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Four (4) months ago, I had these boys in the Sweet 16. And unless they win the ACC Tourney, they are (NIT) bound, Not In Tournament. They are just not performing at a level, that they are paid to play at. Paid? I’ll leave that alone for later. Sunday versus UVA, they were up by 17 points – twice – and still lost. The Terps have lost five (5) staright games to UVA, our supposed “rival”. Nice rivalry.The Terps collapse at the end of the game and OT was a fitting microcosm of the year – turnovers, sloppy play and a bad attitude. Can the Terps head to the Big Ten now? I hear the Fightin’ Illini need a rivalry.

To many wanna be stars and not enough “team”. Lenny is gone. Is he talent ready? Heck no. Is he money ready? Heck yeah. There goes the Terps chances next year. P’shon Howard – goodbye, just leave, evidently you hung around Stoglin to much and caught some of his attitude. Benefit of the doubt P’shon – your leg is not fully healed? Maybe, but I’m not buying it – you gave up on your team and your coach. Dez Wells – might as well try and go with Lenny. Next year is going to be tough – only the strong will survive. Terps will not be an ACC favorite during their last year in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference.

The team never found a grove for more than one game. The coach never found team chemistry. Hey Turgeon, all that talent, six (6) months plus and you still can’t hook-up 5 boys out of 9, to play well together? For most of the year – Lenny and Dez Wells started, Layman and Faust seemed to be his next two probables. It didn’t really matter who started. What mattered was, finding out who came to play that game? Turgeon rarely found it. Kentucky, Va Tech (first game) and of course Duke (minus that Kelley guy). Come on Turgeon, are you a recruiter or a coach?

I don’t even think he knew halfway in. Yeah, Turge, you left the Terp fan base scratching our heads also. At times, it appeared Turge was “Dazed and Confused” – (Led Zep). Maybe he should have consulted with the “Turgeonites”? Besides the 3 games mentioned above – the Turgeonites were part of the few positives from this year. Positives – Seth Allen, Shaq Cleare, Charles Mitchell and Faust on occasion. Really though, they never got any better than when they first stepped on the court. Rough year, again, to follow. What the heck was with the turnovers? I’ve watched high school games with better ball control. To many wanna be’s, not enough team.

No point gaurd, no center (when Lenny leaves), no “go to” guy, no calls from the ACC refs – Maryland basketball next year in the ACC – is gonna be tough. But hey, you know what? Who cares? They beat Duke! GO TERPS!

Side note – I believe I just heard the Ravens made another “bonehead player loss - after winning Super Bowl - move”, by trading their best “go to” receiver, to next years Super Bowl winner, the San Fransisco 49ers. The year following their first Super Bowl win - they let the QB, leader of the offense go, (Trent Dilfer). Now they let one of the most talented wide receivers in the game and another team leader go, (Anquan Boldin). Both main cogs in the wheel that got them to the Promised Land. Ravens – I’m done with you. Let’s Go O’s!

D.I.Y.

Fedman

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Way back on Nov. 9, a three-point loss to Kentucky caused people to create rumblings of the Terps cracking the top 25. Going 12-1 with this weak schedule helped the Terps pile up wins early on, but some of the wins were… shaky to say the least, ultimately raised some questions about how good this team truly was.

Were they challenged?

Is this team really that deep?

Is Alex Len that dominant?

Who is the point guard?

What will happen when conference play starts up?

Things were looking up when the Terps defeated Virginia Tech at the Comcast Center 94-71, to open up conference play. Looking at the Hokies now at 13-17, hindsight says this was a sign of things to come. The Terps showed flashes of brilliance at times and failed miserable in others, especially on the road.

When the NCAA committee evaluates teams that are fit for March Madness and not the NIT, they look for a total body of work that gives them a sense that this team deserves a shot at competing for a national title.

Let’s look over the Terps’ resume according to CBSSports.com:

Maryland Terrapins

Overall Record: 20-10

Conference Record: 8-9

Non-conference Record: 12-1

Home Record: 16-3

Away Record: 3-6

Neutral Record: 1-1

Strength of Schedule: 107

RPI Ranking: 86

Record vs. RPI top 25: 2-4

Record vs. RPI 51-100: 1-4

Record vs. RPI 101-200: 11-2

Quality Wins: NC State, Duke. 

Bad Losses: @Georgia Tech, @Boston College

It’s hard for me to even say that NC State at home is that great of a win, but that is all besides the point. We all know the Terps have been abysmal on the road and felt that they needed to at LEAST split the final two games of the  season, including last night’s game against North Carolina. Being that the Terps do not match up well with the Tarheels, nor their final opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers, where they travel to Sunday, it appears as if the Terps need a miracle run in the ACC tournament to catch a break with the selection committee and sneak into the tournament.

Head coach Mark Turgeon was looking for answers as to why his team not only played so streaky yesterday, but why the Terps let their offense affect their defensive efforts on the court.

