28 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

BSL: Terps beat #14 NCST; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
http://baltimorespor...e-bad-the-ugly/

[You Play to Win the Game]

Yeah, 34% just won't cut it most nights, and the crowd wasn't really terribly loud most of the night. They were there in the end though, although I thought rushing the court was a bit overdone there, but oh well - I'm glad the team got to enjoy that nevertheless.

Len was impressive down the stretch. This is something for this team to build on. I thought the offense looked better at times tonight, but by and large was still pretty terrible. It was also disappointing that Aronhalt or Layman couldn't bust the NC State zone later in the game.

Still, quite pleased to beat a very good team down the stretch when they took a 3-point lead with a couple minutes remaining. That showed a lot of poise and determination out of this young Terps team.

SG's stat he showed this morning grows to 1-13 now for NC State in games following a win over Duke or UNC over the last 20 seasons. Glad to contribute to that.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Yep, tough game... ugly offense, but a win over a quality team.

You end the losing streak. The defense is consistently good. The offense can only improve.

As far as rushing the court... seemed forced to me. OTOH, these are always new college students, experiencing this for the first time. If they want to celebrate... more power to them, I guess.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Nice to finally get a "good win" on the resume. This could be huge for us around Selection Sunday.

[BobPhelan]

As far as rushing the court... seemed forced to me. OTOH, these are always new college students, experiencing this for the first time. If they want to celebrate... more power to them, I guess.

I was there in the student section. About 10 seconds before the game ended I said it would be pathetic to rush the court but the place went insane when Len hit that shot. Then I rushed the court with everyone else. Great energy.

[DJ MC]

As I said in the other thread, I think rushing the court was a response to the NC State students this weekend more than anything.

This was just an ugly game, and it's nice to know that this team can struggle against a good team and still win.

[Mike B]

Maryland hung on with good D. It was nice to see Len get real aggressive at the end of the game. Pshon shot the ball too much. I loved the comments of Turgeon after the game. He is not going to let them celebrate long.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I was there in the student section. About 10 seconds before the game ended I said it would be pathetic to rush the court but the place went insane when Len hit that shot. Then I rushed the court with everyone else. Great energy.

Haha, that's awesome. What the hell, why not? If I was there, I def. would have done it.

And DJ's point is a good one, that very well could have been why.

Like I was saying though, taking the lead with .9 left sent that place into a frenzy, so I can understand it from that standpoint.

[SportsGuy]

Some thoughts....

1). Storming the court was only slightly less horrible than the crowd itself. They weren't that loud and the arena was only about 80-85% full and it took a while to get to that point.

2) They don't play smart Bball. It's a lot of 1 on 1. They should run the offense through Len a lot more and play a 2 man game with Len and Wells.

3). Padgett being in the game at key moments is terrible. He is awful and has no business being out there late in a game when it's that close.

4). I know MD fans like to bash on Howard and while he isn't as talented as some of the other guards, he is way smarter.

5). After watching tonight, I see why their offensive efficiency is so down...too much 1 on 1, only Howard creates shots for others, not a great shooting team.

6). Why are Layman and Aaronholt on the team if you aren't going to use them against the zone or if you aren't going to run plays for them to get open 3s?

7). They are way too talented to look as horrible as they did. I don't even think they played that great defensively...NC ST missed a lot of in close, open shots and Wood was off from the outside. Nc St played a dumb game as well...Brown had a clear advantage and they didn't go to him enough.

8). 3 straight big 10 style games for the Terps...are you all excited?

[Mackus]

Pretty amazing way to win a game! Was very glad to get to go to this one, was fun to be there.

The team looked really good at times and really bad at others. I thought or the first 33 minutes or so that the offense was playing well, it was just the shotmaking that struggled. Unlike other games where both shotmaking and the actual offensive flow were troublesome. Then NC State went to that zone. The response to that was pathetic. Had they not pulled out the win, I would have been absolutely livid with Turgeon for not being able to figure out how to bust that zone and having gotten coached circles around by Mark freaking Gottfried.

