Welp. So much for the road to the ACC title. Thanks for the jinx, Stu.

These conference tournaments are strange, strange animals.  No other setting lends itself more readily to games like tonight’s, with one team thrashing for its life like a drowning victim while the other team drifts by in an inflatable duck.  In the second half, Maryland discarded the duck to fight back from 16 down to get within a basket, but Georgia Tech managed to overcome their panic this time and pull it out somehow, 69-64.  

In winning, Tech punches its dance card for next week’s tournament.  Maryland succumbs to the same upset bug that infected Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Florida State. Credit where it’s due:  the Jackets came to play.  Plenty of people speculated that GT was quitting on their coach.  Didn’t happen.  They outrebounded Maryland 38-28. They shot a ridiculous 67 percent from three. Iman Shumpert played brilliant defense on Greivis Vasquez, culminating with a quick-handed strip that prevented the ACC player of the year (6-21 shooting on the night) from getting off the potentially game-winning shot. Add in 14 points and four assists, and Shumpert’s your Paris Hilton Honorary No-Brainer Player of the Game.

Still, it’s not like Georgia Tech suddenly became a different team. It was the same song and dance for GT…world beaters one minute, you-know-what beaters the next. After watching Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal, and Zach Peacock dominate the boards in the first ten minutes, then watching their only player over 6′7″ get in early foul trouble, Maryland seemed to essentially cede the painted ground in favor or more ball pressure. Six scant minutes into the second half, Georgia Tech had committed 10 turnovers. It’s not hard to understand the frustration GT fans have with head coach Paul Hewitt. The Jackets lost the ability to cleanly inbound the basketball, and it took a REALLY long time for them to regain that ability. I think in a way, some GT fans were almost hoping for a loss here so there would be a clear-cut reason to fire Hewitt and start fresh. But it won’t be that simple. Not to say they fans aren’t happy for the win, but…you get what I’m saying.

As for Maryland, they still look good for a fifth or sixth seed. And hey, look on the bright side. This is probably the least-stressful ACC tourney we’ve had in quite a while, and I’ll take it, even with the upset. After all, I’ve got dinner plans this weekend.

(Photo credit: The Baltimore Sun)

/Brings out Dickie V computer-generated language extruder — he’s been dead for 20 years, you know — and presses play:

Yeesssss, time once again to reveal my Dickie V All-Solid Gold Team, baby! It’s awesome, baby! It’s amazing to see so many awesome young guys contributing. In such a positive way. It’s awesome, baby!

Why did these players make my All-Solid Gold Team? Three words: super, scintillating, sensational. They’re PTPers, baby! High risers! The creme de la creme. Numero uno in college basketball. The best of the best. Solid. Gold. Hey! Hey! My first team has seven guys on it! We’re playing in the Dickie V league! Seven on super scintillating seven! I love these guys! It’s awesome, baby! Hey! Hey! Is that a car? I’m gonna chase it, baby! Where’s it going? It’s unbelievable!

/hurriedly stops Dickie V computer program

So here’s his first team:

ALL-SOLID GOLD FIRST TEAM
John Wall, Kentucky
Jon Scheyer, Duke
Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Evan Turner, Ohio State
Wes Johnson, Syracuse

Dickie V’s analysis: “Jon Scheyer and Greivis Vasquez have been the premier PTPers in the ACC.” Yes. Scheyer over James Anderson, huh? Wow. It’s almost as if Dickie V — now stay with me — wants to find reasons to praise Duke. I’m just throwing it out there. It’s like a, a, what’s the word I’m looking for, BIAS. It is almost as if he is biased.

But in any case, with this honor the Greivis Vasquez trophy case is now officially closed. I look forward to seeing the All-Solid Gold Dickie V Head next year at Comcast Center.

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Or what’s a heaven for?”
– Robert Browning

“Two out of three ain’t bad.”
– Meatloaf

I thought these quotes, from two titans of English letters, were a perfect way to lead the post.  Yes, that decision to minor in English has already paid for itself.

The awards are in. One day after making the All-ACC and All-America first teams, Greivis Vasqeuz has been named ACC Player of the Year. Vasquez earned 39 votes in the balloting, Jon Scheyer got 12 votes, and Malcolm Delaney got two. No Carolina bias there.

