It's like a looking glass, but more bubbly.

It didn’t have to come to this.  The warning signs were there.  Maui Invitational: bad history.  Nova: guaranteed loss.  William and Mary: trap game.  Hang a left, Maryland, HANG A LEFT!  Can a Gary Williams coached team ever steer itself to safety?  Can they ever find breathing room?  Not in the aughts they can’t.

So here they are at 9-4, unmentioned in the rankings and barely televised so far this year.  I mean, they’re not even on TV in Northern Virginia.  I live 30 min from College Park and have to drive over the border to see a game.  Entering Atlantic Coast Conference play in 2010, the Terps have dropped off the radar.  But fear not Turtle fans.  There is still hope that this team can turn it around.  Damage has been done, but the season is still young.  Here is a brief analysis of the schedule, and some trends to look for in Two Aught Ten.

Schedule - I’m not going to sugarcoat this, the schedule is tough.  It’s really, really tough.  The Testudo Times put up a post on how the national bracketology pollsters are already counting the Terps out.  Luckily, the national pollsters are usually about as accurate as the Farmer’s Almanac is on whether or not we’ll get a big dose of Kentucky Windage next summer.

Let’s do the math.  20 regular season wins is usually the Big Dance requirement for victories for major conference teams, almost akin to how seven wins gets you a bowl game.  Maryland has 9 wins to its credit.  20 – 9 = 11 wins to go.

The Terps have 17 games left in 2010.  There are currently five ranked teams in the ACC – Duke #5, UNC #9, Georgia Tech #17, Florida State #19, and Clemson #21.  Guess what?  The Terps play three of those five teams twice!  That’s 8 0f 17 remaining games against ranked opponents.  Let’s assume that Maryland can win three of those games.  They’ll steal one from Duke, and they should win the home games against Clemson and Georgia Tech.  I’m assuming the Terps will lose both games against Florida State because they seem to have Maryland’s number.  That would put the Terps at twelve wins with three wins against ranked teams, meaning they’d have to win the seven of the remaining eight games on the scheudle against the rest of the ACC and a late season breather against Longwood College.  The result is that it’s possible for the Terps to get in, but there is NO margin for error.

There are some reasons for hope going forward.

Greivis has his groove back - Vasquez averages through the first eight games: 12.8 pts/gm, 4.1 rb/gm, 5.9 ast/gm, 4 TO/gm, 32% FG, 28% 3PT.  Vasquez averages through the last five games: 24.6 pts/gm, 6.4 rb/gm, 6.6 ast/gm, 2 TO/gm, 55% FG, 41% 3PT.  The most encouraging signs here are his increased shooting percentages, but the numbers are way up all around.  As Greivis goes, so go the Terps.  If he can continue this high level of play, then Maryland should be able to make a run at another 20-win season.

Exit Jin Soo Choi - Choi played in nine games in 2010.  He averaged 5 min/gm, 0.8 pts/gm, 1.1 rb/gm, and .8 fouls/gm.  That’s the equivalent of five minutes of playing four-on-five basketball every time he was on the court.

Enter Dino Gregory - One good game does not a trend make, but Dino Gregory seemed to have found his legs against UNC Greensboro in an 11 pt, 8 rb, 2 block performance.  As a former big guy, I can tell you that sometimes it takes a game against an undersized team for you to get your confidence in the paint back.  As Dino’s quality minutes rise, so will Maryland’s presence in the post.

The Best is Yet to Come from Sean Mosley - There is a lot of upside left for Sean Mosley in 2010.  Astonishingly, Mosley is only taking eight shots per game so far this year even though he’s shooting over 60% from the field.  Digest that for a second.  Maryland has a two guard that is shooting 60%+ on the year, and he’s barely taking shots.  Many Terps fans and pundits, including this blog, predicted that this would be the Year of Mosley.  I believe it still will be.

