Maryland basketball players better than Greivis Vasquez...

Like I said in the Top Terp Tournament post of the matchup, I am 26, so I feel like I am old enough to remember both, and GV is my favorite player but Joe Smith is the reason I started watching MD bball and he got my vote. He was so dominant and brought us back to being a national power. In those days, sophomores just didn’t win National Player Of The Year like they do today. Number 1 picks weren’t drafted just on potential either, they earned it. He, for my money, is the most talented Gary era player I ever saw even though I’d vote for Dixon over him based on accomplishments.

The tournament was titled “Best TERP,” not “Best Player.”

4 years of greatness > 2 years of superiority … end of story

Smith had booth and Johnny Rhodes. If Vasquez has better players he’d not only look better, but the team would go farther and he’d likely get higher personal accolades as well. He took a Dave Neal starting at center team to the NCAA’s.

give greivis some credit. its understandable if you want to think hes not better than joe smith, but how are you just going to tear a new one for one of the most beloved terps of all time. sure, all those stats your provided are fine and dandy, but stats arent everything my friend. you could match greivis’ heart, effort and will up with almost any college basketball player in history- and he alone willed our team to victory even when we were highly outmatched.

just give the guy some credit. if you cant appreciate what he did for this university than YOU need “an education in maryland terrapin basketball history.”

for those arguing “he stayed four years, therefore…”, did you vote for Terrance Morris because he passed up being the possible #1 – pick?

Vasquez was a ball hog and got lucky A LOT. Joe Smith played smooth the way Bias did and earned his points. Watch the video that Ben posted. Vasquez never played like that. 40 against Duke. Nobody could stop him.

also keith booth wasnt better. I understand Smith being better than GV but you guys really are bashing GV with you realize it or not..

I’m not sure of the demographics of those who visit this site, but I’m assuming a significant number are current students at Maryland, like myself. I was four years old when Joe Smith won the NPOY award. The 2002 championship run is the first Maryland basketball memory I have. Beating Duke at home two years ago behind a vintage performance from Vasquez is probably my best Maryland sports memory.

Beyond all of the individual statistics and debate about whether or not Vasquez accomplished anything meaningful in his career, his teams will define the Maryland basketball experience for my generation (at least until the Turgeon era starts to hit its stride next year). For most of the student fans attending the university right now, Vasquez is the best player any of us have seen in a Maryland uniform since we began middle school and rooted for the Terrapins because our dads were fans and we didn’t know any better.

Furthermore, Vasquez was able to form a unique relationship with the fans – one that had me equally as devastated about the second round tourney loss as I was about Vasquez playing his final game in a Terps jersey. That was what I voted for. I can read endless praise about Joe Smith, watch his highlights on YouTube and look up his stats and accomplishments online, but none of that can rival the moment when I watched Greivis take that contested, fadeaway, one-handed runner in the lane against swarms of Duke players and I KNEW it was going to fall.

trying to teach the unteachable…..a silly poll does not matter. Joe was selected with first pick of first round, GV was picked with last pick…. all that needs to be said.

Other than that………..good post. Vasquez was better than Booth, and his NBA career will prove it as well, but you made great points elsewhere, especially in the beginning.

Yes, Joe Smith was a more talented basketball player who put MD on the map coming out of the dark ages. But, Greivis loved playing for MD more than Joe did and so we return the love.

There is more to being a great Terp than raw basketball talent. Its what you do for the program as a whole. If the only measure of a great Terp is their basketball skills, Juan may be in the top 10 only because of his point totals.

Who did more for MD basketball between Joe and Greivis? It’s hard to do in 2 years what someone else does in 4.

Greivis was not.

Joe Smith was probably a better basketball player then Greivis Vasquez. It’s hard to compare players between positions like that, and you can claim that GV’s assist numbers were as good as Smith’s rebounding numbers, and that GV played more of a skill position, and was more of a well-rounded player, but I’ll give you that Joe Smith was probably a better basketball player.

But I looked at this poll (and the problem was there was no set criteria for what the poll was looking for) as what its name said it was, “Top Terp” for the Gary era, and Greivis was a better Terp than Joe Smith. He stayed 2 years to Joe’s 4. He was a leader not just on the court but on the bench and in the locker room as well in a way that Joe never was. He was a “Gary guy” who bought into the system in a way that Joe never did (not saying Joe didn’t buy into the system, just that Grevis did it more). He meant more to the team and its fans while he was playing than Smith did. Smith made people care about MD bball because he was good. Greivis made people care about MD bball because he was Greivis.

Anyone saying Greivis wasn’t a dominant player needs to look at the obvious games, UNC ’09, Duke and VT ’10, but to me the absolute greatest moment we saw out of Greivis, the one that defined him, his heart, his refusal to lose, and his ability to not only be a dominant player but to seemingly bend the universe to his will, is a moment nobody really likes to talk about; his last one. Regardless of what Korie Lucious did those final 2 minutes against Michigan St. show exactly why for me Greivis edges out Smith. Greivis just had more heart.

