SB Nation - Landon Milbourne

ACC Power Rankings: 12.21

MRickman84 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:30:13 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

It's time for another exciting edition of ACC Power Rankings. We've had some teams really moving around, so let's see where everyone stacks up.

1.) Duke Blue Devils (9-1, W vs. Gardner-Webb, W vs. Gonzaga) - Duke is really playing well right now. Kyle Singler has picked his game up and Jon Scheyer has been almost mistake free. Duke needs to worry a little bit about their starters' minutes as Scheyer, Singler and Nolan Smith are all playing over 33 minutes a game, and that's with the blowouts included. That notwithstanding, Duke has this spot with a bullet.

2.) North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3, L vs. Texas) - I am almost tempted to drop UNC a little bit further, but there aren't any other teams that have really earned the #2 spot. Regardless, UNC has looked awful in a couple games this year and they definitely have some things to work on. The bigs--Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis and Deon "Miss It" Thompson--are playing well, but the Heels do not play good defense at all and there is literally no guard depth.

3.) Clemson Tigers (10-2, W vs. ECU, W vs. CofC) - Clemson has all the pieces. But they're Clemson. Trevor Booker is a very good player and the combination of Tanner Smith, Andre Young and Demontez Stitt aren't pretty, but they get the job done. Plus their defense can keep them in any game.

4.) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-2, W vs. Chattanooga, W vs. AR Pine Bluff, L vs. Florida State) - Despite the loss to FSU, Tech is up here because they have a lot of talent and everyone knew they'd have some bumps along the way. Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors and Zach Peacock bring it most of the time, but with Iman Shumpert out, GT has to rely on freshman Mfon Udofia at the point. He's a gifted player, but he's still a freshman. Tech will have big wins and dumb losses (a lot like a certain team from last year).

5.) Miami Hurricanes (10-2, W vs. Stetson, W vs. Florida Atlantic) - The next few teams are kind of a jumbled mess, but right now I feel like the 'Canes have the edge. Their only blemish was the extremely close loss to Boston College. In all their other games they have won by an average of 22.7 points. Dwayne Collins is averaging 13 and 9, and the James Dews, Malcolm Grand and Durand Scott combo of guards are chipping in 31.4 a game.

6.) Florida State Seminoles (10-2, W vs. Georgia State, W vs. Auburn, W vs. Georgia Tech) - FSU's win over GT was a bit of a statement. The 'Noles had a few decent wins but no real statement win to their credit. This win helps them out and solidifies them as a tough, physical basketball team. Solomon Alabi and Chris Singleton are a real force and Derwin Kitchen is a well-rounded player. Ryan Reid is always capable of showing spurts as well.

7.) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-2, W vs. UNC-W, W vs. NC State) - Ok, I'll move the Deacs up. They are on a four game winning streak and the wins over Gonzaga, UNC-W and State are games they needed to win, but still look pretty good. If Al-Farouq Aminu can hold onto the basketball, he could average 20+ a game, but as it stands right now, he's still a beast. The key to Wake is whether or not they can get solid play out of their bigs at all--right now, they haven't.

8.) Virginia Tech Hokies (9-1, W vs. Charleston Southern) - VT's record is gaudy, but there aren't any wins that really stick out to me right now. But still, I love how Malcolm Delaney plays and Jeff Allen has done a good job so far. The problem is, there isn't a whole lot more there outside of Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davila.

9.) Boston College Eagles (7-4, W vs. Bryant) - After back to back losses to Harvard and Rhode Island, where does BC stand? There's a good core there with Joe Trapani, Corey Raji and Reggie Jackson. Tyler Roche gives good minutes. Rakim Sanders is an explosive player. But BC needs to figure things out before ACC play before they can move up the list.

10.) Maryland Terrapins (6-3, DNP) - Remember when everyone was slobbering all over Maryland and Greivis Vasquez? Well, he is shooting 34.6% and 28.2% from deep. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne are good players and we all know about Eric Hayes, but Maryland has no good wins and they've lost to the good teams they've played. They need to prove something.

