Cornell and Wake Forest games, they played some beautifully cohesive basketball. The ball moved effectively, Stoglin looked like he was playing pop a shot, and Alex Len’s strengths shone brightly. All was right with the world.
But the issue with that “zone” is the same as the one I encounter during golf. They don’t find the zone, they stumble into it. And because they don’t know how they got there, once the slightest thing goes awry, they fight to try to figure out how the hell they found it in the first place. Forced shots and turnovers ensue en masse (see the 21-3 run by Florida State).
The Terps are more than likely not a tournament team this year, but it won’t be because of lack of talent. Any time you have the leading scorer in the conference, there’s always a chance that UNC or Duke have their Buster Douglas moment against Stoglin and company. I am going to suggest three things that Maryland can do to make their swings less violent, and their good play more sustained.
I Wanna Be Like Mych:
There haven’t been a lot of positives about Maryland’s play the last five games, but one that has really jumped out at me has been the play of Mychal Parker. I don’t think there’s a more athletic player on the team, and after spending last year in the best seat in the house, it finally looks like the game is slowing down for him. His jump shot looks cleaner, he’s fighting hard for rebounds, and his drives to the basket result in a blocking foul or points more often than not. All of these factors add up to him needing more minutes.
Clearly these won’t come at the expense of Mosley, the senior leader who -despite recently underperforming – is the anchor for this team on the floor. So it’s time for Maryland to make the Parker for Faust switch. This is no reason to give up on Faust completely. He’s just one of the many 18 year olds who can’t seamlessly adjust to college ball as a freshman.
Right now, he looks tentative and jittery with the ball, his assists are just as common as his turnovers, and his jump shot is an explosion of limbs with the accuracy of a shotgun blast (32% FG, 19% 3pt). Turgeon needs to limit his playing time in favor of a steadier hand.
A lot of people gave up on Mychal Parker after last year. As Maryland’s top recruit, he barely played (6 MPG), and when he did get in Gary had a quick hook for his constant mental errors. He’s now getting 19 minutes a game to Faust’s 26 even though he’s been a better shooter, rebounder, and defender for this entire season. In the last two games he’s outscored Sean Mosley despite playing 24 less minutes. At this juncture, we know what Mosley is (an undersized forward with a great motor and schizophrenic scoring), and we know what Faust isn’t (an ACC caliber starter). Parker’s play merits more minutes, and I personally want to know whether he’s the next Sean Mosley or the next Landon Milbourne.
James is hungry:
Feed him. Last year, I never thought I would say these words, but James Padgett needs the ball more. Alex Len may have a lot more raw talent, but Padgett is stronger with the ball, and has a wider array of post moves (another sentence I thought I’d never say).
Right now there’s an opening for the second scorer behind Terrell Stoglin, and I think the strongest argument is for Padgett. He’s far and away Maryland’s most efficient scorer (51.3%), and after a rough start from the line, he’s rounded into form since the start of ACC play (73% FT’s in last 5 games). Half the time the guy doesn’t even need to set himself up, he leads the ACC in offensive rebounds per game (4.0). Not to mention the benefits that an effective post presence yields for the whole offense: higher percentage shots, and better looks for outside shooters.
He may not be Jordan Williams on the block, but with Howard, Faust, and Mosley erratic at best and irrelevant at worst, Padgett would provide a steady presence to counterbalance Stoglin’s mercurial ability. For a team that serves up turnovers like a Dutch bakery, simplifying the offense with more post entry passes couldn’t hurt either. Maryland is 9-1 when Padgett scores double digits this year, and 3-0 when he takes 10+ shots, it’s time to test whether those numbers hold true against some stiffer competition.
Stop force feeding me Alex Len:
Not just for my sake but for his. A lot of people (myself included) thought that after his first few out of conference games, Len would be the player to make the Terps bubble relevant. He’s not. Not right now anyways.
It’s easy to be seduced by the package that Len offers. He’s a true 7-footer with a nice shooting touch and surprising athleticism. But behind that shiny packaging, the necessary parts just aren’t there right now. When he puts the ball on the floor (which he shouldn’t be doing as much in the first place) it looks like he’s dribbling with oven mitts.
Because he doesn’t box out well, he’s routinely beaten for rebounds by guys who can’t reach his nose. And he’s just not in shape to play 30 minutes a game of up-tempo ACC basketball yet. He’s always the last one back down the court on transition defense, and when the opponent has a mobile big man (Bernard James comes to mind) he ends up picking up bad fouls trying to cover for his mistakes.
I don’t know whose fault it is that he gets the ball on the perimeter so often, but nothing good can come of that. The kid looks like a victim from ‘Saw’ deciding what to do with the live grenade in his hands. Whoever is culpable for it, there’s really only one way to solve the issue at hand. Play Alex Len less until he’s in better shape – physically and mentally – to handle the demands of the college game.
Faust had to make the transition from apples to oranges, and he’s struggling. Just imagine what this 18 year-old Ukranian kid is going through trying to acclimate to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IN AMERICA. The only way Maryland can screw up a kid this gifted is by forcing him to be the savior when he’s the one that needs some saving right now.
So there are my solutions. I’d want to see a starting lineup of Stoglin, Howard, Mosley, Padgett, and Pankey. Use Len as a “super sub” of sorts off the bench, and if he’s gumming up the defense on the break, give him a breather to collect himself. Parker should be the first off the bench for either Howard or Mosley, and Turgeon should test the limits of where diminishing returns start with him. I think Howard is finally starting to get his touch back after returning from knee surgery (7/12, 15 points vs. Temple), but his eyes still have a way to go (1.9 A/T ratio).
