The Vasquez shot, via D.C. Sports Bog:
A good solid nine minutes of grainy riot video (NSFW, unless your colleagues are sailors):
My favorite: Jordan Williams CRUSHING Jon “A twig has a better chance in the middle of a river” Scheyer
On March 4, 2010, In Maryland sports, By Scott
On March 4, 2010, In Maryland sports, By Scott
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)
On March 3, 2010, In Maryland sports, By Ian
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.
On December 3, 2009, In Maryland sports, By Ian
All throughout the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the announcers made it a point to repeatedly highlight the fact that Duke is the only team to have a perfect record. That perfect record is no more after #5 Duke’s 73-69 loss to Wisconsin last night. As an ACC fan I’m technically not supposed to be rooting for a Big Ten team but, hey, f*ck Duke.
A positive aspect of the Wisconsin win over Duke, from a Terps perspective, is that it makes Wisconsin look more legit. Maryland’s loss to Wisconsin in Maui doesn’t look half bad now. When Maryland is on the bubble at the end of the year, the media will struggle to tag that game as a “bad loss” for the Terps because everyone knows that only great teams can beat the Blue Devils. Cincinnati was unranked when we lost to them, but they’re now at #22 in the polls. The Terps slow start may not have been as dire as it seemed.
I’m still bracing for impact against Villanova this weekend. They are a good team that is playing with a chip on their shoulder from last year.
Go Terps!
On October 6, 2009, In Maryland sports, By Scott
During the Clemson game, Demetrius Hartsfield, the least-heralded of the Terps’ linebackers, quietly began to rack up tackle after tackle. And I thought to myself, nice I’m gonna write down his name and post about him dude you are such a keen observer of the game I can’t believe it you’re so smart. But then, Demetrius kind of outkicked the coverage on me; his performance went from quietly strong to loudly strong. Like deafening.
The final stat line for this Raleigh, N.C. product (he turned down Duke to come to Maryland…yay, f*ck Duke!) includes 10 tackles (eight of them solo and 2.5 of them for a loss), one sack, one fumble recovered. And as the game approached its finale, he only got bigger: four of his tackles came in the final quarter. And of course, it all culminated when Hartsfield, with 27 seconds left, sacked Clemson QB Kyle Parker, forcing and then recovering a fumble to seal the victory.
The accolades have been pouring in, and rightly so. He’s the first defensive player this season to be named ACC Rookie of the Week. No one less than Lou Holtz gave Hartsfield a “helmet sticker” during ESPN’s college football show. It’s all well-deserved, but what about me? I was ready to tout the untouted guy. It’s just bad luck, is what it is.
I always figured Alex Wujciak would emerge as this year’s top dog and/or Next Great Maryland Linebacker, and if not him, then Adrien Moten probably had the next-best shot. And don’t get me wrong…Wujciak is a warrior. All accounts are that he hobbles around like Earl Campbell during the week but always brings it on game days. You can’t knock a guy like that. But the unit needed more than just a stopper — they needed a game changer. And on Saturday, that’s what they got — literally — from Demetrius Hartsfield. We’ll see if he can keep it rolling against Wake.
(Photo credit: Rivals.com)
On September 27, 2009, In Maryland sports, By Scott
Let me just state the obvious. Forget about contending. Forget about a bowl game. Forget about respectability. After a 34-13 drubbing at home to Rutgers, maybe the Terps need some new, slightly more modest goals. How about mediocrity?
But before that, the game. At this point, it’s clear this is not a good team. I know, I know…this limb’s gonna snap!!! But seriously, their problems seem more intractable each week. Saying this team would be good “if they just stopped committing turnovers” is like saying the alcoholic would get better if he just stopped drinking; it’s obvious there are deeper demons after five more giveaways yesterday. Da’Rel Scott, for whatever reason, suddenly can’t hold on to the football. Chris Turner made some horrific decisions. And of course, there’s the pitiful O-line, which caused the almost comically awful play in the Terp end zone when Turner tried to throw it away to avoid a safety but instead just dribbled it onto the turf. Touchdown Rutgers.
The defense just plain sucks right now. Alex Wujciak, the unit’s leader, got 17 tackles and played well, but made no tackles for loss and forced no turnovers. That sums up the unit: they just don’t make plays. Just the opposite, in fact; they’re extraordinarily susceptible to big plays, as evidenced by Joe Martinek’s late TD runs of 29 and 61 yards to ice the game.
Torrey “Darrius Heyward-Bey” Smith continued his great but baffling play, finishing with 237 total yards but fading out of the offense in the second half. They’ve gotta get him the ball. I repeat: they have got to get him the ball. Don’t overthink it. Ride him into the ground.
I’ll stop there with the criticisms. Now, back to the goals. Since, for all intents and purposes, we’re playing for pride now, let’s do just that. Here’s a bold new goal: let’s try to not be the ACC’s worst team. The conference is weak. Duke and UVA should be Ws, right? Right? Bueller?
Final thought: it looks bleak, but I’m not taking up the torch and pitchfork yet. We’ve still got some eminently beatable teams on the schedule, and in the weak-as-my-grandmama ACC, much is possible. If the Terps, knowing they’re not gonna contend, can just keep their heads up and claw their way back to the pack, it won’t be a lost season. If nothing else, they’ve gotta beat Duke. It’s so important to have goals! Even if you have to change them all the time.
On July 2, 2009, In Maryland sports, By Scott
From the pages of the obvious files, former Terp recruiting target Lance Stephenson has chosen Cincinnati. It’s not unlike the day that peanut butter chose jelly, that Amy chose Blake, that Hall chose Oates…looking back the whole thing seemed scripted. The talented-but-troubled blah blah blah picked the school with the history of thuggery, low graduation rates, me-first play, etc. Although if Kenyon Martin hadn’t broken his leg that year at Cincy, the Bearcats were going all the way. That team was STACKED.
But, well, this team isn’t. Probably one of the reasons why they don’t care about his sexual abuse scandal. Hell, Lance, they’re gonna throw in a few of those special massage ladies for you. Go to town, baby…they’re on retainer and they don’t have green cards. If you could just close your door there first, that’d be great. See no evil and all. Or leave it open. That’s cool, too. Whatever you want, Lance. Hey, if you get bored later I’ve got some fingerprint-resistant tire irons in my trunk. Neat stuff, right? Where do they come up with these ideas?
Seriously, though, good luck to Lance at Cincinnati and in his future pro career with the Oakland Raiders.
Before I go, also from the obvious files, did you know that Dookies are boy lovers? I know…news flash! Offended? Have J.J. write a poem about it.
Happy 4th!
