Before the football game this afternoon, the men’s basketball team held an open scrimmage at Comcast Center. Here are the rosters and some observations.
Red: Eric Hayes, Sean Mosley, Cliff Tucker, Dino Gregory, Dave Neal, Steve Goins
Black: Adrian Bowie, Greivis Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, Jerome Burney, Braxton Dupree, David Pearman
-On paper it would seem like the black team (coached by Chuck Dreisell and Robert Ehsan) had the stronger half of the Terrapins roster, but the Keith Booth-led Red squad pulled away with an easy 78-65 victory.
-The teams played two 20-minute halves. Black led for most of the first half until a stretch when Red nailed four consecutive three-pointers. In the second half, Red’s Cliff Tucker and Eric Hayes continued their hot shooting and helped their team pull away.
-Tucker took a while to ease into the game, but once he got going, he was unstoppable. He hit some threes, slashed to the basket, and played a tremendous offensive game, while also keeping Vasquez fairly quiet on the defensive end.
“Cliff’s been playing well in practice,” coach Gary Williams said. “Last year he made some moves that were spectacular, but this season he seems to be more consistent with it.”
-Hayes vs. Bowie was the most intriguing matchup to watch. Though both played off the ball for much of last year, they were the respective point guards for their teams this afternoon, and both handled the task exceptionally well. Bowie’s shooting stroke is far improved from last season, and Hayes’ leadership shined through. If Hayes looks that confident on the court during regular season games, he could be poised for a huge season.
“I’ve been working hard on my offense and trying to shoot the ball well; I’ve been shooting a lot,” Hayes said. But Adrian is real quick and I’m not the quickest guy, so he was denying me the ball today and I was glad he was pushing me.”
-With Bowie manning the point, Vasquez played the “two.” This allowed Vasquez to get more open shots, but he was not hitting them today. Vasquez seems far more effective running the show as a point guard, where his passing and playmaking can shine through. He did have a number of turnovers, however. On three different occasions, Vasquez picked up an offensive foul. His coach reminded him that in a real game situation, those fouls would free up a seat for Vasquez on the bench.
- Sophomore Dino Gregory finished last season with a DNP-coach’s decision in the final 16 games. But with an open frontcourt this season, it’s hard to imagine him stationed on the bench for 40 minutes of any game this year. He’s far from a finished product–his mid-range shooting still needs a lot of work–but Gregory was a force on the boards, and used his exceptional athleticism to score some easy buckets. At 6-7, he’s a bit undersized for a post player, but his leaping ability can make up for some of that height.
-Jerome Burney didn’t provide much offensively, but he blocked a number of shots in the paint. That’s what he’ll be called upon to do this season for coach Williams.
-Braxton Dupree wasn’t outstanding, but the loss of weight made him look a lot more smooth on the court. Just by watching the pre-game lay-up line, you could tell that ‘Big B’ is approaching the rim with more ease and explosion.
-Williams reiterated that he would like to use Milbourne as a power forward this season, but for the majority of the scrimmage, he played on the wing, matched up against freshman Sean Mosley. Both players seemed to be in mid-season form, physically.
-The team will likely have another scrimmage open to the public towards the middle of next week. More information on that when the Terps announce an official time.
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Tags: scrimmage
What I saw last year and what is happening so far this year in practice tells me that most people believe players like Gregory, Burney and Dupree should not be on this team. And I agree with that feeling. Of course Gary wanted them so that he did not have to go out and recruit. I hope we have a great season!!!!!
Burney, I think, has some real potential. Harnessing it is always a problem no matter who the athlete is. Gary has done some amazing things with a lot of less than heralded recruits (e.g. Juan Dixon). Dupree has the size to do some serious damage. Both big guys have to demand the ball offensively and defensively if they want to make a name for themselves. But, I think both, along with the freshman, in due time and through some work in fundamentals can become an underrated force on the MD frontcourt.