Does Maryland face a tough task in returning to the NCAA Tournament this year?  Of course.  Is that news to anyone?  Of course not.   Rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated.  The Terps have been a bubble team from the beginning, and they will be until the end of the year.  What else would you expect from a Gary Williams team in the aughts?

The Baltimore Sun has the story (via the Korea Times). Jin Soo Choi is leaving Maryland.

According to the story, Choi was having difficulty managing basketball and academics — all while having a fairly tenuous grasp on the native language. Understandable. Funny, though, how these difficulties didn’t boil over until Choi found himself in Gary Williams’ doghouse. And make no mistake — poor Jin was receiving mail in that son of a gun.  Just how far he had fallen became evident after Sunday’s UNC Greensboro blowout, in which walk-on Ersin Levent logged more playing time than Choi (five minutes to four).

The reasons for Choi’s exile probably had something to do with the fact that Choi, a vaunted shooter, almost never actually shot the ball when he got it, and when he did shoot, almost never hoisted up something that could be labeled non-errant. And forget about playing inside. Despite standing 6′7″, Choi would’ve had trouble posting up a used wrapping paper tube.  Not a lot of meat on the bones there, if you get my drift.  Not a lot of lead in the shoes. This season, Choi had averaged 0.8 points on 2-9 shooting in 5 mpg.  So while it would mean one less body on the pine, I’m not sure Maryland’s bench will be any more affected by Choi’s absence than it was by his presence.

The loss of Choi’s game, though, will probably be far less lamented among Maryland fans than his cult status.  As you may have heard one or eleventy million times, Choi was the first Korean hooper to land a D-1 scholarship. He was a favorite on the court and on campus, where he rode around on a large blue ox named Babe. One time, he was at this party, right, and someone had built this machine that could drive railroad spikes into the ground really fast — so fast, the inventor claimed, that it could outpace any man. But that very night, Jin Soo Choi saw to it that claim was disavowed forever. For truly, Jin Soo Choi was a steel-drivin’ man.

In any case, if he is in fact leaving, here’s wishing him the best. I’m sure we’ll see him at some FIBA tourney, or something like that, down the road. This could also free up another scholarship for the Terps. That would be useful. Win-win? We’ll see.  Until then, we’ll always have the railroad.

With forward/center Dino Gregory returning to action this Saturday against Eastern Kentucky after being suspended for some academic violation, speculation is heating up on how he might be used and how he might contribute in the Terps’ lineup.

Here’s what it basically boils down to, OK? You can only have five players on the court at one time, right. So they’re gonna need to figure out whether they want to bench somebody to make room for Dino in the starting lineup. They could bench most consistent player Landon Milbourne (negative), maddening but most talented player Vasquez (negatory), or rock solid player Eric Hayes (negarino).

So that leaves Jordan Williams. Either he’ll be benched for Dino or Dino himself will sub in.

I think I have solved this mystery. The smoking gun is a quote from Gary Williams given after the Villanova game. Let’s go to the block quotes:

“We’re supposed to get Dino Gregory back by the 12th, according to the powers that be. We look forward to that, to him playing in our next game. He’ll give us more depth, more size on the inside. He’s a very good defensive player, a good rebounder, and we need that.”

Depth. See that? Dino will give us “depth.” If he had said “he’ll give us a more consistent presence inside,” or “he gives us more experience inside,” or “he’s going to give us more scoring on the inside,” then I’d say that Jordan Williams’ starting spot was in jeopardy. But he said none of those things. So to me, it doesn’t matter if Jordan Williams is green, or forest green, or lime green, or seafoam green. He’s gonna remain the starter. As the saying goes, you can’t teach six-ten. And Jordan just had his best game as a Terp, posting 19 points and 12 boards against Nova. Not to mention that Gary said after the game that Jordan was “a man.”