11.) N.C. State Wolfpack (8-2, W vs. Elon, L vs. Wake Forest) - State is an ugly basketball team. They almost lost to Elon and then looked just downright bad against Wake. They have no identity and no real players outside of Javi Gonzalez and Tracy Smith. That win against Marquette is still strange, and the rest of their wins aren't anything to write home about. The Wolfpack have a long road ahead of them when conference play gets going.

12.) Virginia Cavaliers (4-4, DNP) - The best thing to happen to UVA last week was that they got snowed in and didn't play. I wholeheartedly believe that UNC-W would have beaten them. This team is Sylven Landesberg and not much else--Mike Scott is ok, Mustapha Farrakhan shows promise and Sammy Zeglinski is Eric Hayes Part Deux, but the Cavs are not good. Their four wins are against Longwood, Rider, Oral Roberts and Cleveland State.

Maryland Rides Vasquez and Milbourne to 83-72 Win Over Eastern Kentucky

Ben Broman — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:36:49 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

9 days ago: Marylan's Greivis Vasquez reacts after scoring and getting fouled during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Eastern Kentucky, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Browse more photos »

When Maryland needed him, Greivis Vasquez delivered.

He didn't start the game after showing up late to a shootaround and had some rough times, as he had all this year, but as the Eastern Kentucky Colonels sat down two, on a run, with Maryland unable to make a shot, Vasquez did what he had to do: make big shots. He ended up with two threes in as many possessions, and sparked Maryland's offense that, at the time, was completely out of sync.

Maryland rode the momentum and ended up with an 83-72 win over EKU, putting them at 6-3 on the year.

Despite a fast start for Maryland with Vasquez on the bench (13-5 when he entered the game, up 17 shortly after), Eastern Kentucky steadily fought back and eventually tied the game in the second half on the strength of ridiculously good three point shooting and solid defense. Shortly after, Maryland's offense caught fire, spurred on by two big threes by Vasquez, who had struggled somewhat up to that point.

Sean Mosley was quiet after a breakout week that included solid games against Villanova and Indiana. Part of that might have been due to Vasquez's offensive reemergence; he led all scorers with 20 and paired that with 5 assists.

Props go out to Eric Hayes for a great performance today; he's been extremely consistent all year and had an important 14 points with 4 made threes. Landon Milbourne also quietly went about his business, returning to form with 19 points and 9 rebounds. He made big plays and didn't have too many lapses. This is the Milbourne you remember from last year.

As for Dino Gregory in his first game: he was okay, but definitely rusty. Some of his passes were iffy and his defense was inconsistent, but his jumper was absolutely money and he showed some very encouraging flashes. He probably got the start thanks to the need for perimeter defense.

EKU's shooting ability and lack of size meant that Jordan Williams wasn't very well fitted for this game: he isn't great guarding 6-6 people on the perimeter. Still, in limited time, he had 4 points and 5 rebounds, which was pretty good. He had some problems and looked very much like a freshman, but I'm still encouraged.

The strange thing was James Padgett's lack of playing time. He didn't see the floor, despite Jin Soo Choi inexplicably getting PT in a close game. I'm sure the lack of size for EKU and their perimeter shooting had plenty to do with it, but I've never been all that impressed with Choi's defense at any level. Puzzling indeed.

I'll try to go for some more analysis tomorrow, but for now, I'm okay with this result. It was closer than it should've been, that's for sure, but Vasquez looked like he was getting out of his funk and EKU is a tough team to beat when they're hot, as they were. Maryland has plenty to work on - defense especially among them - but it could've been worse.

ACC Power Rankings: 12.8

MRickman84 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:30:14 -0000

So this probably should have been done yesterday, but I really want to get in the habit of doing power rankings throughout the season. UNC occupies the top spot this week, with Duke coming in second, as both are coming off tough losses last week to strong opponents.

Let's take a look at who is where after the jump...

1.) UNC-- [W vs. Michigan State, L vs. Kentucky] UNC is getting better as was expected. The young guys are playing well and Larry Drew II looks a lot more comfortable. I'm still concerned about the Heels' bench, as Strickland looks a little lost out there and Henson just does not know what to do with his body. The Wear twins are eating up a ton of minutes without a lot of productivity. Tyler Zeller is a great player for them though and really makes the perfect sixth man. UNC gets another tough test when they head to Dallas to play Texas at the Cowboys stadium next week.

