As the football team gets increasingly left for dead, more and more Terp fans are turning to basketball to soothe their wounded pride.  And after Maryland Madness last weekend, the hoops season is officially underway. The men’s team isn’t getting a ton of respect in the preseason polls, but that’s OK. We’re a better team when we’re undervalued. The women’s team is full of freshmen but are expected to be relatively solid.

Based on the limited knowledge you get from Maryland Madness, both teams looked fine. I watched the coverage on TV, and here are some photographic highlights.
 

Freshman crop of women’s talent was introduced.
 
 Senior Emery Wallace, who is out for the season with injury, did a lengthy sideline interview anyway.  For some reason.   Good evening, Emery. 

Sorry, Jerome.  Nice of the team to give him a spot on the strength and conditioning staff.  He’s a kinesiology major, so this would be a nice feather in his professional cap. 

And now……the head coach of YOUR Maryland Terrapins….oh oh oh OH oh…

  
He got all teary during his speech…he really seems to expect big things this year.

Surprise! Vasquez took the mike. “You’ve all gotta support us no matter what, OK” he said. No, Vasquez. I will agree to no such thing.

Right, basketball. So on the heels of the college b-ball schedule release (check out Maryland’s here — note Villanova, Duke twice, and a possible showdown with Lance Stephenson’s Bearcats on Nov. 24) ESPN puts out a nice little ACC primer/preview today. I was starting to get a little agitated as I read through — no mention of the Terps anywhere! Sean Mosely was listed as the ninth out of 10 “key players” in the conference, and when we get down to the “10 Freshmen We Can’t Wait To See” section, nary a Jordan or James mention to be found! That’s bullcrap, dude. You know what freshman I can’t wait to see, ESPN? Your mama. Your big, stupid, sweatstained, bus-pass-having mama.

But then, what do I see on the righthand side but Jay Bilas’ rankings. And guess who he’s got number three? Let’s take a read:

The Terps had a very good season, but will be better with some bulk and talent inside. Greivis Vasquez is one of the best guards in the country, but his emotional play seems to get more press than his skills. Vasquez is a complete player whom I believe is underrated. Add James Padgett and Jordan Williams to returnees Dino Gregory and Jerome Burney, and Maryland is not playing shorthanded in the paint this year. And no team will outwork this bunch. The Terps should be back to Garyland’s expected standards this season.

Not bad, Jay. You know, for a Dookie. Color me placated.

First, on Saturday the football team lost to BC to wrap up its season the way the mobsters wrapped up that dead fish in “The Godfather.” Meow Mix Bowl, here we come. Despite the crazy ups and downs, the team ended exactly where most people (including us) thought they would — smack in the middle of Mediocre Town. Maybe they can celebrate the season with mashed potato sandwiches and Miller Lite drafts at the Medicore Town Diner, followed by a lecture from Friedgen on the Jimmy Carter presidency. I can already hear the polite applause.

It’s a Sicilian message. It means
“welcome to the Meineke Car Care Bowl.”

So after that, the hoops team follows up a bad loss to Gonzaga with an even worse loss to Georgetown. The Hoyas took a scalpel to the Terps — it was clinical, it was ruthless, and it was humiliating. Outplayed, outcoached, outhustled, outeverythinged. When the Terps were on defense, the Hoyas slashed the interior to ribbons until the Terps packed the middle with a zone, at which point Georgetown simply knocked down open perimeter shots. When the Terps were on offense, the Hoyas screwed down on Vasquez, perhaps figuring that not only is Vasquez the team’s only consistent offensive threat, but that intense pressure was likely to force Vasquez into sloppy mistakes. The final Vasquez line: 2 points, 4 assists, 4 turnovers. But that wasn’t even the worst line of the night. For that, of course, we must go to the frontcourt, where, in 21 minutes of play, Braxton Dupree finished with 6 points, 1 turnover, zero blocks, and zero rebounds. Again, he got 21 minutes. Just FYI, Jerome Burney and Dino Gregory each got 4 rebounds in 8 minutes of play. Draw your own conclusions.

Bottom line: the football season ended with a whimper, and if the basketball team doesn’t treat this weekend as a wake-up call, they may not even get a whimper out before their cold dead carcass hits the hardwood. Better moments could be in store for the hoops team, but if the football team and previous basketball seasons are any indication, another up-and-down campaign will just mean more mashed potato sandwiches real soon. If they’re lucky. Gulp.

Anyway, I’ve said before that the basketball team’s season will come down to Vasquez. And I still believe that. He’s the emotional center of the team and its best overall player (warts and all), and his development as a true two instead of a combo point guard, his mentoring of the young guys, and the keeping down of his own mistakes are crucial to their success.

However, that was probably slightly facile on my part. That’s what comes from drinking paint — the paint is so smooth going down, and the vomiting is visually sublime, but don’t let anyone tell you there isn’t a downside. In any case, everyone knows that the season also hinges on the bigs and their progress. So far, they’ve been underwhelming. We have a slimmed-down Braxton Dupree, but through the first two games he is averaging just 5.5 boards. The Terps were outrebounded by 11 – ELEVEN – by freaking Youngstown State, and only outrebounded Bucknell by three. Holy Jesus.

The fine young lad Patrick Behan led all players in
rebounding with nine when the Terps played Bucknell.

I know he’s young, and it’s very early in the season and all, but at this very second, if you squint really hard at the words “Braxton Dupree,” they look a lot more like the words “Travis Garrison” than the words “Lonny Baxter.” Here’s hoping Braxton can find the intestinal fortitude to capitalize on his talent.

But in the meantime, where does that leave us? Well, how about the bench? In the first two games, Coach Williams seems reluctant to go there: Dupree is averaging 18.5 minutes a game, while sophomore Jerome Burney averages 7.5 and 6′10″ freshman Steve Goins averages 4. I know Burney isn’t Shaq, but he has real athleticism and showed some flashes last year. And Burney doesn’t have to run the triangle offense anyway. Just put him in there and tell him to jump every time he sees a basketball. This great game, it is not rocket science. Burney’s player bio bills him as a “solid shot-blocker and an aggressive rebounder.” Doesn’t that sound like just what the doctor ordered?

Burney’s not scared to mix it up in the middle.

As for Goins, frankly, I have no idea, other than the words “sleeper” and “late bloomer” keep getting thrown around in discussions about him, and rebounding apparently is not an inherent strength.

But why not give both of these guys, especially Burney, more of a look? Isn’t this what the creampuff portion of the schedule is for?

(Photo credits:  The Daily Item, The Baltimore Sun)