So what would Dino give us off the bench? Just hustle and rebounding and hustle and defense, along with his purportedly improved offensive game. Sounds like a pretty doggone good sixth man to me. Especially when you consider that our bench, to be frank, seems to be made of balsa wood and Bubble Yum up to this point. In 11.1 average minutes per player per game, the Padgett/Choi/Tucker/Bowie/Goins smorgasboard is averaging 3.14 points, 1.92 rebounds, and a crisp 0.74 assists per game. That is not very good. And a couple of them seem to have some between-the-ears issues that anything-for-the-team Gregory could help rectify.

All in all, the bench needs some buttressing, stat. And that’s where Dino fits.

Maryland’s 95-86 loss to #3 Villanova last night was more disappointing than I thought it would be. While the smart money was never on a Terps W, they were really hanging with Nova, and an A-game effort could have netted the upset. But it wasn’t to be. To the points:

1. It’s a broken record for this team. They only play well when the pressure is off. Pressure back on, they cinch up again. Why does this team NEED to be the underdog? Where’s all this heart I keep hearing about? They will need to break a few serves in ACC play if they want to make the tourney.
2. The pivotal stretch came with about 14 minutes left. Hayes cut the lead to three, and we had three straight possessions to try and get it down to one or tie it. But they slopped it up all three times and couldn’t do it. Airways were checked and cleared, but it was too late.
3. Vasquez’s “slow start” has now morphed into blatant underperformance. He’s now shooting 32 percent on the season. Here he finished 3-9, including two misses in the aforementioned crucial stretch. He added 7 assts, but committed 7 turnovers and 5 fouls.
4. I’m not in Vasquez’s brain, but from the comfy armchair in my basement, it seems he ups the degree of difficulty on every play for no discernible reason. He’ll barrell into the lane, draw double coverage, leap into the air, look one way, careen off balance, then float a no-look soap bubble over to an unsuspecting (and guarded) teammate. Dude: just send a bounce pass next time.
5. Villanova finished with 16 made threes — one short of the school record. Maryland switched to zone and cooled them off in the second half (first half they hit 11 of 22), but the word is out: the three-point shot is available against the Terps.
6. It came against a lineup heavy on guards and missing its top post player, but Jordan Williams’ 19-and-12 (including 9-13 FT) effort was his best as a Terp.
7. Nova forward Antonio Pena did a good job shutting down Landon Milbourne.
8. No one did a good job shutting down Sean Mosely. That guy is getting better every game and it’s fun to watch.
9. Congratulations to Jin Soo Choi for coaxing in a wide-open layup — his first field goal of the season. Dino Who?
10. Another year, another disappointing non-conference record. Here’s hoping they take care of business against Eastern Kentucky, Winston-Salem State, Florida Atlantic, William and Mary, and UNC Greensboro. It sucks that I even have to hope that.

(Photo Credit: Tracy A. ”Bob’s Daughter?” Woodward/the Washington Post Photo)

1. Vasquez led all scorers with 23, which is great.  Still, 7 points came on garbage time FTs and he only shot 4-14.  But hey, feel free to proceed with the parade as planned.
2. At halftime, Bill Raftery called Vasquez’s play ”solid,” and said he wasn’t “forcing the issue.”  Totally spot on.  In other news, it’s opposite day.
3. Landon Milbourne (8-11 for 19 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks) is our best player so far.
4. Could we run more stuff for Eric Hayes?   He’s in rhythm right now, especially off the curl.
5. IU guard Jeremiah Rivers (Doc’s son and a Georgetown transfer) is a nice player.
6. In Dino Gregory’s absence, Jin Soo Choi had an opportunity.  He has not capitalized on that opportunity. 
7. Perimeter defense greatly improved after they went to the zone.
8. James Padgett had as many fouls as he had points and rebounds combined (3). 
9. As with Cincy, we missed a lot of bunnies.  That’s gotta get corrected.  It was more understandable against the imposing Bearcats.
10. Closer than the final score indicates, but still a decent road win, and a good team win.  

(Photo Credit: Darron Cummings/Associated Press, via the Washington Post)

So the Cincinnati Bearcats handled the Terps 69-57 tonight in the first real test for either team. Based on several requests (and by “several” I mean “one”), I’m providing a recap in bullet points. It’s the bloggy thing to do.

