Isn’t it great to be back at work?!?! Ahhhh, the smell of the grindstone on my delicate nose skin! I wish every day was the Tuesday after a three-day weekend.

If you’re one of those ne’er-do-wells who didn’t spend the July 4 recess in front of one or more information rectangles, I will now inform you that Maryland alum Steve Blake agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Lakers Friday for a crisp $16 million over four years. This is good for Blake because the Lakers have gained something of a reputation for doing good at basketball. It’s good for the Lakers because he’ll be a rock-solid backup for Derek Fisher and probably spells the end of significant PT for Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. And if that wasn’t enough, Blake has the Ron Artest Seal of Approval. We all win here.

It’s interesting to look back on how the 2002 Terps have fared at the highest level of hoops. Juan Dixon had his moments in the NBA, but currently is playing overseas — or at least he was until he tested positive for performance enhancers (he’s now awaiting an eligibility ruling). Lonny Baxter played sparingly over four seasons and was out of the league by mid-decade — perhaps the biggest pro disappointment of the group. Byron Mouton, Ryan Randle, Tahj Holden, and Drew Nicholas never broke in. Chris Wilcox, who cut the most tantalizing NBA profile, just exercised a $3 million option to remain with the Detroit Pistons for another season.  It’s been a solid run for Wilcox, but his 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 34 games last season didn’t exactly light up the phones in Joe Dumars’ office, and represent his lowest and second-lowest averages in those respective categories since his rookie campaign.

For comparison’s sake, here are the career stats of the four players who spent time in the NBA after the Terps’ 2002 championship:

Steve Blake:   499 games, 25.7 mpg, 7.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.46 TOs
Chris Wilcox:  482 games, 21.1 mpg, 9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.24 TOs
Juan Dixon:  436 games, 19.5 mpg, 8.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.27 TOs
Lonny Baxter:  162 games, 11.6 mpg, 3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.67 TOs 

Where Wilcox never quite converted his potential, Blake has developed his niche as a steady floor general who garners respect through good old-fashioned sweat and guts (an image underscored by his penchant for working out with UFC fighters). He had a clean 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio last year and hits 40 percent from three. If that’s not a championship-caliber backup point guard, then…well, whatever, he’s a championship-caliber backup point guard. Here’s hoping he gets a ring in L.A. He’s earned it.

For old time's sake

In a rematch of Maryland’s championship game, the Terps play the Hoosiers tonight in Bloomington.  It starts at 7:30 on ESPN2.

What does Maryland have to do to win?  Get Vasquez to make shots, get the young bigs to stop bucking. I might suggest lithium and oats, respectively. And that’s about it. Oh, and you know that oval-shaped line they draw around the lane? Shots are worth more if you’re standing behind that. So it might be good to try and get a few of those and — more importantly — stop the other team from getting too many.

Hey, remember Maurice Creek? From Maryland, Terps wanted him but didn’t get him? He’s the top guy for Indiana now. He’s a big-time shooter…so yeah. They’ll need to guard him.

Those are a few specifics, but in general, Maryland needs to stop waiting until garbage time to play well. Hopefully a players-only meeting that went down after the Owie in Maui will help. (The meeting apparently was called by Landon Milbourne, who may be emerging as a leader on this team).

Maryland should handle the Hoosiers tonight. But should is a funny, funny, funnnnnnny word.

The Atlanta Hawks cut Juan Dixon yesterday. Please! A moment of silence.

The move is not entirely unexpected, as the Hawks already had Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, Mo Evans, Mario West, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, Dave Spiwack, World B. Free, John Havlicek, Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez and Donnie Wahlberg at the guard positions. That’s some serious small ball, but I bet they could put Rosie on the block if they had to. Don’t kid yourself. She has a big rack. Juan did average a respectable 9 points in three preseason games.

The NBA season starts next Tuesday. I’m guessing Juan signs with another team after an injury or something during the season. He’s not an All Star, but he’s definitely serviceable. I’ve always thought he would be a good fit on a veteran contender-type team that valued character guys and could use an offensive spark off the bench. Perhaps a team whose name rhymes with Shman Anshmonio. But if he has played his last NBA game, that’d be eight seasons in the league. He could’ve done a lot worse.

You know you want to sign him.

Juan Dixon, who averaged 5.2 points and 2.4 assists per game last season with the Washington Wizards, is still an unsigned free agent as NBA training camps get underway. He’s in Atlanta now and is apparently a long shot to make the team. I hate to say it, but this could be the end of the NBA line for the greatest player in Maryland basketball history.

Juan’s numbers were down last year from his career averages, mainly due to nagging injuries, the coaches’ insistence on playing him at the one, and the general sucking tar pit that was the 2008-2009 Washington Wizards. I think he could still provide instant offense off the bench for a good team, but he’s no spring chicken any more (31 in October, Jesus, I’m old) and I’m not sure if he’ll get that shot. We’ll keep an eye on this and see if anything materializes. Best of luck to him.

(Image credit: NBA.com)

Good news this morning, as the Washington Wizards announced they’ve signed Juan Dixon, the greatest Terp to ever wear the uniform. Welcome home, Juan!

The one-year, $1.03 million deal (a.k.a., the absolute minimum an NBA veteran can make) comes after Dixon, a Baltimore native, was initially drafted by the Wizards, then had stints in Toronto, Portland, and Detroit. If the Wizards hadn’t signed him, he was probably on his way out of the league.

The move is unquestionably designed to put some extra Terps hindquarters in Verizon Center seats this season — it’s a move Susan O’Malley would have been proud of (although that’s not necessarily a compliment). But the move isn’t just cheap cosmetics. With Gilbert Arenas out until God knows when, this gives the Wiz some instant scoring off the bench from the guard position. So he’s undersized. So what? You bring him off the bench, he hits two threes, he swings the momentum, he sits back down. He’s Vinny “The Microwave” Johnson. Who doesn’t need a guy like that?

Juan and his wife are heading back to D.C.

But in any case, I’m just happy to see Juan still in an NBA uniform, and for the hometown team no less. It’s good to have him back.

(Top photo from the Washington Post)