SB Nation - Steve Goins

Slowly But Surely, Maryland's Frontcourt Depth Returning

Ben Broman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:30:25 -0000

It sounds all but official at this point that Dino Gregory will be making his return to the team on December 12, just in time for the big showdown against Eastern Kentucky. Now word also comes out that Jin Soo Choi could be back against New Hampshire tomorrow, and, if not then, he's likely a go for Maui.

While Choi's presence isn't entirely important, it does provide a solid five to eight minutes a game that Jordan Williams, who has looked a little rough at the end of contests, doesn't have to be on the floor. He's also a safety net if any of Maryland's three current big men get injured.

From that same link, it also sounds like Steve Goins is progressing along nicely with his chronic knee injury - that doesn't really indicate when he'll back, but it does give hope that he'll make a return sometime soon. Having Goins to provide five to ten minutes a night would be huge - the dude's a big body who can, at the very least, provide a physical presence matched on the team only by Jordan Williams.

As for Dino, he will miss the all-important Villanova game and the Maui Invitational, which could prove especially problematic should Maryland face Vanderbilt. The good news is that he'll have a few warm-up games to shake off the rust - Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, UNC-G, etc. - before ACC play, when his services will really be required.

The silver lining to it is that when it comes time for James Padgett and Jordan Williams to play against some of the ACC-level bigs, they'll have experience. They'll be better for having gone up against Villanova and Cincy/Vandy/Gonzaga/Arizona/whoever, and they'll be a lot more use when it comes time to play in the ACC, which is what really matters comes Selection Sunday. Obviously, having a nice OOC win to point to can do wonders (MSU and Michigan last year) but it's trumped by finishing third in the ACC.

The possible disaster is subsiding.

Maryland Minute 11.16.09 - More on Pankey, Terps Going with Four Guards?

Ben Goldstein — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:07:53 -0000

Props to bbroman for the links and analysis today.

Recruiting Report: Ashton Pankey commits to Maryland
Some quotes from Jeff Rivera, his AAU coach:

"I think it’s a win-win situation," said Jeff Rivera, one of Pankey’s AAU coaches with the New York-based New Heights program. "I think it’s a great fit for both Ashton and the University of Maryland. Obviously, Coach [Gary] Williams has seen him and Coach [Chuck] Driesell was following him around this summer and has been to a number of his workouts at St. Anthony's. I think it’ll be good for his potential. Hopefully everything will work itself out."

Throwback Time: Maryland Going Small Against Fairfield
I don't really understand the reasoning behind it - after all, Jin Soo Choi and Steve Goins combined for about - what? - ten minutes a game? Regardless, Maryland will be going to a four guard lineup again.

C.J. Leslie Will Wait Until Spring, Not Listing Maryland
Hopefully we won't need him.

The only visit he's taken is to Kentucky, but he said N.C. State is still on the list, along with Florida, Oregon, Georgia and Connecticut, and there is no leader.

And now onto football...

Yep: Maryland Last in Dinich's Power Rankings
Deservedly so.

Ralph Friedgen: Blame Luck (Again)
Ralph: this isn't working. We don't appreciate it. Move on.

"We're not very lucky..." Friedgen bemoaned. "I'm seeing plays I haven't seen my whole coaching career."

Maryland-BC at 3:30 ON TV
Ha! Two straight weeks!

So what if it's ESPNU?

Took Some Time - Hughes Replaces Wiseman
Look, I think Anthony Wiseman is a good #3 corner, but he was at #1 for the longest time. He was finally replaced against Virginia Tech by the younger, more promising, badass brother having Trenton Huges.

Recruiting Report: Weekend wrap — Lots of Football Notes
Maryland football is bad. Maryland football recruiting isn't great. But hey, at least we can dream about football being good in the future.

Steve Goins' Injury: Hope You Like An All-Freshman Frontcourt

Ben Broman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:52:48 -0000

Okay, that's not entirely true, because Landon Milbourne will be there, but this certainly isn't encouraging.

Shortly after posting the Dino Gregory story, I saw the Steve Goins injury update from the Post. The news isn't great.

Maryland Coach Gary Williams said after last night's win over Indiana (Pa.) that no timetable had been set on when Goins might return to action.

"The doctors make those decisions," Williams said. "I wish I could say we'll get him back right away, but I don't know that. It still bothers him. He says it still hurts. So that's where it is. I wish I could give you a more definite answer than that, but that's where it is."

While it's not at all definitive, knee injuries are nothing to play around with, particularly recurring knee injuries. This could be nothing, or it could be something that follows him the entire season, possibly requiring surgery. Much like the Dino situation, we don't know enough yet to fully lay down a verdict, but what's above isn't encouraging.

