Shell Games » Eric Hayes

A Duke-Maryland Recap in Ten Easily Digestible Bullet Points

Scott — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:45:16 +0000

If the Maryland men’s basketball team revealed today that they had X-Ray vision, the strength of 100 men, and a solution for ending gridlock in Congress, wouldn’t you believe them? I would. And not just because of their hard-fought 79-72 win over Duke last night. It’s because there doesn’t seem to be a mountain high enough to stop them right now. Want a buzzer beater? Done. Want two buzzer beaters? Come on, challenge us. Want us to come back from 13 down to win? No problem. Want us to win in one of the toughest gyms in the conference? Boom. Overtime? Check. Double overtime? Double check. And then last night, they coughed up a lead against their most hated rivals — and we’ve all seen that movie before — but kept their composure, kept fighting, and pulled it out on Senior Night. What a win. To the points:

FFFFFF***********CK DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!!!!!!!!!!!

Barring a Roy Jones-level travesty, Greivis Vasquez is ACC player of the year. The D.C. Sports Bog posits that Vasquez’s game-clinching shot — over Jon Scheyer — followed by stopping Scheyer on the other end was the symbolic final nail. Oh, and he also had more points. And assists. And a better FG percentage. And a better FT percentage. And a better three-point percentage. And his team won the game.

For the record: Vasquez was clutch tonight. He didn’t used to be. He is now. In a way, this makes my A-Rod comparison stronger than ever. After years of struggle and doubt, both men have gotten the monkey off their backs. So there.

I heard the announcers mention that Maryland would get a share of the regular season title even if both teams win out. Duke would get top seed in the ACC tourney (that’s done by win %), but they would each get a banner (that’s done on records). If someone with more time and inclination on their hands is interested in confirming this, please be my guest. I’ll take Johnny Holiday’s word for it.

Maryland ran their offense last night very, very effectively. The screens were strong, the cuts were crisp, and most importantly, they forced their transition game and earned plenty of “run-outs,” or as we used to call them, “fast breaks.”

Duke stifled this during their late-first and second-half comeback by going to a zone. Maryland didn’t attack it.

Until, that is, a mysterious young man strode onto the court. Man by the name of Bowie. Adrian Bowie. He fearlessly threw himself into the teeth of the zone, slashing it to ribbons. Then he canned a wide-open three. Nine points on four-four shooting. It’s official. This man is Maryland’s X factor until further notice.

This was a huge victory and all, but was it really the kind of victory you riot in the streets over? Want to storm the court? Go for it. Whatever. But rioting? It’s so easy to picture all the Dookies, arms folded, smirks solidly in place, chuckling over how desperate we are to beat them. I know it’s a free country. And I admit to doing my share of it. But this one reminded me of the 2005 Washington Wizards, who printed T-shirts just for making the playoffs. Just felt a little superfluous is all.

All the seniors did their thing tonight. Milbourne was fairly quiet (as expected, given Duke’s physical bigs) but hit an early tone-setting three. Eric Hayes was — wait for it –

……wait…….for……..it………

steady. He was very steady.

The Jordan Williams Bandwagon continues to fill. Fifteen points, 11 boards, great D on Zoubek and the Lord Plumlee Brothers, two clutch free throws in the waning seconds. Another cap feather for the freshman who didn’t make a lot of preseason watch lists. Good luck with Durand Scott there, Andy Katz. Just kidding, Andy. I love you, baby. Text me.

OK, this was a few more than ten. But hey, it’s deserved. If the Terps take care of business against UVA, they’ll have a banner to hang (supposedly), then a relatively stress-free ACC tourney, and then The Dance. Selection Sunday is 11 days away.

(Photo credit: AP Photo/Nick Wass, former Diamondback photog, via Testudo Times)

duke at maryland preview: pride comes before the fall

Ian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:54:59 +0000

Kyle Singler is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.

Duke is coming to Comcast Center this evening to renew a rivalry that has been on ice for a few years. Although the Terps have played the Blue Devils tight through the lean times of the Gilchrist and Caner-Medley Years, there has been a sense that this was not an even match-up for a long while. Now, the Dukies are so swollen with pride that they claim that Maryland is not their rival. In fact, this “non-rivalry” is so heated that fans from both sides of the aisle have contested the existence of it with competing edits to the Wikipedia entry on the rivalry.

