Gary Williams: give Maine some respect
Maryland coach Gary Williams and his staff probably savored the Terps' 89-59 blowout of Maine Sunday for all of, oh, 15 minutes. And today they're probably engrossed in film study and practice as the Terps get ready for Thursday's big game against No. 5 Pittsburgh at New York's Madison Square Garden.
But Williams took pains to point out that beating Maine was not exactly like beating some poor juco team.
This wasn't a bunch of donkeys facing the Terps.
"They had some physical players inside," Williams said, referring to 6-foot-9 center Mike Allison, and 6-7 forwards Troy Barnies and Murphy Burnatowski. "This wasn't a skinny team inside by any stretch of the imagination."
OK, the Black Bears play in the America East Conference, not exactly a hoops powerhouse.
But they were a very experienced team, with 11 returning players, including four starters, on the court yesterday.
And this was a team that finished 19-11 last year and knocked off Boston College.
But now the Terps are totally focused on Pitt, a deep, talented team that crushed North Florida, 95-49 Saturday night. Brad Wanamaker had 17 points as Pitt ran its record to 3-0.
"They're good," Williams said of the Panthers. "There's a reason why they're picked first in the Big East. . . . They have inside players that are good and guards that are experienced. And they have some depth, and that usually means a good team."
Comments
It's going to be a tough game, especially playing in a venue like MSG. Hopefully Maryland came come out strong from the beginning and give Pitt a run for their money. Maryland plays all but 2 guys on the bench, maybe their depth can be an advantage. The overall experience of this tournament is good for the team to be tested this early.
Posted by: steph | November 15, 2010 3:05 PM
The Terps won this tournament over Michigan State in 2006 although the Spartans were ranked as a better team. It will take a total effort to repeat that feat this year, turning the ball over less and making their free throws. It wouldn't hurt to begin hitting the 3 as well. This team is growing with every game and even 1 win would be nice against this competition at this juncture.
Posted by: Phil | November 15, 2010 5:04 PM
First real test of the year, great experience for the freshman. This freshman class looks surprisingly good. They actually look like a team, everyone seems to be working with each other and having fun. Looking forward to a fun season, an NCAA bid would be the icing on the cake. BTW, interested to see how Tucker stacks up against Pitt's athleticism.
Posted by: Steve | November 15, 2010 7:35 PM
Madison Square Gardens is exactly what they need right now. Let these puppies grow up early in the season...before they hit the ACC schedule. I'm optimistic.
Posted by: Stevie V | November 16, 2010 1:27 PM
we are going to lose a whole lot of games this year unless the foul shooting goes from pathetic to mediocre at the least. If it was a close game and i was playing md, i would foul, foul, and foul some more.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 16, 2010 1:41 PM
If it were not for the undermanned regimen from Maine defeating Alabama in the battle at Gettysburg, who knows what might have happened in the civil war. So yeah, give Maine some respect.
Posted by: Go Terps | November 17, 2010 9:49 AM