“I am disappointed,” he said. “I didn’t like the energy we started the game with. With that said, we couldn’t make a shot. We had some really good looks especially early. We lost the game from 3:23 which was the media timeout until when I had to call timeout. We went from up one to down 13. We didn’t play very smart during that stretch.”

North Carolina is a very talented team and will be dancing, but Maryland’s performance last night, especially Logan Aronhalt, who went scoreless on Senior Night, was inexcusable for a team playing for their tournament lives.

The lack of leadership and a true point guard on this team is ultimately what is holding their growth as a team in my mind. This team is comprised of 2′s and 4′s  that will not pass up any shots they can’t take.

3-23 (13.04%) from beyond the arch… that’s the Terps’ three-point field goal percentage from last night.

It also didn’t help Maryland’s cause that Alex Len was once again playing smaller than his 7-foot-1, 255 pound frame suggests he should be. Backing away from the basket and taking jumpers will never make him a productive player on this level, nor the NBA. Whenever Len attacked the basket last night, good things happened. He made buckets, he grabbed rebounds and he did what a big man should do.

You have to wonder if the NBA knocking at his doorstep truly shaped his approach to the game this year.

Len is not a shooter, but scouts want to see a multi-dimensional star.

I’m not saying the Terps will be a great team if he is to go, but I’m not going to say he has helped their stock this season to make the Big Dance.

Being below .500 in conference play is never an attractive site to the selection committee for the NCAA tournament either.

You can listen to what Mark Turgeon had to say to the media following Maryland’s loss to North Carolina last night here. 

Dez Wells also met with the media following the Terps’ loss. He led all scorers for Maryland with 18. Here is what he had to say.

( All rankings courtesy of CBSSports.com)

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Hopefully you caught the show Saturday evening. It was quite an event. It was ugly, (26 turnovers), but they won. The young Terps refused to lose. The rested Terps ran circles around los arrogant ones, out rebounded the Dukies 40 -20, shot like 60%  and still barely managed to squeak out a 2-point victory. Carolina refs were present. I had to mute Doris (Dukie) Burke many times throughout the broadcast. Some young smart mouthed kid named Quinn Cook, (Dukie guard) claimed Gary Williams court was ”his city”.  And Lenny ate up Mason Plumlee. “O” that’s right, he was exhausted. Eat it Coach K.

Best part about watching it on ESPN? The crowd played well on the tube. I am not much on the cursing from the student section – I believe they could be more creative. But for once, I was glad to hear and even proud at times of “REF – YOU S…K”! Because they did and a national television audience got a taste of what loyal Terp fans have been getting handed for the past 40 years – lopsided calls. Doris (Dukie) Burke did acknowledge the late game ”charging” call on Dez Wells, ”should have been a no call”, when a Pukie had clearly not established ground. I do not agree with the “Rock n’ Roll Part II” - (Gary Glitter)/ Hey, You S…k chant, when the #2 in the nation is in your house. They are not in the top 10 because they s…k. I really don’t like it against any team. But, since it was Puke and since it was the last time they were going to be here….let ’em have it. I also did enjoy the “B…L S…T”, “You Can’t Do That”, “LET’S GO TERPS”, etc. The place was electric. If you haven’t seen this “flash mob” clip, watch it. Terpland on a high -http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G1qoZxWAsk8  – it was good clean fun.

My daughter was there. She hit me up with text pictures. From the early afternoon pics, 4 hours prior to game time and Terp faithful lined up outside waiting to get in, up until the storming of the court after the final buzzer. Got me all choked up inside. The kids experienced a night at Comcast, that hopefully will never forget.”O” the memories…………..my “stormin’ the court game” was when the Terps beat then #1 ranked UVA and Ralph Sampson (1982), in overtime at Cole. I remember Adrian Branch going off and Mark Fothergill playing Sampson tough. Then I believe Fothergill hit a late game field goal from the corner to ice it. Do you all have a “stormin the court” moment?

I don’t like Duke. I have not liked Duke since Jim Spanarkel and Mike Gminski. I am tired of the arrogance. I am tired of the preferential treatment. I am tired of the money. I am tired of the whining. I am tired of them winning. I am tired of Mike Krzyzewski. And if those weren’t reasons enough, there was the Final Four game in 2001. That loss still gives me chills. I dislike Duke more than any other sports team. I don’t like the majority of Yankee fans, Steeler fans and especially Red Sox fans. The teams…….. I can put up with (well, maybe not the Yankees). But Duke is in a class all by itself. It has always been, “Anybody but Duke”.  I really think that adage originated with Duke basketball. I am not going to miss Terps/Duke basketball. I know my blood pressure will be better for it.

I’m not buying this, “the rivalry is gone”. Duke is not our rival, people. UVA is our rival. The Duke rival is UNC. Terp fans don’t like Duke. Terp fans want to beat Duke. Terp fans would like to think Duke is our rival……….but they are not. And who should care anymore? We gone. We is going to the midwest. Now watch, Coach K will retire. The 5 Super Conferences are right around the corner. The real intrigue is, who will be following the Terps to the Big 20 or whatever the conference becomes? All I can say is, anybody is welcome, “Anybody But Duke!” GO TERPS!

