Terps' weaknesses exposed in tonight's game
by chitsweire on Jan 26, 2012 12:13 AM EST
Email
PrintTonight's game was especially frustrating to watch as a Maryland fan because the effort was excellent and it was a winnable game.
We all know that this team has issues at the free throw line but 11/21? Really? You simply cannot do that and expect to win, especially against a quality opponent.
The next weakness that was exposed was defense. Tonight our defense was not nearly as good as the numbers would indicate. Late rotation and a lack of help on shooters should have killed us tonight but, fortunately, Duke shot 3/16 from beyond the arc. If Duke shoots the 3 that badly and you still lose by double digits, you have some serious issues. Our other main defensive issue is pick and roll defense. How many easy buckets did the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly get tonight because of Pankey/Padgett/Len getting stuck on an island...
Another issue that we had related to defense was our rebounding and ball pursuit. Nobody on this team ever boxes out except for Sean Mosley and Mike Parker. While we were only outrebounded 36-31, that was not indicative of how things went. Mason Plumlee and company had their way on the boards all night. Our ball pursuit also seemed to be lacking. It seemed that every time there was a loose ball, Duke ended up with it.
Finally, this team is not going to win tough games if they can't run offensive sets. When you've got a coaching staff that is especially good with X's and O's, your team should be running sets and manufacturing easy buckets. Our problem, especially lately, has been guys shooting or driving out of rhythm. Shots with no rebounders, shots with hands in their faces, and drives into double and triple teams.
We all know that this team is not going to out-talent most ACC foes but we can capitalize with sound fundamentals and good execution on both ends of the floor. First off, it seems to me that this team does not communicate much at all on defense. Guys frequently look lost and get stuck out of position. The team also needs to work on rebounding fundamentals, namely boxing out and going up with TWO HANDS. Any ACC player worth his salt can strip the ball off any Terp except Mosley because none of them protect the ball. Using two hands and chinning the ball fixes that. On the offensive end, they need to run actual plays and execute them with good passing and a focus on taking good shots. Again, communication would help with this. The big men also need to set stronger screens and then roll to the basket with more conviction. At this point, they often seem to just be going through the motions. I hate to say it, but Duke's repeated execution and discipline is what we should aspire to have. That'll win you a lot of basketball games. Against any opponent.
We're seeing this team progress nicely but they still have a long way to go.
Anything deemed inappropriate will be deleted by an admin or moderator with the power to do so. The views of the above FanPost do not represent the beliefs of Testudo Times or Testudo Times' authors, nor are they the work of them.
40 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Also...
When will Karl Hess be banned from the ACC (and preferably the NCAA)? He is an absolute disgrace. A complete joke of a ref. Sad thing is that Brian O’Connell was worse tonight. Sorry for the biased rant but watching Duke get every single call is incredibly frustrating.
oh we were right up front
and about to murder them, it was a disgraceful job on some of those calls. I understand no one is perfect but generally whenu make bad calls they’re in favor of the home team. But the loss is all on us, we had too many missed opportunities; we dropped rebounds, missed layups (faust), free-throws, and of course gave them 8-10 effortless buckets. We need to take a lesson from the womens team and figure out our fundamentals (albeit those kind of go out the window when ur playing a team that outmatches you as well as puke does)
The main weakness exposed
for MD was, I thought, the difference between a skilled, experienced, big front line and a group of young men who tried hard but who don’t have the size or strength to keep up with a team like Duke. Just look at Mason Plumlee’s upper body compared to Alex Len’s.
I also think the poor rotations were a result of the decision to focus on minimizing Duke’s 3 point shooting and because of our overall inexperience we can execute one part of the game plan but don’t have the instincts to put all the necessary pieces together.
That is the difference
between a senior and a junior(Plumlees) and our freshman and sophomores. True freshman Pankey and Len took on the challenge but the strength and experience of the Pukes took over. Why we couldn’t stop the older Plumf*ck from crossinsg the lane and shooting that little jump hook is beyond me. It evidently stumped old Bobby K, which by the way I had to turn off near the end of the game when he dipped into Dookie V mode. By the way, was Padgett in the game any after say the first five or six minutes?
There was also poor rotation to get out on shooters.
For example, remember the possession when Andre Dawkins missed 3 wide open 3s and then Ryan Kelly finally hit Duke’s 4th wide open look
That might have been the turningpoint of the game
but it was our inability to secure the rebound which pretty much everyone was scrambling for not our inability to close out on the shooters. Duke was what 3 – 16 from 3 point? I can’t imagine anyone doing much better than that on their perimeter players.
That's what stood out for me with Len.
He was consistently outmuscled inside. I can’t help but wonder if he could have secured that pass on the fast break had he been a little stronger?
