Vasquez averaged a team-high 17.0 points per game and Atlantic Coast Conference-high 6.8 assists per game as a sophomore last season.
]]>After asking out of his scholarship from Maryland last week, Gilchrist had narrowed his choices down to South Florida, West Virginia and Kentucky.
According to Terrelle Woody, Gilchrist's personal trainer, the 6-foot-9 forward will likely make his decision by the beginning of next week.
On the Maryland recruiting front -- or should we just call them The Replacements -- one of Gilchrist's former teammates at Progressive Christian Academy in Temple Hills is apparently back on the Terps' radar.
Lataye Darden, a 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward, is down to choosing between Maryland, Marquette and Oklahoma State, according to his coach, Russell Branch. Darden, who averaged 14 points and 11 blocks a game as a senior, was offered a scholarship by Gary Williams after Tyree Evans asked for his release last month, Branch said.
"If he gets cleared by the National Clearinghouse, I think it's a 9 out of 10 that he will go to Maryland,'' said Branch.
Branch has his own rooting interest in Darden going to College Park. Branch's cousin is former Terps star Joe Smith.
Branch, who took over at Progressive Christian Academy last year, had hoped that Darden and Gilchrist would have played together at Maryland.
"If Lataye (pronounced Latay) and Gus had played for Maryland together, they would have won a national championship,'' Branch said.
The Terps’ first three games will be televised, the ACC announced today, starting with UM’s season opener against Delaware. The Aug. 30 matchup at Byrd Stadium kicks off at 3:45 p.m. and will be shown on ESPNU.
Maryland travels to Middle Tennessee State the following Saturday. The game, which starts at 7 p.m., will be televised locally on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.
On Sept. 13, the Terps host Cal in a noon matchup that will be shown on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The ACC also announced that Maryland’s Thursday, Nov. 6 game at Virginia Tech has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Terps-Hokies matchup will be televised on ESPN.
]]>Evans, the 6-foot-3 shooting guard who went to one prep school and two junior colleges while pleading down to a pair of misdemeanor charges, will likely find his way to a Division I campus this fall, just not to College Park.
Bobby Steinburg, his coach at Motlow State Community College in Tennessee, told me this afternoon that Evans came to his decision without any encouragement from Gary Williams or his assistants. Don't quite believe that.
While Evans' "decision" takes some of the heat off Williams for not telling athletic director Debbie Yow that he was recruiting Evans -- at least that's what Yow said -- it now puts pressure on the admissions office to accept Maryland's other big recruit, Sean Mosley.
That's the proverbial "other shoe" to drop if Mosley, the former St. Frances star, doesn't qualify academically. The situation with Evans and Mosley reminds those who've been around the Maryland program of when Williams had Donyell Marshall and Lawrence Moten ready to sign with the Terps, only to have them rejected.
Stay tuned. This soap opera isn't over yet.
Philistin is one of 10 athletes from the Atlantic Coast Conference on the list. The others are: Everette Brown and Myron Rolle of Florida State; Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith of Wake Forest; Michael Hamlin of Clemson; Victor Harris of Virginia Tech; Vince Oghobaase of Duke; Clint Sintim of Virginia; and Brian Toal of Boston College.
Philistin, a senior from Manchester N.H., ranked fourth in the conference with 124 tackles last season.
LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey won the award in 2007.
Click here for the complete list.
]]>Williams, a fifth-year senior from Washington DC, started all 13 games at center for the Terps in each of his last two seasons. His 26 straight starts is tops among UM’s returning starters on offense.
Click here to see the complete Rimington Trophy spring watch list.
If you're a Maryland fan, do you want the Terps to play the Hoyas in the Thanksgiving week event in Orlando?
Given that Maryland is one of three teams in the field not to play in last season's NCAA tournament, it seems likely that the Terps will be matched up with Georgetown, Michigan State or Tennessee.
The Hoyas lost Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace, and also saw Vernon Macklin announce his plans to transfer, but are bringing in two quality big men in Greg Monroe and Henry Sims (Mount St. Joseph).
Just from a standpoint of a good local story, I would love to see Maryland play Georgetown, something that hasn't happened during the regular season since 1994.
That's when the Terps were supposed to get run over by Othella Harrington and the Hoyas at the Cap Centre. You know the rest of the story. Joe Smith introduced himself to the college basketball world, and the Terps won.
Too bad Gus Gilchrist won't be eligible for a similar coming-out party.
Editor's note: Vernon Macklin was misidentified when this post was first published.
Walker, who was a freshman last year, will finish the spring semester at Maryland.
"We wish Shane the best of luck in the future and will assist him in his transition this spring," Williams said.
Walker played in 24 games during the 2007-08 season, averaging 5.3 minutes, one rebound and less than one point per game. His season-high for playing time came on Jan. 5 when he logged 13 minutes in a 76-72 win over Charlotte.
Meanwhile, an athletic department spokesman confirmed that Greivis Vasquez will return for his junior season. See the post below for more details.
]]>Apparently, Vasquez has made a smart choice when it comes to his future career -- an athletic department spokesman confirmed that Vasquez will be returning for his junior season in College Park.
Those familiar with the decision say that Vasquez thought it was not the right time to test the waters in the NBA pre-draft camps. I'm sure some of it had to do with the competition he would face from others coming out, but the fact that Vasquez listened to those who told him he wasn't ready shows some maturity that many thought he lacked.
Some Maryland fans might be happy with the fact that Vasquez will be driving them crazy again next winter, as you know he will with his high-risk, high-reward (sometimes) game.
Though Vasquez wants to prove he's a point guard, it's probably best if coach Gary Williams can find someone to share the responsibilities -- including on the defensive end -- that seemed to fall on Vasquez's shoulders last season.
Do you think it's a good move by Vasquez?
