50 replies to this topic

[SportsGuy]

Totally agree, in general, I don't think the college basketball season really starts until the start of the New Year/conference play. This is even more true when you have a weak non-conference schedule. I will say this though, I thought based on that first VT game, they were better than they were. You heard all the talk after this about the lack of respect from the voters, Sweet 16 expectations, possible dark horse team. In the future, I'm going to try to not make too much how a team does based off of primarily weak competition in non-conference play.

I know I thought they should be a sweet 16 team early on...but their inability to develop a PG(or for Howard to get back to where he was pre-injury) would have likely prevented that run. But thinking they should be a 10-12 win ACC team and a 7-10 seed in the tourney wasn't unrealistic. They just crapped the bed.

[Oriole85]

I know I thought they should be a sweet 16 team early on...but their inability to develop a PG(or for Howard to get back to where he was pre-injury) would have likely prevented that run. But thinking they should be a 10-12 win ACC team and a 7-10 seed in the tourney wasn't unrealistic. They just crapped the bed.

No doubt they underachieved, I don't disagree with you there even if expectations were a bit high.

[BSLMattJergensen]

Forget the NC schedule...That has nothing to do with the pure talent.

The game that got people excited(and rightfully so) was the Kentucky game. Now, this kentucky team isn't last year's team but with a healthy Noel, they are still very good(they were a top 20 kenpom team with him). MD's talent and athletes were able to hang with a team that has multiple lottery picks and more guys that will be first rounders.

The problem is, that was the best performance all year by the Terps and they never really capitalized on it...part of that reason was the pathetic NC schedule and the fact they never got challenged early.

But the talent level is there. They have a ton of guys that can create their own shots...They have size and talent down low.

Yes, they don't have a true PG and yes that hurts big time but most of college bball doesn't have their size, athleticism and rebounding either...No team has everything, especially in this day and age of basketball...which is why there are very few times anymore that a team loses and you can truly say they were upset.

The problem is, Turg never figured out the right system for these guys...and, they were a dumb team.

You may not advance in the tourney without good PG play but you can certainly get to the tourney without it...it may be more difficult but it causes you to have to do other things..press more, create easy baskets, rebound well, etc....MD chose to not do some of those things.

If MD doesn't make it in, its because of 2 or 3 losses...its not like they were 5-8 games away from making it in.

So yea, the talent was clearly the for them to be a tourney team and they definitely should have been better in conference.

You're reinforcing my point. The excitement level after that first game made expectations for this season unreasonable. You can't base an assessment of this team's talent based on one game. MD was able to match up with Kentucky's size and the Wildcats own point guard issues had yet been solved. Kentucky is still a bubble team at best that was only able to make a run due to...the point guard play of Ryan Harrow.

I don't see a "ton of guys" who can create their own shots. I see Dez Wells and Nick Faust as players with a good first step but too often force the issue in the half court. Both have inconsistent jump shots which makes it easier to sit on the drive.

They have size and potential down low. Unfortunately post players must rely on guards to get them the ball in position to make a move and that's an area that MD is incredibly weak in. I'm glad Alex Len is leaving. His absence with allow Mitchell and Cleare a chance to get more time and add a more physical presence to the lineup. Speaking up which when James Padgett is eating into your minutes you really need to question the difference between talent and potential.

I can't overstate the lack of a point guard here. Watch the teams that advance in the tournament, they will have at the very least competent play in that area. No all teams don't have all the pieces but having a point guard is crucial.

From watching what they've done this season this is a team that works best in an up tempo system pushing the break and pressing to create turnovers. This is the exact opposite of the type of style Turgeon wants to run. This is where you can question Turgeon on selecting players that don't seem to fit his style because most of the guys on this roster are his guys. It's his job to coach them up and help them improve into next season. I'll be interested to see what happens over the Summer.

Maryland was more than a few losses from getting in the tournament and didn't have enough quality wins. Even if they did beat GA Tech, BC, and UVA down the stretch I still saw them on the outside looking in.

I'll say this about the talent level - they have a solid group to work with and great potential but they still have work to do to be a tournament team. Blame can be placed all around from players to staff. I just can't agree that MD's failures are all placed at the feet of the coaches who didn't know how to use them properly.

[SportsGuy]

You are neglecting to compare them to the rest of college bball, which isn't that good.

This team has clearly underachieved. The expectations of a sweet 16 team were likely wrong because no one stepped up to be a real PG...everything else was a fair expectation.

And yes, they were just a few wins away. Had they ended up 10-8 in conference, they are likely in with a win over Wake.

Again, the field is weak...Now, they may have needed 4 or 5 more wins to be a really solid 7 seed or so but they could have been a 10-12 seed with 2 reg season wins plus beating Wake in ACCT.

[Oriole85]

You're reinforcing my point. The excitement level after that first game made expectations for this season unreasonable. You can't base an assessment of this team's talent based on one game. MD was able to match up with Kentucky's size and the Wildcats own point guard issues had yet been solved. Kentucky is still a bubble team at best that was only able to make a run due to...the point guard play of Ryan Harrow.

I don't see a "ton of guys" who can create their own shots. I see Dez Wells and Nick Faust as players with a good first step but too often force the issue in the half court. Both have inconsistent jump shots which makes it easier to sit on the drive.

They have size and potential down low. Unfortunately post players must rely on guards to get them the ball in position to make a move and that's an area that MD is incredibly weak in. I'm glad Alex Len is leaving. His absence with allow Mitchell and Cleare a chance to get more time and add a more physical presence to the lineup. Speaking up which when James Padgett is eating into your minutes you really need to question the difference between talent and potential.