The good news is it looks like he’s still at least two years away from being a serious lottery possibility.
He dropped that pass as a result of taking his eye off the ball
I think he was concerned that his momentum was going to take him past the basket, which was a legitimate concern because he was already under the basket when the ball got to him.
Was at the game and agree that the refs were terrible.
The calls against us were simply pitiful, but even worse were the 2-3 make up calls that I saw. As a ref, I KNOW that you don’t do make up calls…period. Very bad form.
Everyone else here has commented on the the youth of the team, and that is probably the number 1 problem. But simple boxing out, proper rotation, staying in front of your man, don’t seem to exist at the moment. And don’t get me started on free throws, atrocious.
One more thing, Comcast was pretty quiet in the 2nd half and. Thats. On. US!
A winnable game was lost.
Duke's Weakness exposed
The Terp guards were better than Duke’s guards for the first time since Vasquez and Company. We defended the perimeter without doubling down on the Plumlee’s and the result was Duke’s perimeter players are weak. They missed the three’s and had trouble penetrating the Terps defense. Duke’s advantage was in the paint, free throw shooting and friendly referees. We should come to expect the refs giving them the advantage, it has been that way for some time. We can win the battle next time, Duke is vulnerable now.
i saw a different game.
the defensive game plan was spot on. Our inexperience was the reason it didn’t win out in the end. The defensive approach was the reason duke shot 3/16 from 3. It was a great strategy. I was more tired of watching duke get open 3’s against MD in the past. A little more experience and we win tonite. Coaching staff continues to impress.
Agree
This is akin to the point I was trying to make in my post above. You can point to any number of issues (FT shooting for sure and Stogs going 0-4 in 3pt shooting) that contributed to the loss but I don’t think the defensive game plan or the officiating were it. In fact, I think if MD doesn’t go through its typical (for this year) scoring drought, the defensive game plan looks brilliant and the Terps might have had the upset. Remember Duke’s front line is basically 2 juniors and a senior who are 6-10 or 6-11 even if Kelly tends to play away from the basket more than down low. Come on, gang. There were stretches of the game where MD had Sean Mosley at 6-4 guarding that guy. So it’s pick your poison. You’re never going to beat Duke trading your 2s for their 3s.
Have to agree with you on perimeter defense
If we’re going to lose, which face it I think most of us expected, I’d rather get beat with a bunch of normal FGs rather than Duke shooting the lights out from 3. I couldn’t stand over the past few years how terrible our perimeter defense was.
If we could improve our Free Throw shooting that would dramatically change how these games are playing out, we would be much closer. We cannot continue to miss the front end of the one and ones, it is terrible.
Agreed
As does Turgeon:
Turgeon: “I wouldn’t change a thing that we did defensively. I just wish that what we were doing, we did a little bit better.”
Not sure what game he was watching
His team left shooters wide open for the majority of their shots and he thought they played well? I think he will change his tune after watching the game tape.
This.
Duke was 3/16 from long range because THEY were 3/16. Most of their looks were wide open. If I’m Turgeon and I see them missing like that but Plumlee is scoring every time he gets the ball, I’m switching it up to zone. That would have also helped us stop Rivers when he got several easy baskets driving in the second half (simply a product of terrible pick and roll defense at the top of the key and slow recovery/lack of rotation).
I think a press would've worked
The teams they lost to have had guards pressure their pgs.
Turgeon treats "zone" as a four letter word...
well it does have four letters, but i honestly dont even think using a zone more often crosses his mind.
by AThirstyTerp on Jan 27, 2012 9:46 PM EST up reply actions
No. 1 KY has less experience than most any of the Top 25,
which is more than compensated for by level of talent. The same was true last night – Duke simply has more better players. How many of MD’s starting five would displace Duke’s starting five?
On the contrary
Our defense has, and will continue to be, exposed by any team not named Georgia Tech. I’ll live with the handful (?) of easy baskets any day of the week to play perimeter D like that, and it would have been more bearable had we been able to defend the post-ups and muscle the Plumlees off the block.
Kentucky easy schedule
Playing in the SEC benefits Kentucky every year. If they played in the ACC or Big 12 they would be middle of the pack
Middle of the pack
I dont think they would be in the middle, but they would have more losses no questions asked.
by El Goodd Terps13 on Jan 26, 2012 9:48 AM EST up reply actions
Speaking of the SEC and the middle of the pack...
We (arguably a middle of the pack ACC team) lost handily to a middle of the pack SEC team.