The scary thing is, though, if this is as bad as it could be, or even close to it, there's a very real possibility that Maryland's frontcourt will consist of Landon Milbourne, James Padgett, and Jordan Williams. Maybe Jin Soo Choi, depending on whether or not he's eaten a dozen cheeseburgers the preceding 12 hours. And that's it.

When it was just Dino, there was a silver lining about getting playing time and all that. Now, though, I'm getting very concerned about frontcourt depth really costing Maryland early on in the season, particularly in Maui.

It may only be a matter of time before Ersin Levent sees the floor, at this rate.

Dino Gregory's Situation, And What It Means for Maryland

Ben Broman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:58:32 -0000

Wondering what's up with Dino Gregory? So are the rest of us.

Here's what we know so far: there was a question on academic dishonesty (read: cheating, in some sense) over the summer, which may or may not be related to this. Gun to my head, I say it is related, but that's just speculation. I simply find it difficult to believe Dino would have two infractions in such a short time period.

Moving on, until Dino tells us, we won't know. Maryland is keeping the entire thing under wraps, as they are legally obligated, and won't reveal any information, whether it be the infraction or the time he's due back.

Right now, the general consensus is that he'll be out one semester, which would mean he'd be back on the team, assuming he's in good standing, Dec. 20. A few people have said this, and it's also the same amount of time Josh Portis was ineligible when he got caught with the same charge.

That means he'd miss Maryland's first nine games, including important matchups with Villanova and Indiana, as well as the Maui Invitational. I'm sure Gary and Dino are doing everything they can to get back earlier, but I'd be surprised if the punishment was less than a semester. That said, I think it being more than a semester would be even more shocking.

This is a really sad thing for both parties, because by all accounts, Dino was the most improved player on the team, and he was already a pretty important part of the team toward the end of last year. Most signs pointed to him being the fifth starter and a major contributor on a team that needed guys who could play inside.

Instead, Maryland's already thin and weak frontcourt gets a man thinner and weaker. Steve Goins, James Padgett, and Jordan Williams should all see increased roles in his absence - yes, that is meant to scare you. Padgett, Williams, and Goins all seem pretty talented and competent, but they've to prove it against big time competition. Going into games with two freshmen big men and one who might as well be a freshman isn't comforting at all.

There is, however, a silver lining. While this will probably contribute to an unexpected loss and make it more difficult to stand up to Nova, those three guys will see plenty of playing time. That playing time equates to increased development, which means they'll be more helpful come ACC games, which is even more important than the OOC games. Hopefully they'll be able to make an impact against some of the more developed ACC bigs, like Trevor Booker and Dwayne Collins.

Right now, though, nothing's in stone with Gregory, nor would I expect it to become that way in the next few days. When we know more, you'll know more.

Terps Win Sole Exhibition, 75-54

Ben Broman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:59:59 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Maryland's Greivis Vasquez (21) goes to the basket against Indiana of Pennsylvania's Darryl Webb (15) and Thomas Young, center, during the first half of an NCAA exhibition college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Ok, it's late, I'm tired, and I'm sure my co-writers who attended the game probably have some more detailed thoughts, but here's what I'm thinking after the first exhibition game:

To sum it up, inconsistent, messy, got outrebounded by a DII school, and still won by 20.

It's definitely early, and the preseason wasn't kind for Maryland, but I think the inconsistentcy was a bit expected. I didn't fully expect the amazing amount of turnovers that the game provided, but other than that, everything looked okay for Maryland. There was the requisite early lack of hustle, which hurt the Terps quite a few times, but I'm sure Gary will get rid of that after just a practice.

No, Dino Gregory wasn't playing, but there's still nothing on his situation. Pure speculation, I'm guessing academics of some sort, as opposed to something behavior related. Nor was Steve Goins on the floor, victim to a knee injury. That left James Padgett and Jordan Williams as the lone big men for the day.

The freshmen looked pretty decent, if inconsistent. I was expecting Padgett to entirely outclass Williams after the early reports, but they were pretty equal. Padgett definitely had the "ooooooohhhhh" play of the game with a nasty putback dunk in the late first half and followed it up with some solid rebounding and a couple of nice left handed finishes. Once Jordan Williams got into the game, you could see his potential: he runs the floor extremely well for someone his size, surprised me with his endurance, and was money from the foul line. Especially early on in the year, he's going to get fouled a lot against smaller opponents, and he'll be able to take advantage of that.