2.) Duke -- [L vs. Wisconsin, W vs. St. John's] I thought this Duke team was supposed to be able to shoot? Kyle Singler is looking average at best so far this year and is taking a LOT of shots. You know what you're getting out of Jon Scheyer week in and week out and that is a great stabilizer. Andre Dawkins has been spectacular so far and we are going to be seeing a lot more of him as Duke enters ACC play. Duke's big weakness is still down low--Zoubek and Thomas are just bad, but the Plumlees work hard and are good players.

3.) GT [W vs. Siena, W vs. USC] The Jackets were left out of the Challenge this year because of their finish last season, and that really is a shame as I believe they would have won their matchup and turned the tide for the ACC. Instead, Tech put a whooping on Siena and USC last week. GT is stellar in the frontcourt with Lawal, Peacock and Favors, but losing Iman Shumpert is going to be sidelined for 3-6 weeks with a knee injury.

4.) Clemson [L vs. Illinois, W vs. South Carolina] Clemson is looking like bi-polar Clemson again, surprise! This is a good, solid basketball team. They have 5 players averaging at least 9 points per game and Trevor Booker is almost averaging a double-double (13 and 9). Their problem is that they just lose focus (as seen by the terrible collapse against Illinois). I think they are a better team than Georgia Tech, but they just can't pass them until they show some consistency.

5.) Miami [W vs. Minnesota, L vs. BC] Yes, I know they lost their first conference game. But it was very close and came down to the buzzer. They picked up a great non-con win over Minnesota, but still have not really been challenged other than their last two contests. Dwayne Collins is very good, but there's a lot of pressure on him coming into conference play since two of Miami's three strong guards are newcomers (Malcolm Grant from Villinova and freshman Durand Scott.) James Dews can get it done too, but we will see just how much the 'Canes miss Jack McClinton after the 1st of the year.

6.) Wake Forest [L vs. Purdue, W vs. Gonzaga] After a disappointing loss at home to William & Mary, the Deacs took to the road for two very tough tests. After a hard-fought loss to Purdue, the Deacs looked like they finally clicked in a win over Gonzaga at the Kennel. If the Demon Deacons can use this as a momentum builder, they could enter the new year at 10-2. They will be tested by UNC-W, who has played some good teams tough, as well as Richmond, which received votes in the polls this week. Freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart are looking like the real deal, but the Deacs absolutely need to get consistency from their bigs and from Al-Farouq Aminu.

7.) Virginia Tech [W vs. Iowa, W vs. Georgia] I like VT. They're better than they look on paper, and their loss to Temple is not a bad one--the Owls almost pulled off the upset against Georgetown a few games ago. They easily could finish anywhere between 6th and 10th, but the combo of Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen should be good for at least 6 conference wins.

8.) Maryland [W vs. Indiana, L vs. Villanova] I've seen Maryland play 4 times now this year and I'm sorry, I just don't think they are very good. Greivis Vasquez takes way too many ill-advised shots and he is shooting 32%. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne are the strong points to this team and Eric Hayes keeps them calm sometimes, but they aren't deep and I'm not sold on their front court. The Terps were a hot pick to start the season, but they have to prove something to me before they can move up the board.

9.) Boston College [W vs. Michigan, W vs. Miami] Here we go again. It's the same old story every year. BC looks sparse on paper and then Al Skinner does a great job coaching his team to overachieve. It'll probably happen again this year and their last two wins are a big indicator of this. Reggie Jackson could be a great player, and BC gets bumped up a spot just from his nasty dunk against the 'Canes (on a terrible offensive foul call in the last 30 seconds) and his clutch FTs to seal the win. Raji, Jackson, Trapani is a great combo and they get a good effort out of Josh Southern too.

10.) Florida State [L vs. Ohio State, W vs. FIU] Florida State looked downright ugly against Ohio State. And downright ugly against Florida. But that win against Marquette was big, so they have that in them. Alabi, Singleton and Kitchen are a nice 1-2-3, but the 'Noles need to be getting more out of Xavier Gibson and Ryan Reid.

11.) NC State [L vs. Northwestern, W. vs Marquette] After their loss to Northwestern, I didn't think at all that the Wolfpack would beat Marquette. It was the furthest thing from my mind. State is 6-1, but they are a mess and there is just not much there.

