Just a few thoughts after a tremendously disappointing night:
As to the charge of having too high expectations for this season, I guess I have to plead guilty.When it comes to most Terrapin sports, I am always the optimist. Before last night’s game hope was high for a 2 game conference ending sweep and becoming a virtual lock to getting an at large bid. When the Heels jumped out to a 12-6 lead, I felt we were in trouble. We just seemed flat early which is hard to comprehend with what was at stake.
Biggest misconception about the offense is that we don’t try to pound it down low. Every time Alex gets the ball low–2 and sometimes maybe 3 guys are holding him, punching, him etc. Guess what Alex had but 2 foul shots last night. So what does Alex do— dish it out to a wide open guard for a 3—Here’s how we fared on threes last night
Logan 0-5
Seth 0-5
PeShon 0-3
Nick 2-5
Overall 3-23. Most of the shots were wide open. If we can’t hit open shots why would other teams not double down on Alex. By the way Alex will be a lottery pick in the NBA this year and one of the clear reasons is that this class is considered perhaps the worst class out of college maybe ever.
Coach Turgeon was just about despondent post game last night. The flurry of mistakes at the end of the half made him go ballistic at the end of the half. Here is his post game press conference. Memo-47
I thought his employment of the press was a good move and asked him about it. Listen to hear his response. By the way, for the first time in 4 games, Jake came alive during the press and helped cut the lead to 6. Minus a few not so well thought out decisions, Nick Faust played well last night finishing with 16 points.
So it’s farewell to James Padgett, who played his last game at Comcast (unless a NIT game is there). James always gave the Terps everything he had and last night he finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds in only 20 minutes.
The final possible track for a bid–Win the next 3 games and there would be hope but UVA is a terrible matchup for Maryland. Joe Harris has been unstoppable and the Terps have no answer for him.
That’s enough depression for one night. Tune in to Terp Talk tomorrow night at 6 for more discussion.
Max
This team has been more than disappointing. Outside of the wins against Duke and NC St. which are always amazing, this season has offered time and time again anticipation led followed by heart-crushing defeat. I can only hope our freshman bigs develop next year and Roddy is all he’s cracked up to be.
Big props to the UMD marketing team though. I was at the top of the huge soccer style flag and it was really cool. It’s little consolation, but it is some.
· 11/12/2019
Mricklen
And so it seems that our enthusiasm for quick improvement of the Terp basketball program, trumped reality.
It is going to take more than one moderately competitive recruiting class to reach the ultimate destination.
We are getting better and it now seems that patience along with apparently several more successful recruiting classes will be required to reach true national competitive levels.
Patience is indeed a virtue and a requirement fir us all.
· 11/12/2019
freddy from boca
mike kindly explain how this team has gotten better this year. is there one freshman who has progressed at a nice level this year? someone who has gotten significantly better from the start of the season until now? what about any soph, jr or senior? i don’t see one player who has grown a great deal from oct-nov until now. this is the first team in a long time that hasn’t gotten better as the year went on. some of it has to be coaching. whatever the message is, it isn’t getting through so they need to find another way of teaching. how can a team in its 30th game still have no idea how to be spaced in the half court. how often do you see 3 or 4 crisp passes resulting in a good open shot? can’t blame all that on a lack of point guard. the coaches have had all season to make adjustments but they run the same disjointed half court offense from day one.
· 11/12/2019
Mricklen
Fred, I am trying a positive tack…
I agree with all of your points and have made them all myself. But I am giving Turgeon and his staff the benefit of the doubt, that it is difficult to transition to basically an all but 2 new players in a tough bball conference.
I know it has been done at KU, but no one is disputing the quality of players difference between the two.
I like a candid coach, but not at the expense of young players, apparently in over their heads.
But I am willing to give Turgeon that extra year to prove he is the coach he says he is.
But the leash is getting very short !
· 11/12/2019
freddy from boca
tough b ball conference? mike the acc has 2 teams in the top 25. as far as liking a candid coach. turgeon is sounding more like edsall during randy’s first year. constantly throwing players under the bus and yet do you ever hear him criticize the coaching staff. md must have the greatest coaching staff in the ncaa. they teach better than anyone else. they scout better, the game plan better, their in game adjustments are the best… it’s just the players don’t understand anything the coaches say. to me it’s classless for a coach to criticize a player through the media unless the player does something off the wall. and yet for all his criticism of his players turgeon is about as defensive and thin skinned as any coach in the country when the media and fans get on him. hopefully next year both football and basketball will improve to a point where md goes to a bowl game in football and goes to the ncaa’s in b ball. anything less could mean the end of turgeon and edsall’s tenure at college park or it would make yr 4 for each coach a must win year. if both fail keven anderson will be gone as well. in that case jim kehoe will have to come back as a.d. even though he died in 2010. you just have someone wear a plaid sports jacket and you take pictures from behind like the way seinfeld filmed steinbrenner for the tv show.
· 11/12/2019