Do you think it's good for the Terps?
Vasquez-haters out there might be surprised to hear that the sophomore guard who led Maryland in scoring -- and the ACC in both assists and turnovers -- is held in pretty high regard by some NBA scouts who feel he might be better in the pros than in Gary Williams' system. That doesn't mean Vasquez is coming out. My guess is that he'll return for his junior year to raise his stock and then come out after next season.
Vasquez has until Monday to file papers with the NBA.
Stay tuned.
]]>Based on what I saw Saturday at Byrd Stadium, something is going on with Chris Turner and the coaching staff. Either Turner's not a good fit for new coordinator James Franklin's system, or Ralph Friedgen feels some loyalty to Jordan Steffy. How else do you explain Steffy playing for both teams and Turner being relegated to sending in plays during the second half for Jamarr Robinson, who apparently has about as much chance to get on the field as either you or I do this season. (OK, maybe not me, but you.)
Then there was the way Josh Portis was used. Either the Florida transfer still has no grasp of the offense or Friedgen and Franklin didn't want to show much to any potential spies infiltrating the Red and White game. For all the hype this kid brought to Gainesville before Tim Tebow arrived, and for all the hype Portis brought with him to College Park, this has the makings of one of the biggest busts in recent college football history.
The running backs might be better than what they showed.
For all the concern about replacing Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore, Da'Rel Scott and Morgan Green put on a pretty nice show. Scott, who showed some glimpses of stardom last season between long stints in the training room, had a 75-yard touchdown run called back. Green showed the ability to get tough yards, albeit coming against his own teammates. If the veteran offensive line can stay healthy, Scott and Green could be a pretty good combination.
Special teams needs some work.
New special teams coach Danny Pearman probably didn't sleep too well last night. Returning placekicker Obi Egekeze had a particularly rough afternoon, getting a field goal blocked, missing an extra point and having another field goal make it through after hitting an upright. There was also a muffed return on a punt.
The Terps will start up again in early August in preparation for the season opener Aug. 30 against Delaware.
At least Joe Flacco won't be playing for the Blue Hens.
While I have only been covering this Maryland team since the middle of last season, I have been around the program since 1985, meaning that I have a few sources left among those who are close to the team.
Actually, it's pretty logical to figure out. Unless Greivis Vasquez leaves, or Sean Mosley and Tyree Evans don't pan out (academically or on the court), there don't seem to be a lot of minutes left for Hayes in next season's backcourt. Unless the ankle sprain he suffered in early January affected him more than he let on, Hayes showed that he has some limitations in terms of being a top-flight ACC guard.
Hayes is just letting the dust settle to see how many guards wind up in College Park for next season. His father Kendall, who coached Hayes in high school, has told several people around the program that if Bobby Maze becomes a Terrapin, Hayes will look elsewhere. With the signing of Evans, Vasquez trying to decide about turning pro and Maze a question mark academically, Hayes is holding a couple of cards himself.
The next few weeks should clarify things.
And as for calling Cliff Tucker a shooting guard, as I used to tell my son's basketball coach when he was playing that position as a 10-year old, you have to be able to shoot to be a shooting guard. So until I see otherwise, I consider Tucker a small forward.
]]>But what does it do to the chemistry of a team that wasn't exactly a cohesive bunch at the end of last season?
Evans and incoming freshman Sean Mosley are both shooting guards, and based on the reports out there, they are better than anyone the Terps had in that position last season. There was talk a month ago that Williams was considering moving Greivis Vasquez to the wing next season to get the ball in the hands of a more traditional, less erratic point guard.
With the anticipated arrival of Evans and Mosley, those plans have apparently been scrapped. That's if Vasquez returns for his junior year at all. According to Stu Vetter, who coached Vasquez at Montrose Christian, Vasquez is gathering material to decide whether or not to declare his eligibility for the NBA draft in hopes of going to a pre-draft camp while not signing with an agent.
If Vasquez returns, he'll likely be the point guard again, but with a lot more talent on the wings. Though Eric Hayes has steadfastly denied that he is contemplating leaving College Park, I have a hard time seeing him returning if Vasquez comes back unless he takes on a greatly reduced role as a three-point shooter off the bench. Adrian Bowie proved last season that he is a capable backup to Vasquez at the point and eventually could be a starter if he continues to improve.
One more question: If Williams goes with a three-guard set, where does that leave small forwards Landon Milbourne and Cliff Tucker?
Duke has used four guards to some success in the ACC. But look what's happened to the Blue Devils in the past couple of NCAA tournaments.
Then again, Maryland fans will be happy just getting to the NCAA tournament again.
]]>Along with the Terps, the Thanksgiving week tournament (Nov. 27-29 and Dec. 1) in Orlando includes Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Siena, Tennessee, and Wichita State. Last I looked, that's five teams that made this year's NCAA tournament, including three in the Sweet 16.
A number of these teams will be rebuilding, which may be the only reason the Maryland coaches think the Terps will be competitive. Memphis loses Baltimore's Joey Dorsey and probably super freshman Derrick Rose. Tennessee says goodbye to Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. And the other teams will be losing some key personnel.
I won't mind eating turkey at Disney's World of Sports, but will turtle be on the menu as well?
]]>Gilchrist initially committed to Virginia Tech out of high school, but for a number of reasons, changed his mind. Publicly, he said it was because of the tragic shootings in Blacksburg last spring. Privately, those with ties to the Hokies will say otherwise.
In any case, he wound up in College Park last December. Because ACC athletic directors are sensitive to players going from one member school to another, they decided to treat him as if he were a regular recruit. That means he has to sit out one full school year.
In Gilchrist's case, that means he will be eligible after the fall term in 2008-2009, meaning that he will likely play around mid-December. That's how I understand it, until I'm told (again) that I got it wrong.
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