Tonight, the rivalry is rekindled because there are high stakes involved. There are implications bigger than one win or loss. There is more than just pride on the line. There’s an ACC regular season title at stake. There is an implication that the winner of this game is the team to beat in the ACC Tournament. There are tangible rankings, votes, and NCAA Tournament seedings on the line. There’s bragging rights on the line. There’s confidence on the line.

The Terps have rattled off five straight wins since their 2/13 loss at Duke. Maryland has shaken off the stigma of a few early season losses and disrespect in the press to put itself in a position to win the conference. They’ve shed their pride and just played harder than the rest, and that’s been the difference between mediocrity and success.

In a high stakes game, winning and losing is determined by who blinks first. Maryland didn’t blink in a last second win against Georgia Tech. They didn’t blink in 2OT’s against Virginia Tech. They’re not going to blink against Duke.

Unlike the last go around, the Terps will be hosting the Blue Devils. During the 2/13 game at Cameron Indoor, Duke jumped all over Maryland, and it was over as soon as it began. Maryland couldn’t get over its mistakes and the momentum was too much to overcome.

The Terps are a much better home team than a road team, and Duke will be stripped of its home court advantage. At Comcast Center, Brian Cro-magnon Zoubek won’t get away with a half dozen over the back fouls. John Schyer won’t be able to use his left arm to push off without hearing the whistle. The Cameron Crazies will be watching this game on TV. Duke is going to have to come into the shell and fight.

At home, on senior night, with everything at stake, Maryland will have the juice to pull it out. They’ll do it on the back of Greivis Vasquez, a guy that is playing above his head right now. He’s going to outplay Jon Schyer and show everyone why he’s the ACC Player of the Year. Schyer vs. Vasquez is the key match-up, and nobody is playing better than Greivis Vasquez right now. Add to that the fact that Mosley and Hayes have awoken from the slumber they were in during the 2/13 game, and this contest should be a much closer affair than it was three weeks ago.

The Terps are a 1.5PT homedog, and Vegas Sports-Odds feels strongly enough about the Terps that they wrote a feature on why it’s a good idea to put money on them. My prediction: Maryland wins 74-73.

Congratulations to Greivis Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, and Eric Hayes on your great college careers. Go Terps.

Saluting the Seniors: Eric Hayes

Scott — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:35:57 +0000

(This is the second of a three-part series. Read the first part here.)

Let’s play a quick game of word association, if you’ll indulge me. What’s the first word that comes to mind when I say….”Eric Hayes.” OK, I’ve got mine: steady. It just came to me. Never mind that Googling “steady Eric Hayes” brings up 17 pages of hits. My idea! “Steady” Hayes is the steadiest steady to ever steady the stead. And that’s steadying something.

And you know what else they say, about lazy, shopworn cliches? They got that way for a reason. Over the years, Eric Hayes has been very steady with his play. Very calming. Very matoor. If Vasquez is the lightning rod, Hayes is the…lightning? Clouds? I don’t know. But it’s clear that Hayes provides a critical psychological counterweight for this group and is an indispensible component of what has become a very good team. He’s not flashy, but he grows on you like a fungus. The good kind of fungus. So there you go. If Vasquez is the lightning rod, Hayes is porcini mushrooms. This is why they give me the big checks.

Of the three seniors, Hayes has probably been the least impressive from a statistical standpoint. He’s not a great scorer, but developed a more consistent three pointer over last offseason that has opened things up for the others this year. According to the great Terrapin Stats, Hayes ranks fourth on the school’s all-time assists chart with 491. He’s a lock to get to 500, which is impressive no matter who you are. But it puts him 253 behind running mate Vasquez, who is more of a shooting guard but nevertheless led the team in assists last year and is doing so again this year, notching 6.4 assists to Eric’s 3.9. For the record, Hayes is also 481 dimes behind Steve Blake, the school’s all-time assists leader (not to mention fifth in NCAA history) and the player Hayes is most compared to.