I can't overstate the lack of a point guard here. Watch the teams that advance in the tournament, they will have at the very least competent play in that area. No all teams don't have all the pieces but having a point guard is crucial.

From watching what they've done this season this is a team that works best in an up tempo system pushing the break and pressing to create turnovers. This is the exact opposite of the type of style Turgeon wants to run. This is where you can question Turgeon on selecting players that don't seem to fit his style because most of the guys on this roster are his guys. It's his job to coach them up and help them improve into next season. I'll be interested to see what happens over the Summer.

Maryland was more than a few losses from getting in the tournament and didn't have enough quality wins. Even if they did beat GA Tech, BC, and UVA down the stretch I still saw them on the outside looking in.

I'll say this about the talent level - they have a solid group to work with and great potential but they still have work to do to be a tournament team. Blame can be placed all around from players to staff. I just can't agree that MD's failures are all placed at the feet of the coaches who didn't know how to use them properly.

I disagree here, if they win all those games, I think they are on the otherside of the bubble provided, they win their first round matchup. As it was, they were in the "first four" out not too long ago and just dropped to the "next four out" before the UVA game.

[BSLMattJergensen]

Ok, I'll retract my statement and reshape my point.

Maybe the Terps would have gotten in with a few more wins. If Oregon (23-7) can get strong consideration with an uglier SOS than MD then maybe there's something to be said for that. To say the bubble is "soft" due to the expanded field would be selling it short a bit. Still it's hard for me to see how the team could make a case to get in with only 2 good wins on your resume.

These Terps still don't pass the eyeball test for me in terms of talent level. They need more in order to truly be a tournament worthy team. I feel ok with the team's progress but had hoped for more this season. If the team doesn't take another step next year then I'll start to worry.

[Oriole85]

Ok, I'll retract my statement and reshape my point.

Maybe the Terps would have gotten in with a few more wins. If Oregon (23-7) can get strong consideration with an uglier SOS than MD then maybe there's something to be said for that. To say the bubble is "soft" due to the expanded field would be selling it short a bit. Still it's hard for me to see how the team could make a case to get in with only 2 good wins on your resume.

These Terps still don't pass the eyeball test for me in terms of talent level. They need more in order to truly be a tournament worthy team. I feel ok with the team's progress but had hoped for more this season. If the team doesn't take another step next year then I'll start to worry.

Well of course SOS isn't everything and the Pac-12 is much stronger this year than it was last year (arguably one of the weakest Power-6 conferences ever in a single year). But is Oregon's schedule really that much weaker on paper they played -- Vandy, UNLV, and Cincy, Maryland in comparison played Kentucky, George Mason, and Northwestern. Sure, Jacksonville State, UT-San Antonio, Houston Baptist are weak opponents while Maryland played the likes of Georgia Southern, South Carolina State, and Deleware State. Oregon has beaten Arizona (4th at the time), UCLA (at Pauley), and their only real bad loss was at Utah. More importantly, look at their record in conference play, it's 12-6. I just don't think Oregon is a good analogy because they have a much better resume than Maryland.

[BSLMattJergensen]

Then who would you compare them to?

[Oriole85]

Then who would you compare them to?

Not sure, Oregon is a significantly stronger team with a better resume. SOS is just one component. You're trying to say if Oregon is lock to get in, why shouldn't Maryland be considered?

[BSLMattJergensen]

I originally said that MD wouldn't get in due to a weak resume regardless of wins.

I classified Oregon as another possible team that even though they are on the bubble their quality of victories aren't that impressive. They beat 3 ranked teams (UCLA,UNLV,Arizona) compared to MD's two (Duke,NC St.). I realize that SOS is one component but I think it's an important one. Conference records are relative to the strength of your conference.

Anyway, I've come to realize that the bubble is Charmin soft and if MD is even in the conversation this season that tells you how bad things are. So maybe teams like Arizona St.,Alabama, Providence, Arkansas and Baylor are better examples of teams that just shouldn't be the mix but are due to a 68-team field.

So, those that said that MD were only a few wins away fom getting in were probably right even though I don't think they would have deserved to get in based on their performance on the court and the fact they really had few quality victories.

[Oriole85]

I originally said that MD wouldn't get in due to a weak resume regardless of wins.

I classified Oregon as another possible team that even though they are on the bubble their quality of victories aren't that impressive. They beat 3 ranked teams (UCLA,UNLV,Arizona) compared to MD's two (Duke,NC St.). I realize that SOS is one component but I think it's an important one. Conference records are relative to the strength of your conference.

Anyway, I've come to realize that the bubble is Charmin soft and if MD is even in the conversation this season that tells you how bad things are. So maybe teams like Arizona St.,Alabama, Providence, Arkansas and Baylor are better examples of teams that just shouldn't be the mix but are due to a 68-team field.

So, those that said that MD were only a few wins away fom getting in were probably right even though I don't think they would have deserved to get in based on their performance on the court and the fact they really had few quality victories.

I agree it's an important one, it's also more indicative of your recent play since most if not all of the non-conference games were in the previous calender year.

I definitely concur with the sentiments your stating here more than your previous ones.

If Maryland beats BC/GT/UVA, good chance they are over the bubble with a win over WF. FYI, I hate the "if" games because people don't like to play both sides of it. The same way if they lose to NC St and Duke, they're looking that much worse.