As dissapointing as last night was, it wasn't too surprising... despite that, I still love my Twerps and will watch them in the NIT and wonder what to expect next year...

Very painful to watch the Terps this year. So I guess I'll cheer for the Canes, since they are the closest ACC team to me. I know that their 4000 dedicated fans will be happy to be in the Madness.

Sure, give the freshmen some work.

The Terps just don't interest anybody. I didn't watch the game last night because I had this gut feeling they were going to lose and I was right too.
letter t for noT

We better start getting amped for the NIT, because at this point we can't be expected to be headed anywhere else.

We used to hope for the sweet sixteen when we had freshmen and for more as they aged, now we just hope they qualify when they're seniors.

If we're no longer going to be a top of the ACC, elite team, we should at least concentrate on graduating players and presenting a good show for alums.

There will be a more than half empty Comcast Center and my bet would be we'd lose to another Manhattan type team, who is actually excited to play in the post-season in such a great arena.

Gary - why don't you try recruiting some top bball players. Then you don't have to count on over-achieving....and numerous JUCOs to compete.

Had Gary retired after the national championship, he would've been a hero. Unfortunatley, the path he's headed on will have him remembered less favorably than Lefty, despite never winning a championship.

Why does Md think the NIT is below them. This is not a very good team. They should thank their lucky stars that some1 still wants em. They won't advance very far in that tourney either.

I don't care about winning the NIT, but since it's really all over for Gist and Osby now, Vasquez can start asserting more leadership right now, because he will be the undisputed leader of this team next year. We have a lot of freshman who need more playing time. No sense dwelling on what could have been. Use these games for what they are: the last, best practice time next years team will have for a while. I want to see a lot of Burney in the NIT.

Heck, maybe I'll go to one of the NIT games, they don't sell out. I went to the (11 am!) NIT game when we lost to Manhattan and the place was no more than 1/3 full. Go say goodbye to the finest hair-do to ever grace the Comcast center.

Wait till next year. Go Terps!!!

Coach Williams and his band of buffoons have once again let the University of Maryland and its loyal fans down. I'm not sure which is their bigger problem...lack of recruiting ability in a hotbed of basketball talent, lack of desire in his players, or bonehead plays being called?

Either way, if the Terps don't show up for the NIT ready and willing to play, I think Debbie Yow should start thinking about replacements.

I've been an enthusiatic supporter of the Terps for many years but I cannot remember a season as demoralizing as this season has been.
One can blame Gary Williams but I think if blame is to be placed, it needs to be placed on the players themselves. The loss to Clemson must go down as one of the strangest losses in Terps history until last night's loss. It's as if the players could only muster their collective offense in the first 20 minuutes of the game and then simply gave up trying to win the game. The number of turnovers and sloppy ball handling were and continue to be the demise Terps, year after year.
From a fan's perspective, I wish they would refuse the invitation to the NIT and simply let a bad season drift away quickly rather than extend the pain. It's embarrasing to see the Terps eliminated from the NCAA tournament once again, but it will be an even greater embarassment to see the Terps fail to advance in the NIT.
Let's hope and pray that next year's team will show up with a true desire to play 40 minutes of basketball each and every game.

Its about time for Gary to go. Maryland has not been an elite team since the national championship team. He cannot bring the talent in and we continue to slip further and further in the conference rankings. When Miami has become a program than you, its time for some changes. I love Gary and appreciate everything he brought Maryland for so long, but he just can't do it any more. The players do not know how to close out games and teams they should beat. That has to do with lack of talent and coaching. Maybe if we recruited players who had a chance of graduating, we might be able to build a respectable program once again. Bottom line: TIME FOR CHANGE...(and not Obama)

They'll be invited and they should play. If for no other reason than that's what they deserve after the season they had. I also think it could that the extra time together and extra practice could only help the freshman and sophomores. A few years back ND turned down a bowl game that they deemed below them. It was an arogant move that sure didn't win them any fans around the country.

Why are we assuming that the Terps will even get an NIT bid, and that it will be a home game? This is a team that, frankly, doesn't deserve to play another game this year. Like Gary Williams, they are still arrogant despite their dismal failure. Greivis Vasquez was quoted as saying he couldn't envision himself playing in "that tournament". Well Greivis, if you think the NIT is beneath you, you don't have to play in it. Instead, why don't you get an early start on spring break! Everything points to the Terps tanking if they get a bid. If they couldn't beat a bad BC team with everything on the line, why would they be motivated to play in an NIT game? We've seen that before in the 2006 NIT loss to Manhattan.

The NIT should not invite this team. The bid would be wasted and should instead go to a more deserving team that actually has some desire.