But, Pe'shon had his latest most effective airball of the season and Len picked up all the pieces to give the Terps a very much needed and emotional win. Huge play by Len there. Also very good job by the Terps on the defensive end to get the opportunity to win. They did a good job on defense the whole game. I may be very critical of Pe'shon offensively, but he was really good on the defensive end tonight, especially late in the game on Wood. He may be struggling mightily, but it's definitely not due to lack of effort or heart.

As for rushing the court, it wasn't a game that really merited it. But who really cares? It's fun. Go to town. I'll never ever complain about Ed Reed lateraling a football or college students rushing the court, because it's fun as hell when it happens and I like to see it.

[Mike B]

Haha, that's awesome. What the hell, why not? If I was there, I def. would have done it.

And DJ's point is a good one, that very well could have been why.

Like I was saying though, taking the lead with .9 left sent that place into a frenzy, so I can understand it from that standpoint.

I said in the game thread that I did not know why they were rushing the court but after thinking about it, the student response re-invents itself every few years and Maryland has not been good for a couple, so maybe this helps build the enthusiasm back up.

[bnickle]

This team is still in a bunch of trouble. No one can shoot consistently. Every single time, other than when Arronhalt shoots an open 3, I think a jumpshot is going to be a brick. It doesn't matter if its from 8 feet or 25 feet, I expect a brick. They also penetrate too deep at times because they know they can't stop and pop. Everything is put your head down and try to get all the way to the basket. Then to build on that, when they go to the basket they often don't go strong and draw fouls and or miss too much around the rim. Words can't describe how horrible these players are offensively. It's brutal to watch.

They are going to have to stay in games with their defense which they have done a good job of so far in ACC play. That said, I just don't see how the offense is going to come far enough to be the kind of team I thought we had a chance to be to start the year.

[BobPhelan]

Some thoughts....

1). Storming the court was only slightly less horrible than the crowd itself. They weren't that loud and the arena was only about 80-85% full and it took a while to get to that point.

Traffic was beyond insane. We got to the College Park exit at 645 and didn't get in the arena until halftime. I was pretty pissed since it was my birthday and the whole day was less than stellar but luckily the way we won made up for it.

And yes, more Lahman please. Put shooters in against the zone.

[Mackus]

Words can't describe how horrible these players are offensively. It's brutal to watch.

My biggest hope for improvement is that, quite simply, talented high-major D-1 basketball players are almost never, as a group, this bad offensively. I do believe in the talent on this team, so eventually I think they improve as a group and play better offense. I don't think they have anyone who is a particularly good shooter, but I do think that Allen, Layman, and Aronhalt are average enough to be threats from outside. I don't want Faust or Wells or Howard shooting anything aside from wide open threes, though. Wells had a bad game, but he's generally pretty good attacking the rim, and Faust and Allen can slash as well.

The bigger problem for me is we haven't been able to get the ball to our bigs in good position lately. I think that's more on the PG play. That won't improve naturally, as we don't have any talented PGs. Allen and Faust are talented, but not point guards. Howard is a point guard, but not talented.

[bnickle]

My biggest hope for improvement is that, quite simply, talented high-major D-1 basketball players are almost never, as a group, this bad offensively. I do believe in the talent on this team, so eventually I think they improve as a group and play better offense. I don't think they have anyone who is a particularly good shooter, but I do think that Allen, Layman, and Aronhalt are average enough to be threats from outside. I don't want Faust or Wells or Howard shooting anything aside from wide open threes, though. Wells had a bad game, but he's generally pretty good attacking the rim, and Faust and Allen can slash as well.

The bigger problem for me is we haven't been able to get the ball to our bigs in good position lately. I think that's more on the PG play. That won't improve naturally, as we don't have any talented PGs. Allen and Faust are talented, but not point guards. Howard is a point guard, but not talented.

Yeah, clearly an issue as well. We just don't have anybody with great court awareness or vision. I counted at least 10 times the last 2 games where I see when and where a pass should be made and it's either not made or it's late and doesn't set the player receiving the ball the open look. Both on the break and on drive and dishes. And then to add to that the bigs have to do a better job of kicking back out and not forcing up shots when they are either doubled or forced out of their comfort zone.

