SBNation.com User Blog: cdmterp

Change in starting lineup?

cdmterp — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:09:05 -0000

Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post and Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times both tweeted that Turgeon might make a lineup change tomorrow against the last cupcake, IUPUI.
In my opinion, if there is going to be a change, I see is Charles Mitchell taking James Padgett's place in the starting lineup. Both of their stats are pretty much the same with the exception of Mitchell's rebounding. Mitchell is averaging nearly 7 rpg while Padgett is at 4.5. Mitchell was also named ACC freshman of the week today.
Stevens indicated the change in the lineup is based on practice and not any games while Prewitt says that there are no promises about any lineup changes.
Maybe Allen or Cleare could get the nod. Or maybe there's no changes. I've attached a poll of who is most likely to get the start rather than who is most likely to go to the bench. The power of positive fanposting.
What do you think about any potential changes to the lineup and will it continue when ACC play opens this Saturday?

Poll

If there's a change, which Terp is most likely to be inserted into the lineup against IUPUI?

Seth Allen

29 votes

Logan Aronhalt

4 votes

Shaq Cleare

17 votes

Jake Layman

11 votes

Charles Mitchell

216 votes

277 votes | Poll has closed

2014 front court recruits

cdmterp — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:23:45 -0000

I can't help it but I love to talk about recruiting.

Maryland has three scholarships available for the 2014 class unless Len goes pro and others leave. New commit Melo Trimble will take the scholarship of Pe'Shon Howard. The other two slots will come from scholarships currently being used by Auslander and Lipinski. If Len and anyone else leaves then there will be more spots open on the team. For now, I'm going to assume we have two spots open and I'll leave Len's (if it opens) for something down the road like a possible transfer similar to Dez Wells.

Maryland's front court for '14-15 season should include Smotz (SR), Shaq (JR), Chuck (JR), Jake (JR) and Dodd (SO). With the exception of Dodd, any of the others could be starters. There might not be much playing time the first year for any freshmen.

Most of us have heard that Turgeon wants to take two guards in this class, which for me is Wiley, Booth and Vaughn for now for the one scholly left for another guard. I hope he's looking to add a straight 2-guard. That will leave one scholarship for a front court player.

For the front court, our options include Dwayne Morgan, Obi Enechionyia, Abdul-Malik Abu, Isaiah Manderson, Alec Brennan, Chinanu Onuaku and Jacquil Taylor among others. In my opinion, the ones the staff are after the hardest are Morgan, Obi, and Abu. So if there is only one spot open for these players then who is going to take it? If Len goes, then Turgeon most likely will take another front court player.

I've attached a poll of my top five preferences to see who everyone thinks would take the one front court scholarship. However, I realize Len will likely be gone so it would be interesting to see who the top two are.

I can't help it but I love to talk about recruiting.

Poll

Who would you like to see sign with the Terps with their one scholarship for a front court player?

Dwayne Morgan

342 votes

Obi Enechionyia

14 votes

Abdul-Malik Abu

25 votes

Isaiah Manderson

3 votes

Jacquil Taylor

4 votes

388 votes | Poll has closed

Maryland basketball starters by importance

cdmterp — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:33:41 -0000

I read a story on another web site (Bleacher Report) that ranked the starting five on the Maryland basketball team by importance. I didn't read the article but I thought we could bring the concept over here and get everyone's feedback on who you think will be the Terps most important starters this season.

For the starting five, I predict it will be at PG Howard, SG Aronhalt, SF Faust, F Len and F Padgett. Don't think either Padgett or Len will be centers. That will be up to Shaq when he comes of the bench. Why do you think a particular starter is the most important? Is it Howard for his veteran leadership at the point? Is it Faust for his ability to score and defend the other team's top scorer? I could go on and on. If you don't agree with my starting five then put down yours and who is the most important to you. I'm not going to list Dez Wells in the starting five since he hasn't been cleared yet but feel free to include him if you want. I've also included a poll.

My most important starter is Len. We need him to be dominant inside. He has to have better hands than he did last year. I saw on the website that he got a little stronger and we need him to show it inside this year. This is an area where we can exploit other teams and I think the more successful Len then that's how the Terps will roll.