Okay. Time for Gary to go?? Are you kidding? We as MD fans became so spoiled over the previous decade that we've created unrealistic expectations... Take away a DJ knee injury and a McCray susp and were in the tourney 3 out of the last 4. Was Gary to blame for either of those? Doubt it. Unless your UNC or Duke you're not gonna get the cream every year. Give the man a break. He can coach, but unfortunately you can't teach heart and hustle. By the way, check out the tourney hist for some other coaches over the last 5 years (i.e. Boeheim,Calhoun -- Tubby).

BUUUUUHHHHH.

That's how I feel about this season, in the most articulate way I can express.

Don't forget Gilchrist quitting on the team at the end of his junior year. Gary is a great and honorable coach who put MD basketball back on the map. He brings in millions to the university. No WAY he should be fired!

As dissapointing as the year ended there was the middle of the season that made you think this team was going to do it.

Unfortunately for the Terps and Gary Williams they have lacked a true point guard since Steve Blake. A true point looks to make his team better from his control of the game and tempo. A true point is the coach on the floor. I am not knocking Greivis Vassquez, I just feel that he would be better served in the 2 spot, so that someone else can dictate the tempo and control the offense.
All season they were not composed in running their offense and let the game get dictated to them.

One of the reasons I hate Duke is their fans sense of entitlement. We're Duke! Of course we will be in the tourney, because we're Duke. Well it looks Maryland fans are becoming as arrogant and as obnoxious as dookie fans. You cant win every year (and with so many freshmen). GW is a future Hall of Fame Coach and some of you so called "fans" want him removed because we dont make it to the final four every year. This was a disappointing year but we have certaintly had them before. Coach Williams will right this ship and you people need to have a bit more faith.

They need the NIT more than the NIT needs them. There are tons of teams with more heart than we have. We just need to use these games to see what we have for next year. For the seniors, sorry but you've had your chance.
Vasquez needs to watch Steve Blake films and not John Gilcrest tapes and learn that the best point guards make their teams better not bump up their stats.

Folks, this is college basketball, not life or death. While my emotions ride high with every Terp win or sink low with every loss, I have to remind myself that it is just a game. Sure, there is a lot of money involved for the school, and sure, this is the minor league for the NBA, and sure, most of the players are not there primarily for the education, but it is just a game - a diversion from life.

Gary Williams has been a blessing for UMD, and fair weather fans who might cast the first stone would be hard pressed to step in his shoes and do a fraction of the job that he does with the talent he gets.

As for the players, anyone who has played competitive basketball understands that making a three under pressure, driving the lane, getting that steal, and defending the rim against guys who are monster size and lightning quick is not as easy as it seams from the comfort of your easy chair or bar stool.

What ever happended to rooting for and supporting your team through thick and thin. Shame on all of us for calling for Gary's and/or players head for their inability to win what is, afterall....just a game! I for one with stick with and support my team. Maybe you fair weather fans should root for Duke when they come to campus next year.

The coach does the recruiting, the coach manages the game. The Terps are bad in both. Since Roy Williams showed up, the Terps haven't had a single great recruiting year. Gary can't compete in the league for talent with RW and K. And what about Kevin Durant? He goes to Texas??? We get Vasquez? As far as the games go, over the last 5 years, I'll bet UMD has blown more 15 point second half leads (and for that matter, more 10 point leads with 5 minutes to go) than any team in the country. I'll bet we blew more second half leads this year than any other team has in the past five years. That's not a heart and hustle issue. That's getting outcoached. I'm sorry, the guy has lost his edge. I've been through it all with the Terps since my freshman year in 1969 (Lefty's first year) and I'm as disgusted as I've ever been. They're going to be worse next year. Time for a change. Get Bruce Pearl.

We should be happy to take an NIT bid, if offerered and hope that we play as well as we are capable of so that we make it through a round or two.

Top 12 Teams in the Country & MD

North Carolina
Hansbrough
Ellington
Lawson
Green
Thompson
Ginyard
Stepheson
Thomas
Frasor
Graves
Copeland
Wood
http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Davis 11th
Drew 47th
2007
None
2006
Wright 3rd NBA
Lawson 5th
Ellington 8th
Stepheson 39th
Thompson 43rd
Graves 79th
2005
Hansbrough 4th
Green 15th
Ginyard 29th
Frasor 31st

UCLA
Love
Collison
Shipp
Westbrook
Richard
Mbah a Moute
Mata-Real
Aboya
Roll
Dragovic
Stanback
Keefe
Schmidt

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Holiday 6th
Gordon 29th
Anderson 36th
2007
Love 2nd
Stanback 64th
2006
Keefe 38th
2005
Aboya 81st
Collison 98th

Memphis
Douglas-Roberts
Rose
Dozier
Anderson
Mack
Dorsey
Taggart
Kemp
Allen
Robinson
McGrady
Niles