Those weren't the most important developments of the night, though. No, that'd go to Sean Mosley's improved offensive game. He showcased an ability to actually finish to go along with his defense and hustle from last year - he will be very dangerous when given the opportunity.

Other than that, everything was as expected. Greivis was solid. Eric Hayes was the same as last year. Adrian Bowie showcased an improved jumper, but had the same ridiculously quicks and pesky defense. Cliff Tucker was still in the Gary doghouse for most of the game and only got a few minutes. Jin Soo Choi was still really thin and didn't look entirely sure of himself the entire time. Landon Milbourne was tough to handle in the paint and had a nice 13 foot jumper.

You get the point.

All that said, remember, it's an exhibition against DII, so these thoughts aren't worth a ton.

Countdown to Tipoff: Steve Goins

Ben Broman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:51:40 -0000

One of the few images on the interwebz that exist of the mysterious man. Image via Inside MD Sports on Flickr

View full size photo »

Steve Goins

#25 / Center / Maryland Terrapins

Height: 6-10

Weight: 245

Year: sophomore

Welcome back, folks. Today we look at a somewhat mysterious fella, the enigmatic Steve Goins.

Goins was a last minute addition to the 2009 recruiting class, with Sean Mosley and Jin Soo Choi (nee Kim). He saw next to no playing time last year, getting a few minutes against some of the lesser teams early in the year, despite having something very important that literally no one else on the team had - size.

Goins, a legit 6-10, 245, couldn't crack the line-up of a team starting a 6-5 center. He probably felt a bit slighted, deservedly so, and decided to transfer...before not transferring. After waffling a bit, he's back in College Park for another year.

Whether or not he's progressed since last year could play a big role in how well Maryland does this year. The young bigs have neither Goins' size nor experience, and Maryland needs bodies in the post something fierce.

His Game: Your guess is just about as good as ours. Not much exists on Goins outside of the fact that he's big, didn't play last year, and is from Chicago. Why? Well, his senior year was his first full year of organized basketball. Ever. That's basically the definition of a late bloomer, a sleeper, and a project, all of which were labels applied to him out of high school. In that first full year, he put up 14 and 10, and got to 3 star status by most ranking services...not bad.

First off, he definitely hasn't realized his potential, or come anywhere close to it. To add to the fact that he hadn't really played a full season until his senior year, he was 6-4 until his junior year, when he underwent a growth spurt and became 6-9, so the basketball skills he had learned were less useful. He was basically a piece of large, athletic clay, and the hope is that a season with Gary Williams did wonders for him, and it might've.

As for what he's specifically good at, well, that's a bit fuzzier. It seems the most respect comes for his ability to play down low, which is Maryland's biggest priority right now. There's just so little out there on him, and the little that exists comes from people like his AAU coach, who made it sound like he could start from day one.

The point of this is, he has a lot of potential that he should one day come in to, and I'm not sure there's anyone better than Gary Williams to get him there. The only question is whether it's happened this year or not.

Baseless Projection: Oh, is this baseless. If you couldn't tell, there's a ton of uncertainty surrounding Goins. Want to add something else? He has a knee injury. He likely won't play against Indiana (Pa.), and whether or not he's a go for the real season is - you guessed it - unknown. Regardless of how that turns out, he's missing a lot of very important development time right now, so I'm scaling back my projections for him from what they were earlier. These would be increased (and Padgett's and William's decreased, probably) if he was fully healthy.

Pts	Reb	Min
2.1	2.6	4.3

Remember: this one is baseless as hell. They're more of a general guideline than a specific projection - simply way too much about Goins is unknown to be accurate. I'm assuming he misses a good chunk of the beginning of the season with his injury, and by the time he's healthy, the opponents are the big timers, so he doesn't see much time because he didn't have the opportunity to prove himself against the Charleston Southerns of the world.

Goins Not Yet Gone

Ben Broman — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:26:48 -0000

As reported a few weeks ago, Steve Goins had been planning on transferring out of Maryland and opening up another schollie. There was good reason - homesick, didn't play, and so on and so forth - and most people were happy for another scholarship.

Here we are, several weeks later, and he's yet to announce his decision as to where exactly he'll transfer. I guess Braxton Dupree's decision reminded the Sun's Jeff Barker about this fact, and he went into snoop mode and found this out:

*Steve Goins, the 6-foot-10 center, had been expected to transfer but it hasn't happened yet. I'm told now that he may remain with the Terps. Some fan sites jumped the gun by saying he was already gone. We'll see.

Very interesting news. In defense of "fan sites", he was indeed "already gone" - the transfer had been announced. As it turns out, he could've changed his mind as he was never really given an official release. It seems like that's what happened.