12.) Virginia [L vs. Penn State, L vs. Auburn] Hey, at least Virginia has beaten Cleveland State, something Wake wasn't able to do last year. Sylven Landesberg is a heck of a player, but when your next two leading scorers are Mike Scott and Sammy Zeglinski, there's a problem there. Virginia is not very good.

Around the ACC: 12.2

MRickman84 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:36:20 -0000

It was a rocky start to the Challenge with the ACC going 0-3 with the UVA, State and Wake losses, but the conference bounced back a bit in the second slate of games. Today will decide whether the ACC will win its 11th straight ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

NC State 53, Northwestern 65

So what was going on in this game? Two starters for State--Scott Wood and C.J. Williams--both had 0 points in a combined Tossed in with Javi Gonzalez's performance, those three starters combined for 3-21 shooting. Tracy Smith had an inspired game with 23, but Michael Thompsons's 22 points and Northwestern's 49% shooting (43% from 3) were enough to give the Wildcats the W.

Wake Forest 58, Purdue 69

We all know how this turned out. Nothing to see here. Turnovers, Purdue making 14 more FTs and the Boilermakers taking 12 more shots than the Deacs really told the story. E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel combined for 54 points in the win.

Maryland 80, Indiana 68

This one was close for a long time, but the Terps pulled away in the last 5 minutes. Greivis Vasquez continued his poor shooting, going 4-14. He's gotta figure this out and fast, although he had 23, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. 13 of his 14 pionts came off FTs. Vasquez's shooting has obviously suffered, but he is becoming a better point guard overall and is making better decisions (1.83 A:TO). Milbourne had 19 and 7, while Eric hayes added 14. Indiana did not shoot well at all, but Maurice Cheek led Indiana with 19 points in the loss.

UNC 89, Michigan State 82

In a rematch of last year's National Championship game, the Tarheels absolutely blitzed Michigan State in the first half, shooting lights out and looking unstoppable. The Spartans settled down in the second half, cutting the lead down, but in the track meet, UNC just had too much firepower. Ed Davis had a career game with 22 points and 6 rebounds. Larry Drew looked really strong, adding 18 points and 6 assists. UNC shot 58% while Michigan State shot 2-20 from beyond the arc.

Virginia Tech 70, Iowa 64

Props to Iowa for hanging tough in this game. Iowa is not a very good basketball team at all, but they played inspired basketball yesterday. It didn't help the Hokies' cause that they shot 4-15 from deep, but they committed only four turnovers and looked under control the whole game. Malcolm Delaney had 18 points and 5 assists. I don't know what to make of this VT team, but 5-1 with a loss against Temple doesn't look terrible. Let's see how they look in the rest of their non-conference schedule.

ACC-Big Ten Challenge: Indiana Hoosiers v. Maryland Terrapins (preview).

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:17:59 -0000

More photos » by Gail Burton - AP

Big point guard Greivis Vasquez presents a challenge for Indiana.

Browse more photos »

Maryland Terrapins
Current record: 4-2
Current RPI: 70
Current Sagarin: 57
Current Pomeroy: 57
2008-09 record: 18-12 (7-9 ACC, lost to Memphis in second round of NCAA Tournament)
2008-09 RPI: 55
2008-09 Sagarin: 46
2008-09 Pomeroy: 54
Pomeroy scouting report
Series: IU leads 5-1
TV:7:30 p.m., ESPN2
Blog: Testudo Times

The Terrapins and the Hoosiers met on April 1, 2002 at the Georgia Dome to decide the NCAA Championship and while some programs have fallen further than others since then(ahem), both programs still are trying to recapture the magic. As I mentioned yesterday, Indiana and Maryland met in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in 2002-03 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and IU won in overtime in a game most remembered for Steve Blake's potential game-winning shot that went in but was ruled, after replay review, to have been released just after the buzzer at the end of regulation.

Maryland was ranked in the top 25 before a rough trip to Maui. Much like the Hoosiers last season, Maryland beat Chaminade but lost to two major programs: 69-57 to Cincinnati and 78-69 to Wisconsin. As Testudo Times (see link above) notes, IU is better than any team that Maryland has defeated and is worse than any team that has defeated Maryland, so the Terps will know more about where they stand after tomorrow.