That, by the way, is a comparison I always found a little thin. I believe it was (and is) more a combination of physical resemblance and wishful thinking, rather than pure talent, that led to that corrolary. It’s not really fair to either guy. But of course, a real similarity does exist in general demeanor. I’ve seen both men play live many times, and as I noted in last week’s Clemson recap, Hayes, just like Blake, plays the role of quiet floor leader — but a leader nonetheless. During timeouts, Vasquez is high-fiving teammates, putting his arm around guys, yelling motivational slogans at their noses, pumping up the crowd, arguing with Gary Williams about which set to run, schmoozing the refs, cooking omelettes, getting girls’ phone numbers, and mopping the floor (seriously). Hayes takes, shall we say, a bit of a more targeted approach. He finds the guys who need a lift. He pats them on the backside, nods and gives them a little grin, and just says “let’s go, man!” I get the feeling that if a player wants to talk, or whatever, they go to Eric Hayes.

He also might be the most cerebral of the three seniors. Whenever I read an article, I look for Eric’s comments, which are candid without being overemotional, analytical without being rote or patronizing. That’s the way he plays, too. Perhaps one day, that’s the way he’ll coach.

Back on the court, it’s hard to pinpoint his biggest few performances by looking at stat sheets. But you really don’t have to look far to find a prime candidate. In last Saturday’s double OT win over Virginia Tech, Hayes had 10 points and 12 assists, and hit a long jumper to put the Terps up by two with 5.2 seconds left in regulation. He has struggled at times, particularly on the road. But for each bad game, there’s two others where he just quietly stirs the drink, like last season’s tournament-clinching win at Wake Forest, when he netted 11 points and 3 assists. He’s steady, is what I’m saying.

I don’t know if Hayes wants to coach or not, but I think he could do it. Either way, he’ll be one of those guys for whom money will never be good inside the boundaries of Terp nation. Especially if this team makes a good run in the postseason. We shall see.

No matter what happens, we’ll always have the haircuts.

A Maryland-Virginia Tech Basketball Recap in Five Easily Digestible Bullet Points

Scott — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:36:20 +0000

Wow. I mean, holy crap. What can you say after a 104-100 double overtime win like that one? Due to some travel we couldn’t watch the entire game (and hence also the relative lateness of this post), but we saw enough. To the points:

After beating Virginia Tech for the first time in Cassell Coliseum, the Terps will be ranked tomorrow. Finally.
After outdueling ACC leading scorer Malcolm Delaney by scoring 41 freaking points, along with seven rebounds and six assists, Greivis has to be the favorite for POY. How can you deny this guy? The Hokies certainly couldn’t.
To continue a trend, the Terps couldn’t stop physical Hokie center Jeff Allen, who abused them for 25 points and 15 rebounds.
The senior-ness of this team is paying dividends now. Eric Hayes was ice water down the stretch. Has anyone ever described Eric Hayes as “steady?” No? Then let me be the first. Steady Maryland point guard Eric Hayes was very steady out there last night.
It was long and surprisingly peril-fraught, but the better team got the win today. Maryland is forcing its style of play and just beating people right now. What’s teh ceiling for this team right now? We’ll get another barometer this Wednesday when Duke comes to the CP.

A Maryland-Clemson Basketball Recap in Ten Easily Digestible Bullet Points

Scott — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:29:23 +0000

I was lucky enough to attend the game that locked up Maryland’s bid for the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And what a game it was. Comcast was rocking for much of this come-from-behind 88-79 victory over recent nemesis Clemson. To the points:

