Ravens Analyst
Posted 09 October 2013 - 10:42 AM
I'm very excited about this season.
This is the next step in the natural progression of getting this program back to Top 25 caliber.
I feel that the expectations were overblown too early last season but I was happy with the development. A young team made a lot of mistakes that young players make in their college careers and then caught fire into the post-season for a respectable finish.
I see them taking another step forward.
Owner
Posted 09 October 2013 - 02:11 PM
Anything less than a return to the tournament is a failure.
Banned
Posted 09 October 2013 - 08:22 PM
Anything less than a return to the tournament is a failure.
Extremely disappointing, but not sure I'd go with the word failure.
HOF
Posted 09 October 2013 - 08:57 PM
Extremely disappointing, but not sure I'd go with the word failure.
They haven't been to the Tournament since 2010, unless there's circumstances that we can't foresee (and I'm not talking about injuries every team is faced with) -- I'd say it's a failure. It's Turgeon's third year, the honeymoon is over.
CFB Analyst
Posted 09 October 2013 - 09:14 PM
I'd say Turgeon is pretty much under the exact same pressure to get to the tournament that Edsall is to get to a bowl game. I don't think they'd necessarily be fired if they didn't, but it would be a huge disappointment and both would be on the hot seat....not something you want heading into the Big Ten.
Banned
Posted 09 October 2013 - 10:10 PM
It still a young team. Turgs players are all freshman and sophomores. Wells and Smorz are juniors but are transfers and only entering their 2nd year in the program like the sophomores.
Next year would be the year Id be fine saying failure.
HOF
Posted 10 October 2013 - 12:18 PM
Decided to splurge for season tickets this season. Not great seats, but it'll be nice to get to go to most of the games. Wish we had a Duke or UNC game.
Owner
Posted 11 October 2013 - 08:01 AM
CSN Baltimore: In Year 2, Allen becomes Terps wiley veteran
http://www.csnbaltim...ps-wily-veteran
Owner
Posted 12 October 2013 - 10:59 AM
Washington Post: Charles Mitchell climbing towards increased roll in Sophomore season
http://www.washingto...phomore-season/
I know bnickle is not a fan, but I like Mitchell's game. While he lacks height, and hops.... he is a force on the offensive boards. I think he is going to be a very productive 4 year player.
HOF
Posted 12 October 2013 - 09:26 PM
Washington Post: Charles Mitchell climbing towards increased roll in Sophomore season
http://www.washingto...phomore-season/
I know bnickle is not a fan, but I like Mitchell's game. While he lacks height, and hops.... he is a force on the offensive boards. I think he is going to be a very productive 4 year player.
I looooove Mitchell's game. I question his effort off the court to take his game seriously and improve it. He has the chance to be very, very high on the all-time rebound list, but he has to decide how much he wants it. On the court he's a worker, for sure.
Owner
Posted 12 October 2013 - 09:46 PM
I looooove Mitchell's game. I question his effort off the court to take his game seriously and improve it. He has the chance to be very, very high on the all-time rebound list, but he has to decide how much he wants it. On the court he's a worker, for sure.
The article linked above shows the growth in his maturity, effort, and desire... good to see.
Banned
Posted 13 October 2013 - 01:12 AM
Washington Post: Charles Mitchell climbing towards increased roll in Sophomore season
http://www.washingto...phomore-season/
I know bnickle is not a fan, but I like Mitchell's game. While he lacks height, and hops.... he is a force on the offensive boards. I think he is going to be a very productive 4 year player.
Mitchell is fine as a role player. He does play hard on the court and is a pretty smart player as well.
The problem is, he plays/played too far below the rim. He missed a lot of easy bunnies around the rim for whatever reason and generally speaking his offensive game is suspect. He's also not going to give you any kind of shotblocking on defense. You have to hope he's improved enough that just harassing guys and being physical defensively will have an effect.
Again, I think he can be a solid role player. The problem is we probably expected/need one of Cleare or Mitchell to step in and be be an impactful big man scorer down low. There was nothing last year that indicated either had good post scoring ability. So, it was more of lamenting two Top 100 bigs that looked like future role players. Nothing wrong with role players, but we need power conference caliber starters. Someone like Allen, you could see the flashes. I could see him turning into a good power conference guard. Same thing with Layman. Here's to hoping the weight both the guys have shed and a year under their belt will yield huge improvements, I'm just not expecting it.
CFB Analyst
Posted 13 October 2013 - 01:14 AM
Mitchell is fine as a role player. He does play hard on the court and is a pretty smart player as well.
The problem is, he plays/played too far below the rim. He missed a lot of easy bunnies around the rim for whatever reason and generally speaking his offensive game is suspect. He's also not going to give you any kind of shotblocking on defense. You have to hope he's improved enough that just harassing guys and being physical defensively will have an effect.