As is typical, Maryland has played very well defensively this season. Its adjusted defensive efficiency of .86 points per possession is good enough for #21 in the nation, and for as far back as Ken Pomeroy keeps track, sound defense has been a constant for Maryland, with offensive production the variable that determines whether the Terps will have a good season or an ordinary one. Particularly chilling are Maryland's turnover percentage (28.2%, #8) and steal percentage (16.4, #7). Of course, those numbers were higher against the dregs of the Maryland schedule, but given IU's struggles with turnovers, this is a concern. On the other hand, Maryland's overall offensive efficiency ranks them below the median, #182 in Division I. Still, Maryland's offense has been much more productive than IU's.

Here are the Terps' stats:

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Landon Milbourne	6	29.0	5.7	10.2	55.7	0.5	0.8	60.0	1.8	2.3	78.6	1.5	2.3	3.8	0.3	1.5	0.8	1.0	2.5	13.7
Sean Mosley	6	29.8	4.8	7.8	61.7	0.5	1.0	50.0	3.0	4.0	75.0	1.2	3.5	4.7	3.8	1.3	1.8	0.3	1.7	13.2
Eric Hayes	6	29.2	4.0	7.5	53.3	2.2	4.5	48.1	1.3	1.5	88.9	0.0	3.0	3.0	2.7	1.3	1.5	0.8	1.7	11.5
Greivis Vasquez	6	30.5	3.8	11.7	32.9	1.0	3.8	26.1	2.5	3.0	83.3	0.7	3.5	4.2	5.3	3.2	2.0	0.5	2.0	11.2
James Padgett	6	18.5	3.5	6.8	51.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0	25.0	2.7	2.8	5.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.7	1.7	7.5
Jordan Williams	6	22.5	2.8	6.3	44.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	3.3	45.0	2.5	5.2	7.7	0.0	0.5	0.8	0.8	2.8	7.2
Cliff Tucker	6	17.2	2.3	4.3	53.8	0.3	1.5	22.2	0.7	1.0	66.7	0.5	1.5	2.0	1.0	1.0	0.8	0.3	1.3	5.7
Adrian Bowie	6	15.3	1.3	4.3	30.8	0.2	2.0	8.3	0.3	0.8	40.0	0.0	0.8	0.8	2.5	1.0	1.5	0.2	1.2	3.2
David Pearman	4	2.5	0.5	1.3	40.0	0.0	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.0
Steve Goins	2	2.0	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.5	1.0
Jin Soo Choi	4	6.8	0.0	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	100.0	0.5	1.3	1.8	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.3	1.0	0.5
Ersin Levent	4	1.8	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.5	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3

As you can see, the Terps present a faily balanced scoring attack, with four players averaging between 11-14 points per game. Senior Landon Milbourne, a 6-7 forward, leads the way with 13.7 points per game and he shoots 55 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Sean Mosley, in a significantly increased role compared to last season, is averaging 13.2 points per game and shooting a remarkable 61 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range (the latter on only 6 attempts, however). Eric Hayes, a 6-4 senior guard, averages 11.5 points per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from three point range. Grevis Vasquez, a 6-6 senior guard, is the fourth of Maryland's double figure scorers, plus leads the team with 5.3 assists per game. With his size, Vasquez will present an interesting matchup for Jeremiah Rivers on both ends of the court. Finally, note that the three Maryland guards who play the most all are comfortably in the black on assist-turnover ratio.

Looking at individual scoring stats, plus the Terps' excellent offensive and defensive turnover numberrs, it's difficult to imagine how Maryland's offense could have such middling overall efficiency. As the Pomeroy scouting report reveals, the Terps do not rebound particularly well, particularly on the offensive end, don't get to the line very often, and shoot free throws nearly as poorly as IU does.