YEAH, CLEMSON! WHAT! WHAT! TAKE IT! EAT IT! ENJOY YOUR VIEW FROM THE BUBBLE! YOU JUST GOT SMOKED! HOW DOES IT FEEL BABY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
Unlike the clug-ugly first game, this one was a barnburner, and Clemson was the team that came out firing. Both squads actually shot 50 percent from three in the first half. It’s just that Maryland shot six of them, while Clemson shot 16.
As Maryland hadn’t beaten Clemson since 2007, it got pretty quiet when the Tigers took a 27-14 lead. But Maryland showed why it is such a good team — a really, seriously good team — right now: poise. Bucket. Stop. Draw a foul. Stop. Rinse, repeat. Beautiful.
With 7:52 left and the Terps down by one, they made their run. Less than two minutes later, they were up 10. During the run, Vasquez (who had two points until then) collected two steals, two dimes, and five points, including a breakaway dunk that had Comcast going berserk. I was literally jumping up and down in the aisle. I’ve been critical of Vasquez (and, I believe, with reason), but he has learned, he has grown, and he’s the best player in the ACC. As the man himself noted in a postgame interview, “my decision-making is just unbelievable right now.” Hear hear, sir.
Having said that, my game MVP is Sean Mosley. He scored nine of the team’s first 12, keeping us afloat during Clemson’s fireball start. He ended up with 20 points on 6-8 shooting, four boards, two steals. He seemed determined to shoot his way out of his slump, and he did. Welcome back, Sean.
Interesting to watch the seniors operate during stoppages. Lots of high fives, lots of back pats, lots of “come on, let’s go!”s. Vasquez gets a lot of ink for this, but Hayes does it, too.
From the Every Rose Has Its Thorn Department: I’ve stated before that the full-court trap doesn’t work like it once did. I’d like to revise that statement. It works against Maryland. And it’s not like they didn’t know it was coming. If the Terps had lost, this would have been the headline.
From the Every Rose Has Its Thorn Department, Item #2: Landon Milbourne and Dino Gregory looked a little lost out there. Physical bigs just aren’t a good matchup for them. Plenty of teeth-gnashing over this among the Maryland faithful. I feel for these guys. This must be why every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.
Speaking of Dino, I noticed something: there are a lot of moving parts, if you will, in his game. He’s always looking to create, to make a move, to, you know, dribble, and what not. I liked it better when it was defense, box out, board, hustle.
Before the game, I said David Potter was Clemson’s X Factor. And with 13 points, he sort of was. But to a greater extent, it was center Jerai Grant, who killed the Terps in Clemson but fouled out last night with zero points in only 10 minutes of action. Thanks, Jerai. When those long arms go a-flailing, everybody wins. Except you and your team.

There you have it. I think this unequivocally stamps Maryland’s dance card, but still plenty left to play for. Saturday’s game in Blacksburg has major ACC implications (don’t tell anyone, but Maryland can still win this thing…technically). Next Wednesday is Senior Night versus Duke. No explanation needed.

I’m starting to get excited. I really am.

(Photo credit: AP photo via The Baltimore Sun)

What’s Wrong With Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley?

Scott — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:39:46 +0000

Something happened down there in Clemson. Something bad. Something dark. It wasn’t just an ordinary loss, apparently. Perhaps the game was so ugly, so tedious, and the loss so crushing, that individual human psyches were shaken loose from their very moorings.

Perhaps not.

But whatever it was, our second and third best players (or third and fourth, second and fourth, whatever) have not been the same since. Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley are both riding some serious slumps ever since the Lashing at Littlejohn.

Let’s start with Mosley, who seems to be a bit more deeply mired. In the last six games, starting with that Clemson loss, Mosley has averaged 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. In the first 18 games of the season, he averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. His defense, while strong throughout the season, has gotten spotty of late, almost as if he needs to get his butt kicked a few times before he wakes up and realizes he is playing basketball. It wasn’t long ago that Sean Mosley was considered a burgeoning star on the team. Can he get back there? Yes. Is he there right now? No he isn’t.

As for Eric Hayes, in the past six games starting with the Clemson loss, he’s averaged 9.5 points, 4 assists, and 2.5 turnovers. In the first 18 games, he averaged 11 points, 3 assists, and 1 turnover. Last night against N.C. State, he went scoreless on 0-5 shooting, although he did get 5 assists to just one turnover. His three-point shot was a welcome addition to the Terps’ offensive arsenal early this season, but if you take out his 4-5 performance beyond the arc versus hapless North Carolina, he’s 4-17 during this slump. Not many defenses are going to respect that.

These slumps are especially noticeable given that Maryland’s bench is somewhat uneven. When I’m not waiting for Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie to be genetically combined into one player, I find myself wishing, more and more each day, that Dino Gregory was still alive. Players like Jordan Williams and, of course, Greivis Vasquez have stepped up, but it’s not like Hayes’ and Mosley’s contributions are effortlessly subsumed by other players on a consistent basis.

So why is this happening? After going back and watching some game film DVRs, nothing obvious emerges — at least not to a blogger with no coaching or scouting experience. But I’ve noticed a few things. Mosley seems to get the yips sometimes, especially around the basket. One too many ball fakes in the mix there as well, like he’s always worried about a shot blocker that doesn’t always exist. Hayes has always had difficulty getting his own shot, and now that the word is out that he can consistently knock down the three, I think he’s drawing more defensive attention than he did earlier in the year.

Of course, it’s always easier for someone like me to point out problems than for those actually involved to actually do something about it. But they’re both good, smart players who know they will be needed down the stretch. So here’s hoping they find a way to rid themselves of whatever followed them onto that bus back in South Carolina.