Harrisons to decide in the fall

cdmterp — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:06:25 -0000

I'm not sure this is worthy of a fanpost or even if it is overkill but it is about the Harrisons. Here is the article by Zags.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/06/07/harrisons-still-looking-to-decide-early/

Obviously, everyone knows that Maryland, Kentucky, Baylor and Villanova are their final four schools. But it looks like SMU, under Larry Brown, is trying to make a really late push for the twins.

It seems like the recruiting process is really getting to them and they are definitely going to make a decision in the fall, probably by their birthday in late October. It sounds like they are tired of being recruited and want to get it over with. Does anyone know if they are going to be making another trip to Maryland? I heard they had or will be going on a visit to Villanova. If they are going to be making a decision before the high school basketball season starts later this year I would like to have them on campus one more time.

They are currently trying out for the US team in Colorado with Jake Layman, who, by the way, is looking good to make the team from what I read earlier today.

I still think the twins will come to Maryland, and, with Jake and Shaq, lead us to our 2nd national championship.

I'm not sure this is worthy of a fanpost or even if it is overkill but it is about the Harrisons. Here is the article by Zags.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/06/07/harrisons-still-looking-to-decide-early/

Obviously, everyone knows that Maryland, Kentucky, Baylor and Villanova are their final four schools. But it looks like SMU, under Larry Brown, is trying to make a really late push for the twins.

They are currently trying out for the US team in Colorado with Jake Layman, who, by the way, is looking good to make the team from what I read earlier today.

I still think the twins will come to Maryland, and, with Jake and Shaq, lead us to our 2nd national championship.

Playing time next year

cdmterp — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:49:14 -0000

Assuming we are done recruiting and next year's team is set, how many minutes per game do you see our top 10-12 players getting? I'm assuming we get Cassell, Dodd redshirts and no one gets hurt (like this year). Last year's minutes were as follows:

Howard 32

Stoglin 32

Mosley 31

Faust 27

Padgett 23

Len 21

Pankey 20

Parker 17

This comes out to 203 minutes (214 with Weijs). There are only 200 minutes in a game. How do you think the minutes will play out next year?

Starters: Howard, Stoglin, Faust, Padgett, Len.

Bench: Cleare, Layman, Pankey, Mitchell, Cassell, Parker, Allen,

I hope I'm not forgetting anyone. So that's 200 minutes to go around to 12 players.

My prediction:
PG: Howard 25, Cassell 15

SG: Stoglin 32, Allen 8

SF: Faust 28, Layman 8, Parker 4

PF: Len 25, Padgett 20, Mitchell 8,

C: Cleare 20, Pankey 7

I know players will be moving from position to position but some are not going to be happy with their playing time. I don't know that Turgeon will also use all 12 players. My two players with the biggest drop in minutes are - surprise - Parker and Pankey.

What are your thoughts?

Howard 32

Stoglin 32

Mosley 31

Faust 27

Padgett 23

Len 21

Pankey 20

Parker 17

This comes out to 203 minutes (214 with Weijs). There are only 200 minutes in a game. How do you think the minutes will play out next year?

Starters: Howard, Stoglin, Faust, Padgett, Len.

Bench: Cleare, Layman, Pankey, Mitchell, Cassell, Parker, Allen,

I hope I'm not forgetting anyone. So that's 200 minutes to go around to 12 players.

My prediction:
PG: Howard 25, Cassell 15

SG: Stoglin 32, Allen 8

SF: Faust 28, Layman 8, Parker 4

PF: Len 25, Padgett 20, Mitchell 8,

C: Cleare 20, Pankey 7

What are your thoughts?

It's Wednesday...in absence of Charlotte...Bball recruiting news

cdmterp — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:07:37 -0000

There is an article in today's Baltimore Sun regarding the Terps recruiting of 2013 PF Junior Etou. According to scout.com, Maryland has offered Etou. Other teams involved include Miami, West Virginia, Florida and Memphis among others.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/recruiting-blog/bal-insidemdsports-terps-in-pursuit-of-2013-power-forward-junior-etou-20120228,0,6840921.story

The article says Maryland scouted Etou quite a few times last summer and was set to see him play in Florida before he went down with ankle injuries.