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Garcia 46th
2007
Rose 5th
Robinson 55th
Marcus Morris 65th (not on team)
Markief Morris 93rd (not on team)
2006
Kemp 41st
Niles 72nd
2005
Williams 27th (not on team)
Douglas-Roberts 41st
Anderson 66th

Tennessee
Lofton
J Smith
T Smith
Chism
Prince
R Smith
Crews
Tatum
Howell
Williams
Childress
Tabb

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
None
2007
None
2006
Crews 22nd
R Smith 33rd
Chism 54th
Johnson 78th
2005
None

Kansas
Arthur
Rush
Chalmers
Jackson
Collins
Robinson
Kaun
Aldrich
Stewart
Teahan
Reed
Case
http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Releford 38th
2007
Aldrich 21st
Reed 59th
2006
Arthur 11th
2005
Wright 6th (not on team)
Chalmers 8th
Downs 21st (not on team)
Rush 23rd

Wisconsin
Butch
Hughes
Landry
Flowers
Bohannon
Krabbenhoft
Leuer
Stiemsma
Gullikson
Gavinski
Bronson
Jarmusz

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Berggren 91st
2007
Leuer 86th
2006
None
2005
Krabbenhoft 28th

Duke
Nelson
Singler
Henderson
Scheyer
Paulus
Smith
King
Thomas
Pocius
Zoubek
McClure

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
None
2007
Singler 5th
Smith 19th
King 24th
2006
Henderson 10th
Thomas 20th
Zoubek 25th
Scheyer 28th
2005
McRoberts 1st (NBA)
Paulus 13th
Boateng 39th (Not on team)
Pocius 53rd
Boykin 60th (Not on team)

Texas
Augustin
Abrams
James
Atchley
Mason
Johnson
Pittman
Wangmene
Chapman
Lewis
Smith
Mooney

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
None
2007
Johnson 25th
Chapman 75th
2006
Durant 2nd (NBA)
James 15th
Augustin 29th
Pittman 82nd
2005
Abrams 83rd

Georgetown
Hibbert
Summers
Wallace
Sapp
Freeman
Ewing Jr.
Wright
Macklin
Rivers
Crawford
Wattad
Jansen
http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Monroe 1st
Braswell 65th
Sims 66th
Clark 79th
2007
Freeman 13th
Wright 28th
2006
Summers 10th
2005
None

Butler
Green
Graves
Howard
Campbell
Betko
Veasley
Streicher
Jukes
Hahn
Slaton
Vanzant
Anglin

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
None
2007
None
2006
None
2005
None

Stanford
BLopez
Goods
RLopez
Hill
Johnson
Finger
Washington
Fields
Brown
Shiller
Prowitt
Owens

http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
None
2007
None
2006
B.Lopez 9th
R. Lopez 19th
2005
None

Xavier
Duncan
Lavender
Brown
Anderson
Raymond
Burrell
Love
Jackson
Bronson
Graves
Hughes
Duckett
http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Frease 40th
2007
None
2006
Graves 100th
2005
None

Maryland

Vasquez
Gist
Osby
Hayes
Milbourne
Tucker
Bowie
Dupree
Neal
Burney
Gregory
Walker
http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/index.html

2008
Mosley 48th
2007
Dupree 73rd
Gilchrist 76th
2006
Vasquez 93rd
2005
None

RSCI is a website that consolidates recruting rankings, while it has some value... by their own admission, their ranking system has some flaws:

"It's not exactly rocket science but it does achieve the desired effect of providing a more unbiased, consensus ranking, which one might argue, is even more accurate than any of the single top 100 lists alone.

However, this process is not without its pitfalls:

The RSCI formula is objective but the underlying ratings it is based on are not. This subjective aspect should never be underestimated.
Some experts include 5th year and prep school players (denoted by "*" in the RSCI rankings) in their top 100 lists and other don't. This means that a really great 5th year player might be ranked #10 by one expert and not listed at all by the others, thereby dropping his RSCI ranking dramatically. In other words, RSCI rankings of 5th year players aren't worth much.
By its very nature the RSCI rankings get less and less accurate the further down the list you move. The reason is twofold. First, the affect of a single, high rating from one expert can effectively override the prevailing opinion of the other experts that may have left the player off their lists entirely. Also, a player that just narrowly misses making 1 or more top 100 lists receives no points from those lists and is not effectively distinguished from all the others that were not ranked. For example, a guy ranked #101 gets the same zero points as a guy ranked #250 even though they clearly aren't that close. Stated simply: "a miss is as good as a mile."