Again, I think he can be a solid role player. The problem is we probably expected/need one of Cleare or Mitchell to step in and be be an impactful big man scorer down low. There was nothing last year that indicated either had good post scoring ability. So, it was more of lamenting two Top 100 bigs that looked like future role players. Nothing wrong with role players, but we need power conference caliber starters. Someone like Allen, you could see the flashes. I could see him turning into a good power conference guard. Same thing with Layman. Here's to hoping the weight both the guys have shed and a year under their belt will yield huge improvements, I'm just not expecting it.
Mitchell reminds me a bit of Lonny Baxter....although as you point out, Mitchell averaged far fewer blocks than Baxter did as a freshman, but their other freshman stats are similar. Baxter turned out to be more than a role player.
Banned
Posted 13 October 2013 - 01:28 AM
Mitchell reminds me a bit of Lonny Baxter....although as you point out, Mitchell averaged far fewer blocks than Baxter did as a freshman, but their other freshman stats are similar. Baxter turned out to be more than a role player.
From the beginning Baxter had scoring ability in the low post. He flashed that as a freshman.
The other thing, I didn't like was how similar Cleare and Mitchell were as post players. You would prefer to have one that could be an explosive, rim protecting type guy. Neither are that. Again, if one can cement himself as a true low post scorer we'll be fine if the other is only a role player.
CFB Analyst
Posted 13 October 2013 - 01:36 AM
From the beginning Baxter had scoring ability in the low post. He flashed that as a freshman.
The other thing, I didn't like was how similar Cleare and Mitchell were as post players. You would prefer to have on guys that could be an explosive, rim protecting type guy. Neither are that. Again, if one can cement himself as a true low post scorer we'll be fine if the other is only a role player.
Baxter averaged about 1 more PPG than Mitchell as a freshman, while getting essentially the same minutes. And in Baxter's freshman year they had Obinna Ekeze and Mike Mardesich in the post, hardly guys that you would feed like they did Alex Len, so Lonny probably had more scoring chances. And also, Baxter had a year of prep school before going to UM, Mitchell came straight from high school.
All that could mean nothing in the end, but to write Mitchell off as nothing more than a role player after his first season at the college level is premature.
EDIT: Baxter made a huge jump from his freshman to sophomore season, so with Len gone and Cleare having back issues, we will see if Mitchell takes advantage of his opportunity.
HOF
Posted 13 October 2013 - 07:55 AM
Baxter averaged about 1 more PPG than Mitchell as a freshman, while getting essentially the same minutes. And in Baxter's freshman year they had Obinna Ekeze and Mike Mardesich in the post, hardly guys that you would feed like they did Alex Len, so Lonny probably had more scoring chances. And also, Baxter had a year of prep school before going to UM, Mitchell came straight from high school.
All that could mean nothing in the end, but to write Mitchell off as nothing more than a role player after his first season at the college level is premature.
EDIT: Baxter made a huge jump from his freshman to sophomore season, so with Len gone and Cleare having back issues, we will see if Mitchell takes advantage of his opportunity.
Excellent point. While I think Lonnie and Mitchell are very different players(Same body type though), it is kind of silly to write off any player coming out of his freshman year. Lonnie dropped weight, and lived in the gym between his first 2 years. His footwork was good in year one but excellent in the following years. Chuck has great hands, no fear underneath and works hard on the boards. Chuck will need to improve his drop step and moves in the post and maybe develop that 10 foot shot that undersized bigs need. If that happens I could see Mitchell becoming that 2nd team B10 performer type. Actually his style fits the B10. His bruising style fits the B10 more than the ACC.
HOF
Posted 13 October 2013 - 08:43 PM
Again, I think he can be a solid role player. The problem is we probably expected/need one of Cleare or Mitchell to step in and be be an impactful big man scorer down low. There was nothing last year that indicated either had good post scoring ability. So, it was more of lamenting two Top 100 bigs that looked like future role players. Nothing wrong with role players, but we need power conference caliber starters. Someone like Allen, you could see the flashes. I could see him turning into a good power conference guard. Same thing with Layman. Here's to hoping the weight both the guys have shed and a year under their belt will yield huge improvements, I'm just not expecting it.
Nothing wrong with any of that, and in fact I probably agree with most of it. You can be a good college big man even if you're a below-the-rim player, a la Jordan Williams and Lonny Baxter, but those guys both had great hands and solid lost post moves. Haven't seen much of that from Mitchell or Cleare yet. As you said, here's hoping they can take some steps forward.
Ravens Analyst
Posted 16 October 2013 - 08:09 AM
http://www.baltimore...0,5699523.story
The buzz around Layman continues.
Observations from the Open scrimmage last Saturday.
Owner
Posted 16 October 2013 - 09:12 AM
Washington Post: Allen ready to step into spotlight
http://www.washingto...into-spotlight/
HOF
Posted 17 October 2013 - 07:31 AM
If Maryland is going to surprise in its last year in the ACC, it will have to be on Allen and Layman to provide the energy. Both showed the ability in their freshman years. I am never to hard on freshman, because except for a few, the first year is usually an up and down struggle. If a player steps up it is usually the sophomore year. I think Layman and Allen both do well this year.
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