Unquestionably, IU must play its best game of the season to have any chance for victory. While Maryland, per the early season computer ratings, is not as good as Mississippi, the Terps are far better than any other team IU has played, including Boston U. and George Mason, teams that defeated IU in Puerto Rico. It seems inevitable that IU will turn the ball over against Maryland. Even normally sure-handed Wisconsin turned the ball over on 23 percent of its possession in a win against the Terps. It seems to me that IU's best chance depends upon exploiting Maryland's rebounding weakness, continiuing to shoot well from three point range, and trying to force the Terps into enough turnovers to balance out that factor. Really, nothing that IU has done this year provides much hope for victory, other than the belief that this team has enough talent to improve as the season progresses. Tonight would be a good night to show such improvement.

Reviewing Maryland's Maui Trip: Rebounding and Landon Milbourne

Ben Broman — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:33:49 -0000

More photos » by Eugene Tanner - AP

Browse more photos »

Got bored today, so I decided to crunch some numbers, because they usually make more sense than my half-baked opinions. I'll get to the headline after the jump, but for now, it's time for points!

So, are you ready for some win/loss number comparisons? The red represents what players put up in the wins, and the blue is what players put up in the losses:

Obviously, Greivis Vasquez is what should stick out the most to you here - in losses, he both took more shots and scored a lot more points. Don't, however, confuse the causes and effects here: because Maryland was losing for most of the contest for both games, Greivis tried to carry the team on his back and therefore got more points. Maryland didn't necessarily lose because Greivis put up points, though I suppose you can take that any way you see it. I won't argue you that Greivis has played awfully no matter what.

Numbers don't help a lot when analyzing Greivis Vasquez's play, especially right now. It looks like he does bad, but Maryland wins because he plays under control. Maryland does bad, it looks like he does good, but they really just start giving him the ball and telling him to score. Maryland could definitely use a second option against actual, legit competition.

I wouldn't read too much into the drops of others, though, because Maryland scored significantly less in their losses than in their wins. Sadly, I'm not going through and normalizing these values - I'm not that bored. The only two I'd really pay attention to would be Vaz's, obviously, and Adrian Bowie, who basically disappeared in Maui. I was also a bit disappointed by Cliff Tucker's regression - he could've been big off the bench.

With points out the way, how bout we get to the bigger problems: rebounding.

Look at the culprit here: Landon Milbourne. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Milbourne should be bringing in 5 rebounds a game; in Maryland's two Maui losses, he had 1. Even in the wins he wasn't outstanding, barely breaking 5 against below-average competition.Some argue that, because Landon was in foul trouble and thus didn't play much, so his numbers were deflated. To counter that, I looked at the performance by minute, and the graphs are almost identical.

Something is seriously not right with Mr. Milbourne, and the more I think about it, the more I warm up to the idea of Landon at the 3. It can't be a full-time thing - Maryland simply has too many good guards to keep off the floor and Landon is definitely a liability at the spot defensively. But his rebounding is so terrible that he's going to start losing time to Jordan Williams and James Padgett anyway, and he's better than Jin Soo Choi. He'd also present a matchup problem on offense for smaller threes.

I'm still shying away from the idea of starting 2 freshman and having literally JSC and Goins as our frontcourt depth, though. I'm all for decreasing Landon at the 4, bumping him up a little at the 3, and taking away some of Adrian Bowie's minutes, who's been in a funk ever since last year. Greivis Vasquez could stand to see a small decrease in the short-term, too.

On the good side, color me impressed with Jordan Williams and, to a slightly lesser extent, James Padgett. Williams needs to start trimming some fat, and fast, but once he gets cut he'll be a force. The next piece of the puzzle with him, though, is learning how to dunk. All-ACC at that point. Padgett has some nice post moves that I didn't expect - he's a bit limited by his size compared to Williams, but makes up for it with his athleticism.

Any thoughts on the graphs? Not a lot of conclusions to draw from it that we didn't already know, of course, but it's nice to see it in numbers form.

Maryland Overcomes Another Slow Start, Beats Chaminade in Maui, 79-51

Ben Broman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:31:24 -0000

More photos » by Eugene Tanner - AP

Browse more photos »

Maryland saw yet another slow start against an inferior opponent, but yet again overcame it with a strong finish to defeat Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational and move to 4-0 on the year, 79-51. Maryland will move on to play Cincinnati and former recruiting fling Lance Stephenson tomorrow in the second round.