Vasquez is breathing some rarefied air now, as he’s only the fifth Terp to win the award, behind Juan Dixon, Len Bias (1985 and 1986), Albert King (1980), and Joe Smith (1995). So go ahead and etch his likeness into Mount Terpmore, and I shall genuflect before it. For truly is Greivis Vasquez one of the greatest Maryland ballers of all time.

In somewhat far less surprising but no less terrific news, Gary Williams has been named ACC Coach of the Year for the second time.

These are the first such honors for Maryland since the 2001-2002 championship season. Dixon won POY that year and Gary got COY.

Think about that for a second.

Serious kudos also go out to Jordan Williams, who finished second in the ACC Rookie of the Year vote behind Georgia Tech phenom Derrick Favors. As previously noted, Jordan’s a winner here just for being in the ROY conversation with that monster.

So the sweep has eluded us. But no matter. These are all huge accomplishments.

Let’s see if they can get four out of five when the ACC tourney kicks off this weekend.  Here’s hoping these are just the first great memories from this postseason.

As you know, Maryland is your regular season ACC co-champ. But with March just underway, and with last night’s Oscars still fresh in our minds (btw, Hurt Locker=overrated), we’re just getting the trophy case warmed up. There are several other ACC awards–team and individual–up for grabs this week.  And this year’s awards season may be extra exciting.   Perhaps even, dare I say, history making.  Because the Terps may be poised to pull off the clean sweep.

The ACC’s major individual awards are player of the year, coach of the year, and rookie of the year. Agreed? Great. The major team honors, of course, are regular season and tournament champs. Winning all five of these awards would be an unprecedented accomplishment. Before ROY was established in 1976, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Duke all swept the ACC tourney, COY, and POY. But since ‘76, the brooms have remained in the closet. Several teams have gotten within one; the last team to do so was the 1999-2000 Blue Devils, who were thwarted by Joe Forte(!) nabbing ROY.

But this week, the Terps have a decent chance to get it done, although it won’t be easy, especially because voters are involved. Let’s analyze their chances, starting with the highest probability of success:

Regular Season Title 

Check.  Doesn’t get much more high-probability than this.

Coach of the Year

The official ACC preseason media poll had Maryland finishing fifth. They finished tied for first. No one had them even sniffing the national top 25. As of today, they are in the top 20. The team was shaky early but righted the ship and tore through the ACC.  Their offense has improved.  Their defense has massively improved.  Under Williams’ tutelage, top player Greivis Vasquez has vanquished various demons to flourish in his senior season. Jordan Williams went from afterthought to ROY candidate (more on him below). If you have a better option for ACC coach of the year, I’m dying to hear it.

Player of the Year

Grevis Vasquez.  This case has been made many times in many places, so I won’t rehash it. Just look at the numbers, think about how strongly Vasquez and Maryland finished, and it’s clear. Barring a Roy Jones flashback, Vasquez is your 2009-2010 ACC Player of the Year.

ACC Tournament Championship

Unless my name is Helen Mirren, which it’s not (although she’s hot, just to give some credit where it’s due, if not especially relevant), Georgia Tech will be Maryland’s second-round matchup. The Yellow Jackets are surely still “stinging,” if you will, from their “buzz”er beater loss to the Terps, and could use another win to get a stronger position in the NCAA tournament. If the Terps win that one, they’ll likely get either Florida State or Clemson. Interestingly, both teams have won five of their last seven and are projected as eight seeds in the dance. The Noles are probably a better matchup for the Terps. The final opponent is going to be Duke. It just is. So a tough row to hoe, but not prohibitively so. This site gives Maryland a 19.4 percent chance of winning. Sounds about right.

Rookie of the Year

The toughest leg of the gauntlet. Credit Jordan Williams, though, for making this a two-man race, especially considering the other man, Derrick Favors, was on several preseason watch lists for national as well as ACC honors and is an NBA lottery lock whenever he comes out. Williams, by comparison, has played his way into the conversation by gradually evolving into an inside force. In other words, one has underacheived a bit, and one has overacheived. (Not to mention that one of their teams finished 13-3 in the conference and one team finished 7-9.)  To be fair, though, the stats don’t lie, and Favors has a clear (although not necessarily definitive) edge. Favors scores 11.9 ppg, while Williams gets 9.3.  Favors is third in the ACC with 8.4 rebounds per game; Williams is fourth with 8.3. Favors has two blocks per game while Williams has one. In their only head-to-head matchup this season, Favors won the individual battle with a monstrous 21 and 18; Williams finished with a respectable 9 and 12, and, of course, his team won the game. So Favors clearly has the numbers advantage, but Williams is an interesting dark horse because he has overacheived and his team has fared much better. 