One of the more interesting parts of the article is the relationship between Etou's coach at Arlington Country Day (FL) Rex Morgan and Maryland assistant coach Dalonte Hill.

"With [Hill] there, Maryland will always have a shot at any of our kids,” Morgan said.

Etou also plays for D.C. Assault.

Morgan also was impressed with the Terps coaching staff. "They’re in a tough conference. They’ve got great tradition, great facilities, they’re in D.C. I think they’ve got everything to offer. I’m sure they’ll get it done. Not that Gary [Williams] didn’t get it done, but I think some people might think they need better talent,” he said.

Morgan's ACD teams are always among the top teams in the country.

Here is a clip of one of their games. Etou is #10 in green with the white sleeve on his left arm. He has dunks around the :35 and 1:35 mark. He also has a rebound and putback at around 2:18 in case you want to just click those times on the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNvvjrbjIzI

Etou is in ESPN's Super 60 as a junior and has a 93 rating and four stars.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/142826/junior-etou

I hope we only use four scholarships this year. If we can get the Harrisons and Etou in 2013, I'll be very happy.

I can't wait for Charlotte to get back to doing these updates.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/recruiting-blog/bal-insidemdsports-terps-in-pursuit-of-2013-power-forward-junior-etou-20120228,0,6840921.story

"With [Hill] there, Maryland will always have a shot at any of our kids,” Morgan said.

Etou also plays for D.C. Assault.

Morgan's ACD teams are always among the top teams in the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNvvjrbjIzI

Etou is in ESPN's Super 60 as a junior and has a 93 rating and four stars.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/142826/junior-etou

I hope we only use four scholarships this year. If we can get the Harrisons and Etou in 2013, I'll be very happy.

I can't wait for Charlotte to get back to doing these updates.

Who are the Terps best five on the court?

cdmterp — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:04:24 -0000

It's a very slow day here in south Florida so I thought I would take a look at some of the Terps stats. (I'm a stats freak.) I wanted to see who have been the Terps best five players on the court using the +/- stat since ACC play began. I found some of the results were quite surprising.

We all know hockey uses +/- and recently basketball has started to use it, although not officially I don't think. I looked at the past eight games, the seven ACC games plus the Temple game. There is a +/- for when a player is on the court and a +/- when he is on the bench.

Here are my findings. During this time period, the Terps have been outscored by 28 points, going 3-5 in the process.

Berend Weijs +14 on the court, +42 while on the bench = +56

Alex Len +10 on, +38 off = +48

Terrell Stoglin +5 on, +33 off = +38

Sean Mosley -3 on, +25 off = +22

Pe'Shon Howard -15 on, +13 off = -2

James Padgett -16 on, +12 off = -4

Mychal Parker -25 on, +3 off = -22

Ashton Pankey -44 on, -16 off = -60

Nick Faust -55 on, -27 off - -82

I know the stats may be confusing so let me explain. I'll use Terrell as an example. While Stoglin has been on the court in these eight games, the Terps have outscored the opponent by five points. While he has been on the bench, the Terps have been outscored by 33 points, which, in this example, is a positive for Stoglin since he wasn't on the court. I hope that makes it a little less confusing.

There are only three Terps with positives while on the court, Weijs, Stoglin and Len. Only two Terps have negatives while on the bench: Faust and Pankey.

Nick and Ashton's negative numbers are by far the highest on the team. They lose ground while on the court and then watch the Terps make it up while they are on the bench. I know they are both freshman but I was kind of surprised by it.

I wouldn't put a lot of weight into Berend's stats since he plays the fewest minutes of the group.

It looks like our best lineup is Howard and Stoglin in the backcourt, Len at center and Mosley and Padgett up front. Parker, Faust, Pankey and Weijs off the bench.

What do you guys think? Are any of you surprised by these numbers?

Here are my findings. During this time period, the Terps have been outscored by 28 points, going 3-5 in the process.