A Maryland-N.C. State Basketball Recap in Ten Easily Digestible Bullet Points

Scott — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:47:33 +0000

If you told me beforehand that Maryland would be down by 10 at halftime and Eric Hayes would not score in the game, let’s just say I probably would have told you to watch Shaun White instead. But the Terps fought off fatigue and perhaps a bit of complacency to rally and overcome bottom-dwelling N.C. State, 67-58, in Raleigh. To the points:

As many (including yours truly, yes, thanks so much) suspected, the Terps came out like a bowl of wet linguini. They took their lashes until Gary Williams tore the players a new corn chute early in the second half. Among the printable excerpts: “I have difficulty believing you are down 12 to a team that I daresay, if I may be assured of your confidences, I do not hold in inordinately high esteem.” No one looked back from there.
MVP: Take a guess. On a night when the team’s second, third, and fourth leading scorers combined for 12 points, Vasquez delivered with 26 and 6 assists. I know I’ve been critical — and concerns remain — but is there another ACC team with a player so critical to their fortunes? Could Jon Scheyer beat Vasquez one on one? I don’t think so either. I’m not one for hyperbole, but what can you say? Vasquez for ACC player of the year.
Mosley and Hayes need to deslumpify, and fast. More on them later. (UPDATE: Or how about now? Woo, magic.)
A win heals all wounds, but man, was that first half ugly. It’s like they were moving in syrup. Defensively, they seemed to be rotating a full beat behind the Pack. They tried to compensate with aggressive help, but left shooters open in the process. I’m just glad they never instituted that “we’re only gonna play one half now” rule.
Vasquez was my MVP, but for a long stretch in the first half, Jordan Williams carried this team. He finished with 19 points (7-10 shooting) and 11 boards while holding now-you-see-him-now-you-don’t Tracy Smith to 10 and 6. But even that doesn’t tell the whole story. For a full quarter, Williams was Maryland’s go-to guy.
Just when I’m ready to bury Adrian Bowie, he gets an arm out of the dirt. Still, he’s a bit shaky as a distributor. Is he really starting at point next season?
I’m not a big fan of the press, but it worked to great effect last night. I guess it helps when the opposing point guard has nearly a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
I’ve alluded to this already, but this has my vote for Gary Williams’ best coaching job of the year. He just didn’t let them give up.
They better do some serious sleeping between now and Saturday. And I mean a looooooot of sleep. Georgia Tech’s not going to be easy, even at home.
As this column astutely notes, Maryland will get to 10 ACC wins if they just keep beating the beatable teams. (Hey, that’s my column for Bleacher Report! What a happy accident.) In other words, the Terps can make the tourney without a “signature win,” which is good, because they currently have zero of those unless you count FSU. Now in one word: Phew!

(Photo credit: AP photo via The Baltimore Sun)

A Maryland-Duke Basketball Recap in Ten Easily Digestible Bullet Points

Scott — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:32:28 +0000

Another big game for Maryland, another chance for an indisputable resume builder, another letdown. This time it was a 77-56 loss to no. 8 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Some points:

Hey, look at it this way. Last year the Terps lost by 41 in Cameron. So does that mean they’re twice as good this year? I say yes. I don’t have much.
Sure, Duke played well. But make no mistake: Maryland had the capacity to win this game and just lost it.
The Vasquez line: 17 points on 7-12 shooting, 7 boards, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls. Not bad, until you consider that 14 of those points came (a) when the team was down by at least 20, or (b) during one all-too-familiar, too-little, too-late mini-run midway through the second half that chopped Duke’s lead to a razor-thin margin of 10. In other words, when the game was actually “competitive,” he had 3 points. A-Rod lives.
But let me not lay all this at Vasquez’s feet. Jordan Williams reminded me today that he is, indeed, still a freshman. He finished with a decent 6 points and 7 boards, but let Duke’s frontcourt run wild, especially Brian Zoubek, whose 16 and 17 were ever so slightly above his season average of 6 and 5. Tough game for Jordan, but he’ll be back.
Speaking of coming back, Dino Gregory, you can’t see me right now, because you’re unconscious, but I’ve got one paddle on the A and one paddle on the N. Clear! Seriously, three points on 0-3 shooting and three rebounds, plus some very shaky defense, is not what you want to see. Someone please find this man some confidence.
Maryland turnovers: 14. Duke turnovers: 7.
I’ve already touched on Vasquez, but the other seniors weren’t helping. Eric Hayes’ Cameron woes continued with 8 points (2 in second half), 3 assists, and 4 TOs, while Landon Milbourne chipped in a dismal two points on 1-6 shooting and three boards…his worst game of the season in the biggest game of the season. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: what good is senior leadership if they don’t lead when they are needed the most?
Maryland played with no urgency. Is it possible to look past Duke?
Maryland is a bunch of stupid cornswaggling mugglefragging yellow belly underacheiving underperforming chokers. How’s that for hardcore analysis. I’m sick of going out to watch Duke games and rooting for Maryland, year after year, only to face the inevitable walk of shame through a little pocket of smirking Duke fans who always find a way to position themselves between me and the exits. VOMMMMITTTT.
This isn’t a season killer, and with Virginia et al on the horizon we have other things to focus on now. But still. After this, it feels like the best-case scenario is another humble second-round exit. You can’t just beat Longwood 100 times and wonder why you’re not an elite team. Eventually, you have to show up in the big spots or you’re just another dog sitting on the porch, watching.

A Maryland-Duke Basketball Preview from ESPN Analyst Dick Vitale

Scott — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:37:26 +0000

Hey, lemme tell ya somethin right now, I wanna thank Shell Games for givin me this opportunityyy, bloggin about the biggest matchup thus far — yesss, the biggest matchup thus far — in 2009-2010 ACC play. First place in the conference on the line, and let me tell you, they are gonna be rockin — AB-SO-LUTE-LY rockin — down there in Cameron Indoor Stadium, hey, for me it’s like taking the waters at Lourdes! I love them so much it almost makes me cry, baby!!!

No question about it, this game is going to be difficult, a flat-out Gordian knot, for both of these teams. But at the same time, this is a pretty easy one to handicap. For Duke, it begins and ends with their three guards: Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith, or as I call them, Super, Scintillating, and Sensational. Or at least that’s what I used to call them, until people started getting annoyed.

So now I call them the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although now that I think about it, Mike Shishefski is really the Father, so hey, two Gods, baby, I just invented a new religion! Dookieism! And I’m the first high priest! Hey, you think they’ll let me into their locker room now heh heh heh just kidding I already get in there, hey, I’m goin through their lockers baby it’s me it’s Dickie V, I’m gonna use your underarm deodorant!!

Jon Scheyer is the Father out there because he’s the floor leader. Flat-out fearless. Kyle Singler is the son because he’s still young, but his gifts for this team — and for all mankind — are just so special. Such a special talent. And finally, Nolan Smith is the holy spirit because he’s the one I know the least about. I’ll just say he’s the glue of this Blue Devil backcourt, hey, he’s the leading Duke guard for rebanding, plus he’s the main slasher of the group.

But here’s the thing: in order to have a good chance to win, at least two members of the Holy Trinity will need to be hitting around 50 percent from the land of trifectors. If they can’t hit the trifector, their odds of winning go down. In the absolutely heartbreaking loss to N.C. State, the Trinity only hit 5-13 on trifectors. In a loss to Georgetown, they went 8-25. But in their W over North Carolina, they went 9-17.

The Trinity scores 53.5 of Duke’s 80.7 points per game. The next leading scorer behind them is Miles Plumlee with 6.3. You shut down the Trinity, especially on the trifector, you shut down the Blue Devils.

But hey, easier said than done, especially for these Terrapins, baby. They’re third in the conference in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, but eighth in defending the trifector. Yes, they will need a balanced defensive effort on the outside, more than just running out to the shooter and yelling “don’t miss.” Hey, maybe use smaller lineups at times, maybe involve Landon Milbourne on the perimeter. But they can’t wander too far from the hoop, as Duke ranks tops in the conference in rebands. Wanna talk about rebands? Let’s talk about rebanding the basketball. That’s where Diaper Dandy Jordan Williams, in his first game at Cameron, along with Dino Gregory and others will be crucial — even with Duke forward Lance Thomas and his five rebands per game doubtful with a knee injury — in preventing Duke’s frontcourt from playing the role of ball retriever for the Holy Trinity.