• I’m eating some crow over Lance Stephenson. Not a game MVP, and still a headcase imho, but a natural on the court. Crow isn’t bad anyway…it’s just oily. Whatever. It was free, and I’m drunk.
• My keen basketball instincts cited potential trouble when we only scored 18 points in the first half. Scoring points is one of Tim McCarver’s Keys to Victory.
• Not easy for a 6′10″ guy and a 6′8″ guy to look small, but Jordan Williams and James Padgett did tonight against The Human Volkswagens, aka Yancy Gates and Steve Toyloy.
• Lid still on the bucket for Vasquez (5-17 fg). We can’t beat good teams like that.
• Jin Soo Choi: If you get an open look, just shoot.
• James Padgett: Starting tomorrow, please take 200 free throws after every practice. Thanks so much.
• They seemed physically bigger than us at every position except point guard.
• Defense was generally good, but the press was broken regularly and we seemed hesitant to get in the way once they got a head of steam toward the basket.
• We missed a lot of bunnies.
• Cincinnati is no joke.
• Rugged play seems to give the Terps the yips.
• I bet both teams win their final game in Maui.

Listening to the Terps’ 75-54 exhibition win last night over the mighty Crimson Hawks of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, you never would have guessed that Maryland had, or ever had, anyone on their roster named Dino Gregory.  And that’s noteworthy why, you ask?  Quit bothering you with this stupid exhibition bullcrap, you say? Well, hold on to your hats; this is curious because the Terps do have someone who goes by that name. Look, here he is. And what’s more, he was supposedly the team’s fifth starter entering the season.

So why did Gregory not only not play, but have his very existence expunged from the broadcast as if he were a “Fire Snyder” sign at a Redskins tailgate? Well, now we have our answer. Actually, some people were informed minutes before the game. But I was not. For I have no access, you see.

But now that I’m informed and fully awake, I’m going to be serious for a second here.  Gregory was suspended and barred from Comcast Center last night because of some previous team violations (alleged to be academic misconduct) that have yet to be resolved. The school isn’t commenting, citing privacy rules. This is not boding well. This could mean significant lost time for Dino.

If Gregory does miss real games, it would not be the first time for a Maryland athlete. Maryland QB Josh Portis was caught cheating, had to sit out the 2007 season, and never recovered. He transferred. And of course, in January 2006, Maryland guard Chris McCray was deemed ineligible for the rest of his senior season. This wasn’t some reserve who dropped off the radar; this was a big gaffe. He was the team’s leading scorer and they ended up missing the tournament. Earlier this year, the artist formerly known as Jin Soo Kim was declared academically ineligible before being reinstated a few days later.

This is to say nothing of the Tyree Evans or Gus Gilchrist eligibility fiascoes.

McCray, Kim/Choi, Evans, Gilchrist, Portis, and maybe Gregory. That’s a decent team right there.

I never had the feeling Maryland players and programs weren’t taking school seriously. (Although graduation stats are pretty poor, they’re improving and potentially misleading. But that’s another post.) But it seems fair to ask whether there is a disconnect somewhere. Isn’t someone accountable for making sure players know the rules and get their butts to class? It seems like someone keeps dropping the ball when it comes to making sure players understand expectations (and consequences). And it seems like this stuff happens at Maryland more than other schools. Is that just me? Either way, how many more times do players need to lose eligibility because of some ultimately silly mistake before we stop shooting ourselves in the foot?

By now, many fans know the legend of Korean Jin Soon Choi.  Unless, of course, you live in North Korea. Or inside a burlap sack.  A  beautiful, glorious burlap sack.  Either way.

He is the artist formerly known as Jin Soo Kim.  He is the first Korean to play in Division I and in the NCAA tournament.  And he is probably the most celebrated and enigmatic non-Vasquez personality on the Maryland basketball team.