Berend Weijs +14 on the court, +42 while on the bench = +56

Alex Len +10 on, +38 off = +48

Terrell Stoglin +5 on, +33 off = +38

Sean Mosley -3 on, +25 off = +22

Pe'Shon Howard -15 on, +13 off = -2

James Padgett -16 on, +12 off = -4

Mychal Parker -25 on, +3 off = -22

Ashton Pankey -44 on, -16 off = -60

Nick Faust -55 on, -27 off - -82

There are only three Terps with positives while on the court, Weijs, Stoglin and Len. Only two Terps have negatives while on the bench: Faust and Pankey.

I wouldn't put a lot of weight into Berend's stats since he plays the fewest minutes of the group.

It looks like our best lineup is Howard and Stoglin in the backcourt, Len at center and Mosley and Padgett up front. Parker, Faust, Pankey and Weijs off the bench.

What do you guys think? Are any of you surprised by these numbers?

StatSheet website projects Terps to NIT

cdmterp — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:39:36 -0000

For what its worth, the website, StatSheet, has projected Maryland as a 7-seed in the NIT at the end of the regular season. I've attached a link to the article. It basically says Maryland has no bad losses but no good wins either, which I disagree with since Colorado and Notre Dame are having good conference seasons so far. It speaks of Terps winless record against Top 50 and so on. The ACC has five teams in the NCAAs. North Carolina, Duke, Florida St., Virginia and NC State, which made it as a 13-seed.

The website seems to update the seedings every couple of days and has had Maryland in the 5 to 7-seed range recently. I personally believe we'll do better than a 7-seed in the NIT. I've read FanPosts regarding what the Terps ACC record will be so I thought this article would be interesting to share since quite a few on this site think the Terps have a shot at the NCAAs.

http://terpsball.com/maryland-basketball/statseed-update/latest

To wait or not wait - on the Harrisons

cdmterp — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:13:32 -0000

With the recent transfer of Jamal Branch from Texas A&M there has been speculation that he may end up at Maryland. This brings up the old question, do we take Branch (if he wants to come) with the chance that it may scare off the Harrisons? Turgeon liked him enough at Texas A&M so will he go after him again?

I looked at all the schools recruiting the twins, Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Villanova and Baylor. I looked at their rosters right now with guards that are freshmen or sophomores since they will be juniors and seniors when the twins potentially arrive on their campus for the 2013-14 season.

We know that Maryland will have Howard (SR), Stoglin?? (SR), Faust (JR) and Allen (SO) in front of the twins. Arizona has two freshmen guards playing decent minutes now in Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner. The Cats are adding Gabe York a highly rated SG next year.

Kentucky has Doron Lamb (SR) and Marquis Teague (JR) on the roster now and will add Archie Goodwin at the 2 next year. I'm pretty sure Kentucky is not done recruiting this year either. Villanova has three freshmen playing quite a bit now and will add a really good PG in Ryan Arcidiacono next year.

Lastly, there is Baylor which has Brady Heslip (SR), Deuce Bello (JR) on their squad now and LJ Rose a highly touted PG coming in next year.

My point is that wherever the Harrisons go there is going to be competition. Are all these staffs going to wait and see what the Harrisons will do before adding any other recruits? I want the twins to come here just as much as any other Terp fan but am worried about the situations at Kentucky and Baylor. At the moment, there seems to be plenty of playing time at those two schools.

This could all change if Stoglin leaves school early. Then the Terps situation would be just as good as any other school.

So, what would you guys do in Turgeon's shoes? Should we take Branch or Cassell now and move on or do we still hold out for the twins. Let me know your opinion.

BTW, this is my first post so be nice.

Lastly, there is Baylor which has Brady Heslip (SR), Deuce Bello (JR) on their squad now and LJ Rose a highly touted PG coming in next year.

This could all change if Stoglin leaves school early. Then the Terps situation would be just as good as any other school.

So, what would you guys do in Turgeon's shoes? Should we take Branch or Cassell now and move on or do we still hold out for the twins. Let me know your opinion.

BTW, this is my first post so be nice.

Poll

What approach in recruiting should the Terps take with the Harrisons?

Hold out for the twins no matter what

255 votes

Take whoever commits first

161 votes

416 votes | Poll has closed