WASHINGTON– It’s been a couple of weeks since we last had a Terrapin men’s basketball game within driving distance that didn’t conflict with football, so you have had to follow the Terps without a postgame summation since the Fairfield game.
I’m sure it’s been pretty tough.
Anyway, the Terps lost to Villanova, 95-86, Sunday night in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center, and here are three things we learned during the decently exciting game.
1. The Terps still tend to rush their half-court offense, and it hurts them.
To me, this is the most frustrating aspect of the Terps’ game, even worse than their lack of consistent effort on the glass. When the Terps take their time, move the ball efficiently, find the cutter, and take open shots, their offensive system is effective and they can score a lot of points. But they keep falling into lapses where they look like a bunch of chuckers who are each trying to prove they are the best player in a pickup game at the ERC. The Terps made an incredible run early in the second half last night, and cut the Wildcats’ lead to 61-58 with 13:34 left in the game. Then they went into their stupid ERC offense and bricked threes early in the shot clock on three consecutive possessions when they could have tied the game. “Sometimes [it's] the rush of the moment,” coach Gary Williams said. “You make the comeback, you’re right there, then it’s really hard to get over the top.” The Terps know this is a problem, and several players and Williams have talked about it repeatedly. They need to just stop getting caught up in the moment and continue to play smart for entire games.
2.The Terps are really excited to get Dino Gregory back.
The suspended center is expected to be reinstated in time for the Terps’ next game against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, and the Terps are talking as if he will be their savior. We already knew physical teams can certainly handle the Terps, but the way the guard-oriented Wildcats dominated the boards last night has to be a major cause of concern. Villanova outrebounded the Terps 45-33, and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds. Freshman center Jordan Williams finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds last night, and Gary Williams said his namesake “was a man.” But Jordan Williams needs some help down there. His fellow freshman James Padgett is not developing as quickly, and Jin Soo Kim and Steve Goins really just aren’t viable options to play valuable, consistently productive minutes. The Terps need Gregory back and they need him to play well. “We’re supposed to get Dino Gregory back by the 12th, according to the powers that be,” Gary Williams said. “We look forward to that, to him playing in our next game. He’ll give us more depth, more size on the inside. He’s a very good defensive player, a good rebounder, and we need that.”
3. The Terps aren’t yet where they need to be, but they are closer than it seems.
Ultimately, this game could have been a lot worse. The No. 3 team in the country came out making shots and could have buried the Terps in the first few minutes. But once the Terps settled in and made some defensive adjustments, the two teams actually looked pretty evenly-matched. The Terps actually outplayed the Wildcats for large chunks of the second half. As I wrote in today’s column, the Terps didn’t get their signature non-conference win, but sticking with a National Championship contender has to be a boost to their confidence. In fact, Jordan Williams told me it was. After the disappointing trip to Maui, some doubt had to be creeping in about whether the Terps were good enough to compete with high-caliber teams. The Terps now can head into their ACC schedule next month knowing they are still right there with the talented teams they are going to face. 5-3 is not an ideal record at this point, but there is still a lot left to accomplish.
Greg Schimmel is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball columnist. He can be reached at schimmeldbk@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Greg_Schimmel.
[...] I think I have solved this mystery. The smoking gun is quote from Gary Williams given after the Villanova game. Let’s go to the block quotes: “We’re supposed to get Dino [...]