Lets look at MD even more in depth, using the Rivals, and Scout rankings and bios…… I think it is a fair arguement to make that a consolidation of recruiting services provides a better overall point of view, and Scout and Rivals may not be the ultimate authorities… but they are Recruiting sites that 1000s of subscribers pay for, with their own scores of journalists.

My point is that one time or another, a major scouting service has ranked 8 or 9 players on the impending roster in the Top 100…. Much more important is that 10 players figure to return next year, and 12 the following.

I would argue there is very little difference from a Top 50 player, and a Top 150 player… and part of recruiting is not just where they appear on a list at age 17, but projecting them during the course of their college career.

Perhaps the most important thing is making sure the players you recruit, fit the system, and that you are putting them in positions that will maximize their strengths.

2008-9
Vasquez Top 100
Hayes Top 100
Milbourne Top 100
Gilchrist Top 60
Dupree Top 75
Bowie Top 100
Mosley Top 60
Tucker Top 100
Walker Top 150
Burney Top 150
Gregory Top 150
Maze - Played at OU, Top 15 JUCO
Neal - Probably a stretch to say he was Top 150, but did dominate the DC Catholic League….. Doing ok if he is the worst player you have.

2009-10
1 Vasquez, Bowie, Maze
2 Hayes, Mosley
3 Milbourne, Tucker, Kim
4 Gilchrest, Walker, Gregory
5 Dupree, Burney

Kim - Top 100, some project Top 40

Vasquez
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1610814
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=40230

Hayes
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1162383
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=27379

Milbourne
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1670749
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=29305

Burney
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1340006
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=32685

Tucker
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=2375356
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=43851

Walker
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1865346
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=38695

Bowie
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1570467
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=30061

Gregory
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1968125
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=42389

Dupree
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1571076
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=43129

Gilchrist
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=3290154
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=42657

Mosley
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1825765
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=38707

Maze
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=3523808
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=70366

Kim
http://maryland.scout.com/a.z?...amp;nid=1751050
http://maryland.rivals.com/vie...mp;pr_key=69413

When people complain about our recruiting, the two main arguments that you hear are:

1)We do not recruit well enough in the Baltimore / DC / NOVA region.
2)There are players on this roster that do not belong on an ACC roster.

There is some truth, and some inaccuracy here.

The truth is we have missed on a lot of local talent – Melo, Gay, Boone, Freeman, Echefu, Swann, Delaney, Summers, Dorsey, and Green.

It is also true that we have plenty of local talent on the roster, with Mosley, Gilchrist, Bowie, Vasquez, Dupree, Gregory, Milbourne (Oak Hill), Hayes, Maze, and Walker.

Who on this roster should not have been recruited?

Gregory was the Baltimore POY, and Gary personally visited MtStJoe and Coach Clatchey several times… that is one of the top programs in the metro-area.. even as an undersized 4, it is a good thing long-term to build a relationship with the school, and Baltimore City in general. VaTech, and Xavier offered Gregory, so other people thought he was High D1 worthy.

Walker is a 6’9 good with very good athletic ability… runs the floor well, rebounds, and blocks shots… understandably his offense is raw since he has been playing the game less than 5 years. With Bowie, and Vasquez also at MD, Gary has clearly made an effort with Stu Vetter at Montrose… that is also a good thing.

Bowie and Tucker were on Top 100 – 150 lists on Scout and Rivals, but not fully consensus Top 100 on that RSCI list… I think they both showed a lot of promise this year….. does anyone actually think those are bad recruits?

Burney is another 6’9 very good athlete, willing to play defense, with a raw offensive game… verballed to Miami, UVA offered… does anyone really think the Top 12 teams in the country ranked above, are bringing better bigs off the bench?

Honestly, the players are talented. They just don't work hard for 40 minutes. Unless they are up for a big game, which is about 3-4 times a year, then they play lazy and timid.

They need to utilize their full court press more. That scares team into losing the ball and rattles the opposing point guards. We need intensity, not better recruits. Sure the recruiting is not on the same level as other programs, but that is how GW operates and it has worked just fine in the past. Obviously, GW needs to step it up a little, but the players coming in and playing should not be taking it for granted as much as they do.

GW is a hideous coach, as the past fe years have proven, and all the applause he recieves for the few "mountaintops" he has been too, should be tempered. If not for capable, under the radar players like Dixon and Baxter who improved dramatically over their stay in CP, his so-called HOF career would still be mired in "could haves" at the base of the mountain.

He has whiffed at more local talent than I care to mention and has a smug, arrogant attitude re: such. Typical behavior in a game which has CLEARLY passed him by.

I cannot wait for his departure, and will live with the consequences of having a new coach on "wobbly" legs for a few years in contrast to this mess, your highness, has bequeathed us.

One final point, those people praising GW and his moronic sideline behavior probably think Bob Knight is a former choir boy too!

Sickening.