Next up is one of the two biggest games of the year (UNC on February 4th is the other), and I think the more winnable one. Duke has some legitimate weaknesses (questionable defense especially from the guards, and only one elite rebounder). Just like the rest of the games this year, Maryland CAN win, they just need to relax and let the cat be.
Your analysis is centered around the offensive side the court. Len and Faust are disruptive defensive players. That’s the most important side to Turgeon and that’s why they’re getting the time. This strategy also is an incentive to the less intense offensive players like Stoglin to get with it on defense.
Turgeon will win a lot of games at Maryland when he is able to recruit more teachable players like he had at Wichita State & Texas A&M. I know. I lived in SW Kansas and saw most of his games.
Seems to me that Turgeon knows that expectations are fairly low this season from the fanbase after last year’s (lack of) post-season. Therefore he can give more minutes to players that he thinks have higher upside (Faust and Len) even if they are struggling at times this year. Whether it makes sense to give those players more experience and potentially sacrifice some games this season, I can’t really say.
I also have to disagree that this team has under-performed. After Jordan and Hawk left and before Alex Len miraculously appeared I figured this was another year with no post-season. Although our chances of making the big tourney evaporated with that loss to Temple, the NIT is still possible, which is more than I expected for this team.
Hey, I agree with you on Mychal Parker vs. Faust. How did Faust get such a great rep in Baltimore. He can’t shoot a lick. They say he is 190 lbs. but that is with his clothes and Maryland jacket on, maybe. Ergo, the more physical players are killing him. Parker is potentially our best player after Stoglin, although I did like what I saw from Howard in the Owls game.
I get so frustrated with Padgett. He grabs two or three consecutive offensive rebounds and can’t make a putback or dunk it. Sure he will surprise from time to time with some nice post moves and a sweeping left hook that actually goes in, but most of the time he can’t make the basket after outmanuvering and outmuscling his opponent. Also, when he sits on the bench, he looks like he thinking about his HS days in the Big Apple. Talk about a blank stare. I want a guy that is looking at Turgeon with a ” I need to be on the court, Coach” glare.
Rather than talk about Len, how about raising a question of why we are getting beat like a drum on the boards. We should not have to depend on Sean Mosley to get our rebounds. We are not physical enough. If I was Turgeon, I would find out which Terp football players played basketball in HS, and bring them in and have them scrimmage our top 7 or 8 players. Ashton Pankey looks surly but doesn’t play like he looks. The Seminoles are physical and we are likely going to get beat up every time we play them, but we should not get knocked around by the Wolfpack players. Leslie is a great player but if we are playing physical, he should not be dominating the boards.
Just my humble opinions.
I agree 100%. We are short on talent, but I think it’s time to find out if Parker has a future and who else will be playing next year when better recruits start coming in. Foul shooting practice should get more time and shot selection is abysmal. I don’t know how you teach guards to get the ball to the big men, but these guards either can’t see the play forming, can’t get it in quick enough or (God Forbid), are only waiting for their next 3-point attempt. Do colleges still play defense with their hands up, check the film coach!
DeLany – I agree that my article is definitely centered more on the Terps offense (the area where they’re struggling more), but I think most of the points apply to the defensive side of the ball too. I think Faust is a very good defender, but essentially on level footing with Parker on that side of the ball. Faust at this point just represents such a huge sacrifice on the offensive end that you have to wonder whether it’s worth the tradeoff. While I agree that Len is a very disruptive presence, his lack of mobility makes him a huge liability in transition. He gets back on D far too slowly which usually leads to a bad foul by him to compensate, or a temporary hole in the middle of the defense. If Pankey is given more of Len’s minutes, the team would sacrifice blocks and altered shots for better transition defense.
Richard – Padgett’s not going to make anyone forget Jordan Williams, but if not him then who? Mosley is never going to be that second scorer, Howard needs to be the guard that keeps the ball moving, and Faust and Len aren’t ready yet. Coming off an impressive an efficient and impressive game against Temple, I want to see if he can put up some numbers against a bigger Duke frontcourt. As for the rebounding, I don’t think this is a team that’s going to dominate the boards because we don’t have enough size (Padgett and Pankey are 6’8″, Len doesn’t show great technique on the glass). Mosley’s actually awesome on the boards, dude boxes out like Barkley. But Shaq will be here next year, so those days are hopefully coming to an end soon.
Stan – You’re right, underperforming isn’t the right word, this team is right where I figured they’d be at. But because of how well they play at times, this is one of the more frustrating Maryland teams I’ve watched because you know they’re capable of playing well. I might be optimistic thinking that these growing pains will eventually end, but this team occasionally flashes some great basketball. I thought they played better defense than Florida State in the first half of that game. I’m not saying the offensive lapses need to end, they just have to get shorter. See you this weekend buddy.
Ed – Agree with all you’re sayin too. Thanks for the read.
I would like to see this team run some full court press. They have athletic guards and a nine man rotation, and they need to be able to change the course of a game when they fall behind.
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Excellent comments from all,,,,,,,Mark is a nice coach and a better recruiter,,,,,,the terps will get better with time,,,,,,,right now the lack of starting talent and the total void of bench strength leaves this team out of tourneys this year , they may have a chance at the NIT but it is slight……..