And yes, Mr. Vasquez will need to be his usual scintillating self. He can have a million great games against the bottom feeders, but until he shows up in a winnable game like this, he’ll have a hard time shedding the tag the A-Rod of the ACC, much less overtaking Mr. Scheyer for ACC player of the year.

But perhaps another Terp will be even more crucial tomorrow. Some stat comparisons show that Eric Hayes, yes the steady point guard for Maryland, has really struggled at Cameron Indoor. We’ll see if Mr. Hayes, and Mr. Vasquez, and Mr. Mosely, and Mr. Milbourne, and Mr. Williams show up to play. If they do, I think they can walk out of Durham with a signature W. That’s right, I’m picking Maryland to down the Dookies tomorrow in Cameron, hey what’s happening to me baby? Coach K! Hey! Coach K! I’m still your number one high preist right baby?

Prediction: Maryland 81, Duke 69

maryland beats florida state in a game of four-on-four

Ian — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:41:12 +0000

The Terps survived a horrendous first half by coming out hot after intermission, and won 71-67 in Tallahassee yesterday. If yesterday’s win at Florida State proved anything, it proved that Maryland can win ugly. In the first half Maryland seemed stuck in the same fog they were in at Clemson earlier in the week. How did they snap out of it? Let’s go to the Porsche Keys to the Win:

Vasquez (23), Milbourne (18), Williams (14), and Hayes (12) had 67 of the Terps 71 points. The rest of the team was 0-10 from the field for 4 PTS. This was the second game in a row where the bench was nonexistent. Luckily, Florida State performed a similar disappearing act. The Noles got 58 points out of four players and nine out of the rest. On Thursday night, Maryland’s best four outperformed Florida State’s best four.
At the start of the game Florida State was able to dictate the pace, turning the game into a helter skelter track meet and trapping the Terps into turnovers. Maryland managed just 25 points by half time, but they were still only down four points. At halftime, Gary Williams made the adjustments necessary to get the Terps into their set offense, and the team rattled off seven unanswered points right away to take a four point lead. As is often the case, Gary Williams out-coached his opponent.
From there, the Terps were able to maintain a lead for most of the second half, until the very end of the game when Jordan Williams had to start sitting due to foul trouble. The Seminoles tied the game with three minutes left, and suddenly, the crowd was back in it. Who was going to step up? Dino Gregory,that’s who! That’s right, Dino freaking Gregory comes out of nowhere, takes a charge, and Vasquez sinks a couple of FT’s to preserve the lead. Dino was an unlikely hero after he was largely absent for most of the game, but that key play enabled the Terps to win the game. Overall, the game was that close. It could have gone either way. Kudos to Dino for shaking off the rust and making a big stop.
I love me some Greivis. Just when the haters started screaming at their TV’s and secretly hoping Greivis would blow it, Vasquez turns it on with a running jumper and forces a couple of fouls to keep the scoring going. His final line – 23 PTS /7 RB/7 AST – was pretty close to a triple-double. You may howl over his five turnovers but most of them came off of some tight traps, and he was better than a 1/1 AST/TO ratio on the night, so that’s a good line. I love how he incited the crowd from the opening tip. He thrives on the hate, so keep hating bitches. GREAT JOB GREIVIS! M-V-P! M-V-P!
It was a nice night for Milbourne. He was, once again, Steady Eddie when the rest of the team started crapping themselves. 18 PTS and 6 RB (including 4 huge ORB) doesn’t tell the story of how he continually stepped up on both sides of the ball. He’s the yin to Grevis’s yang. Landon is such a tweener that I didn’t think that he had a lot of pro upside coming into this season, but the more of these clutch ACC games he has, the more looks he’s going to get from teams that have a need at the small forward position. That is how well Milbourne is playing right now.
I’ve said before that Jordan Williams is the missing piece to the Terps puzzle for success, and this game just proved the point. With Williams (14 PTS, 7/11 FG, 6 RB, 2 blocks) in the game, Maryland looked confident in their sets, and they were able to work the ball inside out against a couple of big dudes from Florida State. Without him, the front court looked small and disorganized. How high is Williams’s upside? I the Terps will be his show by next season. Reports are that he is a humble hard worker that likes to learn. If he can continue to learn and hit the gym to chisel that big frame, I can see Williams becoming a first round NBA draft pick in a few years.

It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win is a win is a win. The team turned it around in the second half and started shooting the ball very well. That should bode well for this Sunday’s game against UNC.