Feb. 29: Terps Q&A
Tyler: What games do you think Maryland has to win to get into the NCAA Tournament?
Don Markus: I think the Terps have to win their last two regular season games because if they beat Clemson but lose to Virginia, the bad loss will negate the good win. As for the ACC tournament, getting to the quarterfinals would also be a must if they don't get a first-round bye.
Tony: There is a good chance that the Terps will need at least one win in the ACC tourney to get in the big dance. Could it actually be beneficial for the Terps to be the five seed in the ACC so they get to play in the first round against an easier opponent?
Don Markus: I don't think it will help to be a No. 5 seed since that opens up the possibility for another bad loss. Though the NCAA selection committee is not supposed to put the league tournament into the equation unless a team gets an automatic bid, you know it does and that opening round game can't help -- but could hurt -- the Terps, .
Adam Goldman: What's the deal with the Terps bench? What happened to these guys? They were scoring points earlier in the season and now they've completely disappeared? This is very troubling and doesn't bode well for any ACC or NCAA tourney runs. Gist and Co. need these guys to step up and drain some buckets.
Don Markus: Actually, the bench played a big role in Thursday night's win. While individually they didn't have any numbers that jump out at you, collectively Jerome Burney, Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie also played enough minutes to keep players such as Gist and Hayes fresh at the end. Tucker had the biggest impact, and did a nice job after Landon Milbourne fouled out. As for what happened to these guys, Gary Williams lost confidence in them and in turn, they lost confidence in themselves. And you're right, it doesn't bode well for the postseason unless Williams can use them like he did against Wake Forest.
Doug: Maryland's big men have been so inconsistent all year. Why do you think Gary has problems developing big men? Also, could this be a factor why Maryland can't attract big time post players?
Don Markus: I disagree with the notion that Gary Williams can't develop big man. All you have to do is look at what he has done with Lonny Baxter, Obinna Ekezie and even Bambale Osby. As for attracting big-time post players, how many are there in the ACC or, for that matter, in college basketball?
Forrest: Do you think Osby would return to form if he lets his hair out to the fro again?
Don Markus: Now I can relate to college coaches who gets questions like this. But considering that Osby is about 6'5 and not the 6'8 he's listed at, he probably needs to let the 'fro go.
Comments
Agree on the fro'!!! Since he let it go, it's beenn two bad games. My money is on the fro returning for Clemson. Plus, now I can't tell if it's him or Gist down low. Stupid low def WNUV.
Posted by: Dan | February 29, 2008 8:28 PM
"Why do you think Gary has problems developing big men?"
Of all the criticisms I've heard on GW, this is probably the one that is most laughable. That's like asking why Bob Knight could never get his players motivated for a game. Seriously, if Baxter alone doesn't do it for you, or Ekezie or Osby, try Chris Wilcox, Ryan Randle, or how about Rodney Elliot? Oh, and that Joe Smith guy turned out OK too. That's just off the top of my head. Even the oft-criticized Ekene Ibekwe turned out to be a solid force on the defensive end.
Better yet, not one of those guys was as highly recruited as some recent Duke stiffs like Shavlik Randolph and Eric Boateng. Can we put Brian Zoubek in this category yet?
Posted by: Jeremy | February 29, 2008 11:08 PM
It's always the same thing with people and Gary - he can't do this and he can't do that. Gary is tops among active coaches as far as I am concerned. He does more with less than an other coach in the ranks. Seriously, did anybody really think Juan Dixon and Co. would win a championship and be the elite eight force they were for 4 years?
Posted by: Jon | March 1, 2008 6:54 PM
I moved out of the area 10 years ago, and now see the Sun only on occasion, so maybe this question has already come up--Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Michael Beasley all went to highschool in the Maryland-DC area. How did they get past Maryland and Georgetown?
Posted by: Hayley | March 1, 2008 7:19 PM
Gary Williams developed Chris Wilcox. Bull. The knock on Wilcox was that he entered the draft before he was ready. Wilcox's developed in the NBA not under Gary Williams. Find me 1, just 1 NBA GM that will say GW's develops big men. Good big men are found throughout the Big 10. I can find better skilled big men playing for many of the mid-major teams. If GW was so great, Baxter and Ekezie would still be in the NBA.
Posted by: Darnel | March 1, 2008 7:58 PM
Does a team deserve to go to "the dance" if we are worried about them getting set up for a "bad loss" in the ACC tourney?
Posted by: God of Rock | March 1, 2008 11:43 PM
The mark of a good coach is to get the most out your players' talent. Whether the player later progresses to the NBA will be largely based upon his talent level. To that end, I've always believed that Gary Williams' best work has involved his development of college post players, which is somewhat ironic to me since he was a guard when he played.
In addition to all of the names mentioned above--and he should get some credit for Wilcox's development in that he showed him how to harness his ability (stay focused and play hard all of the time) in the latter half of the '02 season and through the Terps' NCAA Tournament run--don't forget Tahj Holden and Jamar Smith. As well, some people may also recall Jerrod Mustaf. Williams had Mustaf for only one year and in that single season, Mustaf developed an inside post game which he neither had nor exhibited in either high school or in his first year playing under Bob Wade. That was Williams' doing and made it possible for Mustaf to declare hardship for the NBA. As for Holden, when he first arrived at Maryland, he was more of a finesse player who roamed outside and disdained physical play. By the time he was a senior, he still had that feathery shooting touch from outside, but he was also an inside force.
Of course, I suppose his greatest disappointment would be Travis Garrison. As a freshman, he reminded me of Holden in a lot of ways, but it appeared to me that he never got "it" over the course of his career. At the very least, it appeared to me that Garrison could not sustain the necessary aggressiveness or focus to survive as a power forward in the ACC.
All things considered, Williams' "successes" in this area far outweigh his "failures" and are a glaring distinction between he and coach "k." Over his career at duke, it's my opinion that coach k has done far less with ostensibly far more (at least in terms of being highly touted, i.e., McD's All-Americans, et al.) with low post players than anyone in the country. Remove Boozer and Sheldon Williams from consideration (after all, he was bound to hit on a few of those guys) and his collective body of work in this area is less than stellar.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | March 2, 2008 3:34 AM
Darnel...you're wrong about Gary not developing big men. Gary has taken a lot of Div 2/3 talented big men and turned them into good Div 1 players. These players never had and never will have a lot of NBA talent. The problem is that the talented NBA capable players won't come to Maryland because they expect to be coddled and pampered....coddling and pampering isn't Gary style.
Posted by: Ron | March 2, 2008 9:33 AM