And blah blah blah 2,000, 600, 750, more well rounded player, and he could’ve averaged a triple double and still not been a lottery pick cause of athleticism, but to me thats not what matters.

Greivis is more like Driesell than Gary, IMO. I have never seen Gary’s emotions cost a game or lead to loss of control. Until his senior year, Greivis was usually out of control, both in his emotions and his game. Lefty gave that impression more often than Gary from where I sat.. I hated GV for three years. He was all energy and no BBall IQ. Always out of control, even when he made the play. He is EXACTLY the player we hate most on other teams. If a Duke player told his fans to STFU, this board would still be quoting it on a daily basis ten years from now. GV is twice as obnoxious as Laettner or Hurley were. He had one good year out of his four. Smith was great 2 out of two so not sure the four vs two year thing has much merit. There is merit however to the idea that GV was the heart and soul of his team while Smith was the backbone of his. Smith was not by nature a leader and Greivis demanded the role. The problem is that that works both ways. GV’s leadership did NOT elevate the team for three years before leading them to overachieve his senior year.It is not a knock on GV that he matured over his tenure at MD. It is a compliment but when measuring achievement, it is a fact that his leadership was a net plus only only in his signature last year.

Didn’t Greivis once say that it was his dream to play at Duke when he was at Montrose?

Just sayin’.

Low blow, I know, but this is Joe F-ing Smith we’re talking about, people!

Joe Smith was far and away the better player, but GV was also excellent in his own right.

This all overshadows the fact that Juan Dixon is going to win the tournament anyway. If GV is crowned over Juan Dixon, then come msg me and I’ll be a little disgruntled.

but i literally couldnt care any less about this argument. I like the top terps tournament but can commenting please be blocked on these posts? why are terp fans fighting with terp fans about something that couldnt matter less. this is getting more posts and talk than the fact that we have a really good football team, our sleeping giant is awakening in basketball and our soccer team is the best in the country. can we discuss stuff that matters? both GV and Joe were great terps. guess what, if GV beats joe, it doesnt mean anything. they are both losing to juan anyway.

The moment you mispelled Greivis’ name (multiple times mind you) you went from making a strong argument, to sounding like a hater. The kid played here for four years, clearly is the most recent ‘legendary player’ to play for us, and you still can’t spell his name correctly?

Anyone who says that Greivis was ‘better’ than Joe Smith is a bit delusional. Then again it is just as delusional for you to say Keith Booth was a better Terp than Greivis.

Personally I would never say Greivis was ‘better than Joe’. But I will say that Greivis is higher on my list of ‘favorite’ Terps to ever play. Why? Because you knew deep down that even with all the crazy shots, the ambitious/wild passes and some head scratchers, you KNEW that he would keep playing at 110% on every play. You knew that he was always giving you his best effort. To me there was a HUGE difference between Greivis’ bone-headed plays vs. NCM’s.

It looks like you need to re-watch the final minutes of the Michigan St. game, and see how he literally single-handedly, beating double and triple coverage made the shots that not only put us back in the game, but nearly won the damn thing.

People need to both come to reality about Greivis, and on the other side they need to stop the hating. It’s making it seem like Greivis’ Sophomore/Junior year all over again. Anyone who makes the argument that Greivis’ jersey doesn’t deserve to sit atop the Comcast Center with the best players to ever play here is crazy.

But because of his leadership, his energy, and his swagger. I’ve never seen a terp take the court with that much confidence. He was always in charge and he was always electrifying.

We can look at talent and numbers forever, but I’d take the General all day every day over Smith in this tournament.

Smith currently has a pretty good lead over GV right now.
For what it’s worth, in my opinion, GV is about as good a Terp as Brad Davis or Adrian Branch, as I see it. (started attending MD games in 1970)
Joe Smith is a Terp legend, GV is not (yet).

Why u so angry? and calling the younger generation ignorant, saying they, (I’m probably a part of “they”) can thank you for the education comes off pretty is dickish, I mean this is just a poll on a fun blog/site/community for good sake.

We can argue numbers and accolades all day, and we will still end up in the same place. Can we not agree to disagree? Obviously, if some of the younger guys on here were at the 2009 UNC Game, or the 2010 Duke game, GV will be a better Terp TO THEM than Joe Smith. And, in that same respect, if someone saw Joe Smith take a mediocre program and bring it to “greatness” ( I am almost afraid to use the word great because someone might pull out a Webster’s dictionary and define it, then subsequently argue why UMD in the 1990’s was not great…), then he is the better Terp TO THEM.

Agree to disagree? Isn’t that the fun of this whole tournament for Top Terp?

(I would have voted for Gini Chukura, I loved that kid)

but if you’re going to “educate” people you probably shouldn’t spell Greivis and Terrapins incorrectly. The fact that you are unable to spell the name of the man you’re criticizing or the mascot of this school reduces the credibility of your argument and tells me you do not give Greivis or his supporters the time of day and the respect they deserve. And I make that point regardless of my position of the outcome of this argument.