So there you have it. As always, only time…will tell. But it seems that Maryland has the best shot to sweep the ACC awards season as any team in recent memory.

(FYI, this article is also posted on Bleacher Report.)

(Photo credit: AP via USA Today)

Let’s be honest. Maryland didn’t have any business winning this game. But the good news is, neither did Virginia. Maybe that’s what made this game so interesting. And by “interesting,” I mean “boring.”

But Maryland pulled it out, 74-68. Just another game permutation this group found a way to solve. That’s why they’re ACC regular season co-champions. To the points:

1. Play of the game: UVA coach Tony Bennett getting teed up while arguing a foul call with 38 seconds left, helping the Terps extend a one-point lead to five. This sums it all up.
2. Player of the game: There’s a senior – Greivis Vasquez? – who really stood out for me today. 23 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 13 points in the final six minutes. The ACC player of the year just keeps on riding.
3. Although the teams ended up with respectable shooting numbers, there were plenty of scoring droughts in this one. In fact, you might say that, until the last eight minutes or so, the whole game was a scoring drought.
4. Maryland: 35 total rebounds, 17 offensive. UVA: 21 total rebounds, four offensive. I don’t care if they’re playing a little league water polo team. I will take that stat and I will like it.
5. This game was sleeeeeepy. For both sides. But when David Pearman pulled out that pillow and literally took a nap on the sideline, I was like, okay, that’s a little excessive.
6. I think Maryland’s malaise is justified, however. We all know about the Snowtorious three games in five days, but after today they’ve now played eight over the past 21 days. That includes the Georgia Tech double buzzer beater, the Virginia Tech three-hour delay double-overtime superjam and beer truck extravaganza, and the nail-biter over Duke on senior night. Think this club needs a break.
7. This is, of course, a lot less amusing if they lose. 
8. Which they might have done, had UVA top player Sylven Landesberg not been suspended right before the game for not living up to his academic obligations or whatever. Sorry Sylven. This can’t be welcome news for the learning centers that bear your name.
9. UVA might also have won if their most clutch player hadn’t been
   Will Sherrill. But I wouldn’t worry about Will. He’s going to make a fine constitutional law professor one day. 
10. It was funny when UVA guard Mustapha Farrakhan missed everything on a three and got the “air-ball!” chant. Plenty of Terp fans in attendance. It was like going to a Steelers game at FedEx Field. The constitutional law debate team must have been playing at the same time. Or maybe Maryland students look for any reason they can to visit a respectable college town. Either way.

See you in the ACC tournament!

(Photo credit: AP photo via The Baltimore Sun)

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:

1. FFFFFF***********CK DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

2. 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.

 

3. 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.

 

4. 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.

 

5. 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.”

 

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

 

7. 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.

 

8. 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.

 

9. 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 –

 

10. ……wait…….for……..it………

 

11. steady. He was very steady.

 

12. 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.

 

13. 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)

(This is the third in a three-part series. For previous parts, click here.)

When Greivis Vasquez signed with Maryland, I remember reading a comment on one of the discussion boards (and this is about verbatim): “Great pickup for Maryland. This guy LOVES to ball and is perfect for Gary Williams’ style. Maryland fans, you’re gonna love him!”

For some reason it stuck with me. Four years later, it’s amazing how right he was. And how wrong.  Jesus, what a long, strange trip it’s been.

In fact, why don’t we take a little walk down Memory Lane here.  There have been enough ups and downs in Vasquez’s collegiate career for an episode of “Behind the Music.” 

Of course, we all remember this team’s time in the desert.  We all remember the Georgia Tech debacle where he shushed his own fans. We all remember him calling Cameron Indoor ”my house“…right before his Terps lost there by 41. We all remember him telling Memphis they couldn’t hang in the ACC…right before his Terps lost by 19.