Greivis Vasquez matched his team's slow start, and continued his general poor play to start the year. Vasquez, who put up 9, is yet to score 10 in a game. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne took advantage of his absence, scoring 19 and 10, respectively. Cliff Tucker had a solid contribution off the bench with 7 points, and Eric Hayes was his usual steady rock of a guard - he won't get as much credit as he deserves for this game.

As ESPNU's commentators never let you forget, this was Chaminade's Final Four, so Maryland was guaranteed to get their best shot. It was definitely a closer call than it should've been, and Maryland's insistence on playing half-hearted defense and gravity's insistence on making shots rim out didn't help. Chaminade had a two point lead as late as 7:44 in the first half; that's obviously not acceptable. Still, Maryland soon outclassed the Silverswords; the talent difference was obvious in the second half.

The problem was the start. Maryland can make up a terrible shooting percentage pretty quickly against Chaminade; they won't be able to against Cincinnati, and especially not against Gonzaga. They need heavier doses of Greivis Vasquez, driving the lane, and fewer lower percentage shots - most of Maryland's misses early on were jumpers. Those should come later, once players are in the flow of the game. Hopefully this gave them enough of a scare to realize that.

As for the the daily report on the freshman bigs, well, Jordan Williams looked better than James Padgett again, except for one big problem: he refuses to dunk. The dude broke a backboard, so you know he can do, but he needs to start. He's missing out on and-ones, and missing a lot of chances inside. It's time to start slamming those home.

Otherwise, he looked good - he's getting more in shape by the day, and is inching ever closer to his first double-double (was just one point away). Padgett's coming along a bit more slowly. He still has work to do, but he also flashed some signs of brilliance, like a beautiful layup from Jin Soo Choi in garbage time. In fact, the later in the game it got, the better his play became.

We'll have a writeup on Cincy sometime tomorrow - they play tomorrow at 7 on ESPN.

Maryland Tops New Hampshire Easily, 82-55

Ben Broman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:51:40 -0000

Maryland dominated from the start, scoring the first 9 points, Eric Hayes had 16 points, and Landon Milbourne scored 24 as the Terps beat the New Hampshire Wildcatsand move to 3-0 on the year, 82-55. They won by 27, which helps cap off their highest winning margin in their opening three games since 1991.

To be honest, I didn't see the entire game. The first half I was out of the half, and the first part of the second half I Was setting up the stream. By the time I started watching, New Hampshire had started their late run, but it was clear that Maryland had mentally checked out around with around 7 minutes to go. Even with clear mental lapses, it was obvious how well Maryland had played and was capable of playing.

Landon Milbourne was dominant, putting up his career high, and Hayes was money in the first half, though he was quiet in the second. Sean Mosley was perhaps the most impressive player on the floor with his completenes, however; he had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists, defended well, and got to plenty of loose balls.

The only worry to me was Greivis Vasquez' play, as the normally awesome PG has been pretty average the past few games; this one was no exception. He had just 8 points and 2 assists; while Maryland might not need him right now, his services will be necessary in Maui.

As for the daily report on the young bigs, Jordan Williams looked more impressive than Padgett, though not by much. Padgett was supposed to be the more energetic one, but he looked just as gassed as Williams near the end of hte game, and Williams outrebounded, outscored, and outminuted (?) him. Padgett is capable of being better than Williams, but this wasn't a great game for him.

On Williams, actually, he continues to inch closer and closer to his double-double. I've been pleasantly surprised by his play - he's shown he's no Braxton Dupree Pt. II.

Did anyone that saw the whole game have any thoughts?

Around the ACC: 11/18

MRickman84 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:52:37 -0000

What a slate of games last night, huh? We got a good taste of what Gonzaga looks like and it appears they are way better than anyone thought coming into the year. They've got some big ballhandlers. The Kansas-Memphis game was another classic, and Georgetown and UCONN got a scare. Plus, Tennessee absolutely went off on UNC-Asheville. But let's focus on our specialty, ACC hoops.

We got a good glimpse of teams in the conference yesterday. These early season games are important for scouting teams' strengths and weaknesses. Mid-majors may not have the talent level of the ACC, but they sometimes do a pretty good job of scheming and looking for ways to attack and defend.

The first few games also let us know exactly what freshmen are the real deal and which returning players are ready to make the jump to the next level.