The 6′8″ Choi, who spent some of the offseason playing for Korea in the FIBA Asia championship (they finished seventh), committed to Maryland in 2007 after Gary Williams watched one workout and made him an offer on the spot. Choi once allegedly hit 17 of 20 threes in a workout, and has drawn comparisions to Reggie Miller and Dirk Nowitzki (the latter from Williams himself).  He’s quick for his size and has good handle, but his big weapon is that long-distance stroke. The Terps haven’t had a money-in-the-bank perimeter shooter since Drew Nicholas (or maybe Mike Jones, if you’re feeling charitable), and this squad, so heavy on penetrators, could use a sniper to loosen up opposing defenses.

Jin Soo has basically been a folk hero at Maryland since he first set foot on the court. The big blue ox he rides around the campus also helps, as does his willingness to challenge any machine who would seek to supplant the works of man. Whenever Choi got into a game last season, the crowd went wild.  He blocked a shot once and I thought Comcast Center was going to shoot into orbit.  Unfortunately, though, his stats aren’t quite as eye-catching as his back story; in 6.5 mpg last year, Choi shot 24 percent from three and 29 percent overall.  This year, in the team’s second scrimmage, he netted two boards and zero points on 0-6 shooting in 32 minutes, prompting Gary Williams to opine thusly:

It’s got to be more than a jump shot…it’s got to be a complete game. You have to bust your butt on the defensive end of the court. You have to be a good passer at that three position that he’s playing right now.

So basically, the guy camps out behind the three-point line and that’s about it.  With so many guys having a legit shot at PT this year, especially in the wing spots, that’s just not gonna get er done.  He did a little better in the first scrimmage — 3-10 for 10 points, five boards, two steals — but still not setting the world on fire.

Now, clearly, Choi’s case is more complicated than others.  He moved to the U.S. when he was 14, and has a lot to overcome. His English remains limited, and he calls academics his biggest challenge so far in the states.  He does have family nearby, including a brother who graduated from Maryland in 1999, but I can only imagine that this continues to be a huge transition, on and off the court. Off the court is self-explanatory. On the court, he simply seems uncomfortable against D-1’s stronger, tougher players, none of whom look like, act like, or, uh, share any discernible cultural attributes with him. 

This adjustment could take years, if it ever happens. Fortunately, on the court, there may be a relatively easy solution. Choi needs to bulk up.  A lot.  He needs to be, like, frying Snicker’s bars in bacon grease.  Gary should hire a nagging Jewish mother to follow him around:  “Jin Soo, eat something!  Why don’t you take a little bread with that?  You’re skin and bones!”   A little more mass would give him confidence and reduce his getting-pushed-around quotient.  Choi apparently has added muscle and is up into the 200 lb. range, but he’s gotta keep it up.  No one expects Charles Barkley, but when you’re 6′8″ and you’re gonna play the three, you can’t be all reedy like that.

I think coaching also plays a large role for Choi.  Hopefully they’re helping him with more than just learning the offense or explaining the definition of ”pick and roll.” There’s psychology at work here.  Hopefully they’re helping Choi feel more included and comfortable around his teammates, which ultimately translates into more confidence in the face of his opponents.  It’s not that Choi plays scared.  It’s just that when you grew up on the other side of the world, anything that can help you feel more at home is gonna be welcome.  I know I’m not saying anything the coaching staff doesn’t already know.

Bottom line:  if we can develop him in a meaningful way, we’ve got a player. Otherwise, he’s in danger of becoming a sideline novelty.

(Photo credit: UMTerps.com)

Don't call him Kim

New name, yes. New player, no. Forward Jin Soo Kim has changed his name to Jin Soo Choi to honor the stepfather who raised him. Possibly also because Kim is, like, a girly name for girls.

Either way, it looks like I fooled you with my clever headline. Heh. Although I think that depleted all of my Monday energy. I’m going home to take a soak. goterps.

(Photo credit: The Baltimore Sun)