Perhaps the worst part was that Vasquez didn’t come through in big games. It gave the impression he couldn’t walk his talk. Fans began openly looking forward to a fresh start with new players. He had the honor of being the most hated player in college basketball.

But then a funny thing happened during his senior season. After a slow start, something seemed to snap.  The guy just…grew up.  By Gosh, he learned from his mistakes.  Now he finds himself competing for some very different honors.

When he learned to check his emotions, it made for a more likable person, but more importantly it trained his focus on the court, rather than the stands or the headlines or the NBA scouts.  With his team sitting at 21-7, Vasquez ranks second in the ACC in scoring, first in assists, third in free throws, seventh in steals, sixth in three-point percentage, fourth in assist-turnover ratio, seventh in minutes played, and tenth in field goal percentage (which is amazing for a guard). His team is first in scoring offense and third in field goal percentage defense. If his Terps win tonight, he becomes a lock for ACC player of the year and bolsters his case for national honors as well. He is the only ACC player EVER with 2,000 points, 700 assists, and 600 rebounds.

But there’s more. Remember the rub-it-in three pointer he sank last season at the end of a road win at N.C. State? This year, in the same situation, he pointedly refrained. Compare last year’s inflammatory Duke comments with what he said yesterday about tonight’s rematch with the Devils:

“It’s our last game, our senior night, me, Landon and Eric. Something wrong could happen. I’m not God. I couldn’t tell you anything that’s not in my control. Tomorrow is going to be such a good day just to play basketball. Let’s play some ball.”

And then there are the little feel-good stories, like this, which keep trickling out.

Bottom line: in the span of three months, Vasquez has gone from one of the most hated Terps in history to one of the most loved. He had no one to blame but himself for being hated. He has no one to credit but himself for being loved.

Of course, Maryland fans are taking this opportunity to divide and backbite each other, with Vasquez lovers lining up to tell “the haters” that they are idiots, that they aren’t real fans, that they don’t know anything about basketball, etc. That’s wrong-headed. First, it’s unnecessarily divisive. Clearly, we’re all happy he turned it around. Second, his old shortcomings don’t just magically disappear. It’s like a drug addict getting clean. It’s admirable, it’s impressive, but it doesn’t mean he never used drugs. I wish Terp fans would stop scream-typing at each other and enjoy the rest of this ride. I like to wish for things.

In the meantime, Vasquez will no doubt receive a thunderous ovation tonight, followed by various collegiate honors, followed by his becoming the second Venezuelan to play in the NBA (assuming you count Oscar Torres).

One only hopes there is a deep tournament run in the offing as well. This would, if nothing else, assure Vasquez receives what he deserves:  a spot among the greatest players to wear the Maryland uniform.

Greivis, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m gonna miss you.  Good luck out there tonight.

1. After beating Virginia Tech for the first time in Cassell Coliseum, the Terps will be ranked tomorrow. Finally.
2. 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.
3. To continue a trend, the Terps couldn’t stop physical Hokie center Jeff Allen, who abused them for 25 points and 15 rebounds.
4. 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.
5. 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.
]]> http://shell-games.com/2010/02/a-maryland-virginia-tech-basketball-recap-in-five-easily-digestible-bullet-points/feed/ 2 http://shell-games.com/2010/02/a-maryland-clemson-basketball-recap-in-ten-easily-digestible-bullet-points-2/ http://shell-games.com/2010/02/a-maryland-clemson-basketball-recap-in-ten-easily-digestible-bullet-points-2/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:29:23 +0000 Scott http://shell-games.com/?p=4764

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:

1. 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!!!!!!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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)

]]> http://shell-games.com/2010/02/a-maryland-clemson-basketball-recap-in-ten-easily-digestible-bullet-points-2/feed/ 6 http://shell-games.com/2010/02/vasquez-wins-player-of-the-week-on-planet-earth/ http://shell-games.com/2010/02/vasquez-wins-player-of-the-week-on-planet-earth/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:30:34 +0000 Scott http://shell-games.com/?p=4716

After averaging 25 points, six assists, and six rebounds during a run of three victories in five days, Greivis Vasquez has earned national and ACC player of the week honors.

I’m no Jay Gottlieb, but late February is probably a good time for a college basketball player to be performing in this fashion.

Felicidades senor, and however you say “I hope you keep it up please” in espanol.

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