This coincides nicely with the DeShawn Painter recruitment - it wouldn't at all surprise me if he was readying his transfer due to the possible commitment of Painter. I would've preferred Painter, but there's really no one else for 2009 on the horizon, and I'm pretty sure he's better than an empty chair. At best, the Terps would add on a JUCO big who wouldn't know the offense - I'll take Goins over that, too. There's a good chance that he transfers after 2009, especially if Gary manages to grab Terrence Jones or Tobias Harris in 2010.

One last note - this isn't finalized yet. I would recommend that until you hear otherwise, he's staying, but until I hear some confirmation on it, I'd stay wary of calling it one way or the other. I doubt DeShawn Painter was the only thing making Steve Goins transfer.

Basketball Scholarship Situation

Ben Broman — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:01:49 -0000

I'm sure a few people are wondering how Maryland is recruiting Lance Stephenson (and Terrell Vinson, and some JUCOs) if there are no scholarships left (I addressed this a long time ago, but some of the newer readers haven't seen it). In case you don't know, here's the situation: Maryland currently has 13 players on scholarship. When Gilchrist transferred out, there were 12. The extra was given to Pearman for one year, with the understanding he'd give it up after this year. Pearman gives up his scholly to Williams, Neal gives up his to Padgett (or Pearman to Williams, Neal to Padgett). Here's a handy graphic, plus a few years:

Yes, Maryland appears to be out of scholarships for the 2009 season. Don't worry: it's a near guarantee that someone will transfer out, or in some other way vacate a scholarship. It seems that the coaches aren't just pursuing Stephenson - they've been on Vinson (though lightly) and some JUCOs, just in case Stephenson doesn't turn out. Generally, players will let coaches know very early in the process so they can grab a replacement. If they're still recruiting, that's a damn good indicator that someone is transferring.

The candidates:

Cliff Tucker: Cliff was stuck on the end of the bench earlier in the year, even getting shut out some games. A lot of people assumed he'd transfer for PT, and a lot of rumors were swirling on the same subject, but he started to get more burn in ACC games. After a great game against UNC, it seemed he'd stay. But before long, he ended up on the end of the bench again. If those few games were promising enough for him, he'll stay. If not, and it might not, I wouldn't be surprised to see him transfer.

Braxton Dupree: Probably the choice of most Terp fans (it's mine). Odds are, he won't get much PT at Maryland in the future unless he significantly improves. He could transfer to UMBC and be a starter right away. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he'll go anywhere. The hunger just isn't there, from what I've heard (well, at least not metaphorically). If it was, he might've lost some weight by now.

Jerome Burney: Jerome wouldn't transfer, but his scholly could still open up. He's had injury problems since he's been on campus, and even though he's showed promise, he hasn't been able to get on the floor consistently. He could get an early graduation if he wanted to, and he may: he could get his degree and move on with his life. I don't know if he'd want to do that, but staying with basketball could just mess up his legs more. I wouldn't blame him if he decided to.

Jin Soo Kim/Steve Goins: Kim showed some serious potential early in the year. He's got a lot of talent, but needs to get bigger and acclimated to the ACC game. He got minimal playing time, so he could look for a place where he could play more. Goins came in as a project, but he's still 6-9 on a team with a 6-6 center. I'm sure he expected more than a few minutes of playing time. I don't expect either to transfer, but they're possibilities.

There's a great chance at least one of those five will end up someone other than Maryland next year. We'll have to wait awhile for the transfer to be publicly announced, but the coaches probably already know. In the meantime, it is completely legal and possible for Maryland to recruit players for the 2009 season, and those players can verbally commit without a scholarship available.

Also, Gary could - in theory - kick someone out of a 'ship. He could just say to Brax "Sorry, no more scholarship for you" and kick him off the team, technically. Just know that very few coaches would do that. I'd consider it low for guys like Jim Calhoun, so don't expect Gary to do that.

In case you're wondering, Kansas is actually already two scholarships over for 2009, but that hasn't slowed them in recruiting Stevenson.

Bad News - Burney out 3-6 Weeks

Dave Tucker — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:28:29 -0000

Bad news for Terps basketball today. Gary Williams announced that redshirt sophomore Jerome Burney has a stress fracture in his foot that will keep him out for 3-6 weeks. If you'll recall, Burney had a similar problem his true freshman year, when he was redshirted as a result of another foot injury.