Just a lot of issues offensively. The shooting is the most glaring one, but a lot of other ones as well. We just don't get enough good looks. I mean it sucks when we do get good looks and can't knock them down, but we have to find a way to create a lot better looks.

[BSLMattJergensen]

It is always better to win ugly than lose pretty as there are no style points. You take wins over Top Twenty-Five teams any way you can get them.

First the positives, the Maryland defense was very tough last night. Sure they were helped by State's inability to show patience in the half court but the Terps showed some guts in this one. As Coach Turge said in the post-game defending hasn't been the problem this season and I certainly agree.

Offensively the Terps showed flashes like the 10-0 run to start the game but most of the time they showed an inability to finish and an overall tightness among the players on the floor. That pressing can't help when you are asked to read the floor to make your offense work. Motion can look ugly but in the end it's the best offense to develop players and not just cogs in a system. That said it may be time for Turge to introduce a few half court sets to help direct the ball to preferred spots in the floor during a dry spell. (ie. post up for Len, clear out for Wells/Faust)

State's switch to zone wasn't as confounding as people think. The Terps did what you are supposed to do, ball reversal, screen the zone and they got open jump shots -they just didn't hit any of them. They also forgot to look inside - at all -for at least the the first 6 trips by my count. Settling for jump shots when your team isn't a great jump shooting team isn't a recipe for success.

I've read some sites that fans wanted more 3-pt shooters in the game the only problem is that a lineup of Aaronhalt, Layman, Allen doesn't help on the defensive end. Allen isn't making good decisions so he's a two, (Faust or Pe at the #1) that leaves Aaronhalt as a undersized three and Layman at the four. I think there were options on the floor you just have to make shots.

The end of the game call was what I wanted. Either a drive to the basket or a post up for Len. I would have rather seen the latter since Len dominated the closing minutes on both ends and would have also put the ball in Wells or Faust's hands instead of Howard. Wolfack had fouls to give so a quick foul on the inbounds was to be expected but didn't occur.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Good comments from Matt here.

[Oriole85]

As far as rushing the court... seemed forced to me. OTOH, these are always new college students, experiencing this for the first time. If they want to celebrate... more power to them, I guess.

Seemed to be a big debate last night on Twitter.

I think it was a bit much considering they beat a team they were favored against.

My criteria for rushing the field or court is at least one of the following at minimum:
a) beating a top 5 opponent
b) a major upset
c) beating a heated rival
d) a game that puts you "over the top" (for example if the Terps clinched an Orange Bowl berth with a win)

Obviously if Duke is having a bad year, I don't think that means you should rush the court for example.


Now in fairness to the students, the majority of them there probably have taken part in one. IIRC, the last time they rushed the court was the the Duke game where Vasquez/Hayes/Millbourne were honored on Senior Night in 2010. If you're a freshman, you consider a right of passage and don't know if you'll get that chance again this year at the very least.

As Chris said it seemed "forced." My take is similar it looked like a few people started than others followed. It wasn't your typical rush, where people come from all angles at once.

Many argued, "what's the harm?" Does this hurt recruiting, making the tournament, etc. Of course not, it just devalues it for a game that you really should be rushing. It was a "good win" and something nice to put on their tournament resume but it wasn't a monumental one.

[Oriole85]

I said in the game thread that I did not know why they were rushing the court but after thinking about it, the student response re-invents itself every few years and Maryland has not been good for a couple, so maybe this helps build the enthusiasm back up.

Yeah I agree with this, particularly students who didn't grow up Terps fans. What happened a decade ago has little to no relevance. And this is probably there biggest win since the Duke victory in 2010.

It kind of reminds me when I was looking at colleges and on one of the perspective college days, somone asked about party dorms. And one of campus ambassadors answered, that it *changed* every year since the dorms were almost exclusively freshman.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Too much talk about the merits of rushing the court or not. Not enough talk about getting back to .500 in league play, and getting the first real quality win of the year.