D.I.Y.

Fedman
 

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How in the world did the FCS selection committee keep the Towson Tigers out of the tournament? They absolutely beat the hell out of New Hampshire, the 7th ranked team in the country, in their own stadium. Not good enough! Towson also scored the most points against LSU, yes that LSU, at Death Valley than any other team has all year! Not good enough, oh Towson also lost to a Kent State team that is currently in the top 25 in the BCS rankings as well, and played them close. Not good enough! I feel bad for the Tigers and WNST’s own Damon Yaffe, you litterally got robbed and those players deserve better.

UMBC played an outstanding game at North Carolina and took them to penalty kicks to decide the game, have to admire that effort and am proud of the Retrievers. UNC is the defending National Champs, not too bad for a school with county in its name!

The University of Maryland announces they are attempting to leave the ACC and head to the Big 10. WHAT?? Good luck with that, I know more goes into that move than just Athletics, but we all know Athletics are your biggest money maker, and its going to be pure embarassment when they join the Big 10. Wooo they have their own TV network, joyous occassion to get beat on TV every week. Maryland was already struggling to bring in big time recruits, don’t see the Terrapins beating out Ohio State and Michigan for top recruits much easier than beating North Carolina and Duke, or even Virginia Tech for that matter…..disappointing.

Ahhh some emotion uplifting, the Ravens beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh, couldn’t be happier, sure the offense could play better and undoubtedly Cam Cameron could have called a better game, but we are 8-2 with a two game lead in the AFC North! Turn on WNST this morning and all I hear is how disappointed fans are with the win?? the win?? Wow, simply stunning. Baltimore is 8-2 right? Sure we have to get better, but what team in week 11 doesn’t say to themselves, “we need to get better before the playoffs”. Zero, listen to the New England Patriots, they are always stating how they have pleanty of things to work on.

Bring on San Diego, and let’s make it 9-2!

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Only four players left from Gary Williams recruitment crew – Padgett, Howard, Faust, Len. Add Turgeon recruits  Mitchell, Allen, Layman, Cleare and addition of Dez Wells………..you have the recipe for a pretty good ball team. They are young. The only two legit upperclassmen “starters” are James Padgett (Sr.) and Pe’Shon Howard (Jr.). Tough to pick a starting five ………..and that’s a good thing. The addition of this Dez Wells cat was a surprise to me. Caught me off ex- Xavier “guard”. I wasn’t up on the potential of his acquisition. SO, last week when I heard of “The Decision” to let Wells play without sitting out a year and he was “available” for the Kentucky game – my first thought I cannot print, my second thought was - WOW, Terps have a shot.

Alex Len (Lenny), has turned into a beast. He has bulked up, appears he has strengthened and found his hands, his shot is smooth and he looks hungry……..watch out Mason Plumlee. Faust has followed suit. Johnny Holiday reported Faust was shooting 500 jumpers a day in the off season……..watch out ACC. Padgett brings intensity and experience. Pe’Shon looks like he may have to be the Mr. Reliable/settle things down guy. That’s if and when the Wells/Faust run and gun goes rampant. This Jake Layman young lad appears to be a shooter and Seth Allen can fly. Then there’s the addition of the two trees down low - ”Baby Shaq”  Cleare and this Charles “Barkley mold” Mitchell cat. Turgeon has 8 potential starters. It looks promising.

Did you see the Kentucky game? Ugly first half, except for Lenny. Lenny had an All-American performance, sophmore debut that night. The team almost came back. Encouraging second half – haven’t seen ball like that at Maryland in quite some time. Game tested comparison – Duke beat Kentucky last night, fairly handily – BOOOOOOO! Did you see the Morehead State game? Another rough start, then talent prevailed. Turgeon was trying to find that groove. It seemed as if every whistle there were at least two new guys coming in. Sometimes he was making 4-player substitutions. It is probably going to be that way up until January. Tough job – weeding out the talent that runs well together. Gee, nice problem to have, huh?

Terps who trotted – Terrell Who? That be – Stoglin. Smooth scorer, kept Terps alive at times last year……..not a fan of Mark Turgeons……see ya Terrell……..suspended or not. I believe his attempt at turning pro fell short. He may be headed to Europe. Ashton Pankey – I think he headed back up New York way, Manhattan College? Mychal Parker – could not find info. Turgeon is settling in. He has gathered and is molding some of these “blue chippers” to send out a message of a new force in the ACC. 

I think this is “Only the Beginning” – Chicago. They are young. They are talented. As Turgeon said, “We are going to win some games.” When a coach says that – he doesn’t mean the low end of “some”, as in ten wins. The Coach is talking - we have a good chance to be a force. It is far to early to speculate, but let’s have fun and call it now…….Top 3 of ACC and onto the Sweet 16 this season. Final Four in 2013-14. They need a “go to” guy. They need the freshman beef (Mitchell and Cleare) to step up. They can’t lose Lenny. The pot is a brewin’ in Terpland and the recipe looks good.

GO TERPS!

D.I.Y.

Fedman

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