Burney, listed at 6'-10", has seemingly been in Gary's doghouse all year, but regardless this is a big loss to a team with a average at best frontcourt. Additionally, this comes during the non-conference portion of the schedule where people like Burney should have been getting time to help fine tune their skills. It will also hurt the Terps, maybe more so, in practice, as Dupree, Gregory and Goins will have 1 less big person to go against. I guess it's better then this happening during the heart of the ACC schedule...

Maryland Downs Youngstown State

Dave Tucker — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:20:51 -0000

Fortunately for me, tonight I was able to enjoy the Maryland Basketball ball game tonight from the 4th row, center court, in the middle of the student section at the Comcast Center. Maryland defeated Youngstown State tonight, 73-45, in front of a sparse crowd at the Comcast Center, completing their 2nd victory of the season. The start of the game was delayed nearly 10 minutes after a problem with both the scoreboard and shot clocks forced the tech crew at the Comcast Center to restart the entire system at tipoff.

The Terps started off the game very slow, seeming to not be able to make a basket in the first several minutes of play. Maryland didn't get on the board until a steal led to an Eric Hayes breakaway dunk. Maryland seemed very shaky at the start of the game, but eventually settled down behind the leadership of both Vasquez and Hayes.

The starting line up struggled in the beginning, especially Maryland's front court players who appear to still be a little lost and aren't really attacking the basket. Tucker played okay and Milbourne struggled early and never really got into the game, eventually fouling out in the 2nd half.

Vasquez had a great game, tying his career high in points (28), to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in only 30 minutes of play. Vasquez did a fantastic job tonight of not forcing too many shots, but rather passing the ball off, which is a good improvement for him over last year. Vasquez also did all of this while playing the 1, 2, and 3 positions.

I thought Eric Hayes had a great game - he had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 really good block. I know those stats don't sound too impressive, but Hayes did a lot of things that won't show up in the box score after the game - hustling for loose balls, following up shots, inserting confidence in the team, etc. I think Hayes also did a great job coming off of screens and pics as well. When he's open, he can really knock down shots.

Gary Williams seems to be playing Dave Neal a lot, to the tune of 21 minutes tonight. I like Dave Neal - I think he's a great glue, scrappy player. But I'm not sure why he was playing 21 minutes tonight. Dave scored a total of 0 points in his 21 minutes, only grabbed 1 rebound and dished out 2 assists. When Neal is covering someone on the outside, such as Vytas Sulskis tonight, they simply fake a shot and then drive right past him. Neal also seems to be struggling grabbing rebounds. If he was grabbing boards, I wouldn't have a problem with his lack of offense, but right now he appears to be doing neither. I think the large amount of time Neal is getting is because he's a senior and because Maryland's other big men haven't stepped up thus far.

Crowd favorite Jin Soo Kim had a pretty off night, often looking lost in the offense while committing 3 turnovers and some sub-par passing. I think Kim is still learning the offense, but he needs to do less standing around and has to become more involved in the half court.

Sean Mosley had a great game and had a great 3 minute stretch where he scored a couple of times, was hustling for loose balls, came up with a few steals, and probably earned himself some additional playing time for his effort.

Bowie looked good, but only scored from the free throw line and added 2 assists and 3 steals to a somewhat quiet night.

As I said previously, Maryland's front court needs to step and grow up fast. Dupree was constantly getting blocked when he attempted shots around the basket and Maryland was out rebounded tonight 40-30 against a mostly smaller, less athletic Penguins team. Goins, Burney and Gregory combined for 18 minutes of play, no points, 1 rebound and 1 block. That HAS to improve.

Maryland can win without front court production, but that means our guards and forwards are going to have to step up and slash through and follow up shots to grab their own boards if Maryland wants to be successful.

I think the biggest problem tonight for Maryland was the officials. Fouls were being called left and right, which prevented Maryland from pushing the ball up court and from getting a lot of fast break points. I believe in the first half, each team was in the double bonus with 9 minutes left and the each team was again in the double bonus in the 2nd half with 4 minutes left. That's a lot of fouls folks. It really slowed down the play of the game.

One interesting tidbit about Gary Williams' post game interview with Johnny Holiday - Gary basically called out the large number of fans who were missing tonight and said "If you know any people with basketball tickets, you know, the people who thought it wasn't worth watching us play a Youngstown State team, ask them to give away their tickets if they're not going to use them." I thought that was a pretty strong statement from the coach, following up on his comments from the last game in which he called out fans who he thought were booing the team in the early half of the game. I love Gary's passion and I hope people listen and start coming out to these games or at least give them away to a children's charity or something.

Overall, good building game for the Terps. They have a lot more to do, but hopefully they'll learn and get better.