Clemson 79, Liberty 39
This game was never close. What stood out was the fact that Clemson can shoot a little better than the last couple years. Sure, they're missing Oglseby, but they still have some real weapons. David Potter lit it up from deep, hitting 5 and finishing with 17.The Tigers will rebound the ball with Trevor Booker (who has been there for about 20 years) and they will continue to be a good defensive team. Plus they've got a good little player in Demontez Stitt.

Duke 101, Charlotte 59
Duke looked really good in their win over Charlotte. I kick Kyle Singler around a lot of the time, but he has a ton of skill and when players can't matchup well against him, he takes advantage. The senior had 17 points and was aided by Jon Scheyer with 20, as well as Nolan Smith, who had 24 in his return to the lineup after suspension. It's the same story for Duke: if they hit their shots, they are tough to beat.

Virginia Tech 59, UNC-Greensboro 46
Not really sure what to make of this win, and this Hokie team. I might have to ask Gobbler Country on this one. We know what to expect from Jeff Allen (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Malcolm Delaney (17 points, 5 assists), but I just don't know where else a lot of the scoring is going to come from.

Boston College 72, St. Francis 44
I promised myself this year I would stop taking Boston College lightly. Al Skinner continuously finds ways to do as much as he possibly can with his team. But, how will the Eagles react to losing Tyrese Rice? I'm high on Joe Trapani (13 points, 9 rebounds) and even higher on Reggie Jackson, who looks to make great strides from last year (17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists). I feel like despite the loss of Tyrese Rice, this is a deeper BC team overall and definitely an NCAA team.

Maryland 71, Fairfield 42
Again, another team I'm not exactly sure what my impressions are. My old friend Eric Hayes is still there. Greivis Vasquez (7 points, 6 assists on 3-11 shooting) is obviously the "star," but Hayes will be a calming influence on this team due to Vasquez's penchant for turning the ball over and his tendancy to be inconsistent. I'm still a big fan of Landon Milbourne, and it'll be interesting to see what exactly his role will be this year.

Maryland Easily Tops Charleston Southern In Season Opener, 89-51

Ben Broman — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:08:48 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

FILE: Maryland's Landon Milbourne, right, goes to the basket against Indiana of Pennsylvania's Darryl Webb (15) during the second half of an NCAA exhibition college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, in College Park, Md. Maryland won 75-54. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Maryland scored first and never trailed in its season opener against Charleston Southern, using a 26-11 second half run to put the game away and ultimately win easily, 89-51.

The big stories of the day were Greivis Vasquez and the freshman duo of Jordan Williams and James Padgett. Vasquez ended up with just eight points on a very average shooting performance, but he added 13 assists, most of them wowing the crowd. Twice he dropped my jaw, once a behind-the-back fake to real behind-the-back, once a pass that started as a reverse layup. While flashy play and flashy passing are nothing new for Vaz, he's definitely in midseason form already.

Jordan Williams earned his first start of his career in the first game of his career, suiting up in place of the ineligible/suspended/whatever Dino Gregory. Luckily for Maryland, he also earned his first double-digit scoring game today, putting up 10 points in the first half alone, adding a bucket in the second. He paired that performance with 9 rebounds, again, most of which came in the first half. Williams was very impressive against a smaller CSU team, but clearly tired as the game went on. Most people expected that, but he'll have to work on his conditioning for ACC play. Maryland will need that type of performance to beat the Clemsons and GTs of the world.

Fortunately, when Williams tired, James Padgett picked up the slack. After only scoring 2 in the first half, Padgett picked up 8 points and 8 rebounds in the second. The opposite of Williams, he looked very average until later in the game, when he started to get in the flow of play. They were surprisingly effective when on the floor together, too, though I would hope we aren't in that situation too much.

The rest of the team performed pretty much how we expected them to. Landon Milbourne led all scorers with 16, and Sean Mosley scored just one fewer, with 15 on the night. Both looked very impressive - Mosley's jumper looked good, he hit all of his layups, and he was traditionally himself: just imagine last year's Mosley with a more developed offensive game.

Maryland actually had 5 total players with double digits, and only Jin Soo Choi and Ersin Levent didn't score at all. Very good performance. I'll get more into the minuses later in the week, but just know that the first game went according to plan.