Maryland's defense was horrible
Duke shot 19% from 3! 19%! And the majority of those shots were WIDE OPEN. They are a 40% 3 point shooting team right now. Their percentage probably dropped after shooting 19% last night. But you have a team who shoots the ball that well from behind the arc take 16 3s and only make 3 and you lose by double digits??? I don’t understand how anybody can be encouraged from that performance. I won’t even talk about the post defense or the bad perimeter defense. As bad as Duke’s perimeter defense was, Maryland’s was worse. Maryland had an opportunity last night to pull off a tournament worthy win and they let it slip away. When Stoglin hit that shot to put Maryland up 1, Turgeon should’ve called a timeout to fire his kids up and give Duke a chance to think about just happened. Instead, Duke comes down and gets 3 straight offensive rebounds and Kelly hits a 3 to swing momentum back to them.
by jdwall12 on Jan 26, 2012 9:55 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Perimeter Defense?
What game were you watching? Antime you can make Duke only make 3 of 16 threes, I don’t care if they missed a few open shots, YOU ARE DOING something extremely WELL.
To prove my point, take any loss to DUKE in the last 10 years, barring "blowouts: and transposs Duke to 3 out of 16 of their threes instead of their normal or actual count and I
bet Maryland beats Duke 8-9 outta 10. One thing your missing is that if your in their face normally on most of their 3’s, when they do get an open shot they aren’t as confortable or expect a Terp to be there, and that affects their normal open shots.
Unfortunately when you got such a weak front three that’s something you got to live with, with the Team Turg inherited. You can’t makeChicken Soap outta Chicken Feathers!
Also, maybe the refs didn’t cost us the game, but they sure as ‘hell" didn’t make it any easier, which when your playing at home you should get the benefit on most of the either -way calls, certainly not the minority!
That is because
In other years our team didn’t perform so terribly that they would lose when Duke shoots 19% from 3 point range. Sorry for the pessimism, but it’s true. Our team wasted a great opportunity last night. This was much more of a Maryland loss than it was a Duke win.
Maryland's defense had very little to do with Duke's bad 3 point shooting
Most of their shots were wide open. About the defense, Rivers and Curry got into the lane at will. They didn’t even have Cook, who is their best facilitator. Any time you luck up and get a 40% shooting team to shoot 19%, you should at least have a chance to win the game at the end. They play bad perimeter defense. I’m all for playing hard, but if your guys constantly get beat off the dribble, why have them attempt to play tight on ball defense?
Any team can have open 3's...
if they take them far enough out, but they aren’t high percentage. Pe’ got burned a few times because he was defending the long 3 too closely. Maryland wasn’t giving them the easier 3’s around the top of the key.
My biggest complaint on the defense was (as Knight kept pointing out) no help on Plumlee when he put the ball on the floor, and not much helping out in general. But Turge may have told them to stay with their assignment to prevent the dish off. Other than that, I think the loss was primarily due to Maryland’s limitations on offense.
I didn't have a huge problem with playing Plumlee 1 on 1
But I thought they should have started out with Len instead of Pankey. By the time Len came in, Plumlee was already feeling good about himself and was able to continue the strong play he started with Pankey on him. You mentioned any team can go 3-16 from 3, and that’s true. But it wasn’t any team that went 3-16 from 3. It was the best 3 point shooting team in the conference, and one of the best in the country. Not sure how many times you’ve seen Duke play, but Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins don’t really look down to see how close they are to the 3 point line when they catch the ball in rhythm. I just thought it was too many open 3s for a team who shoots the ball so well. Curry, Dawkins and Rivers combined to go 1-12 from 3. You HAVE to win a game at home, on a big night when Duke’s guards shoot the ball that poorly. Or at least have a chance to win the game at the end.
We have a lot of weaknesses...
and they are well documented. There are no surprises. This is a year of learning and that is about it.
Children should be seen and not heard.
by CharlesDriesell on Jan 26, 2012 11:28 AM EST reply actions
Did last night's game accentuate our need for another PF,
or will the addition of Cleare next year be enough…considering, hopefully, that Padge, Pankey and Len will add some bulk during the off-season?
Shaq will help immensely
If JP, AP and Alex keep improving the rest of this season and off-season, we should be ok. It would be nice to have another banger 4/5, but not a dire need if the guys get better – the talent is there to hold the fort down. We HAVE to have better 3 point shooting – it’s a necessity the way the game is played.
Gary’s right – the 2A should move the 3 point line out to NBA length. It’ll spread the floor a bit more, and mid-range and down low skills will be more important again.
"A new era has dawned in Maryland Athletics..."
by bball purist on Jan 26, 2012 10:37 PM EST up reply actions
With Shaq, Len, Padge and Pankey...
…assuming a reasonable level of increased strength, we’re in decent shape next year (essentially, we’re replacing Weijs with Cleare, which is certainly an improvement). But like now, we’re only one injury/illness away from having a severe lack of depth down low. Even IF Layman adds 15 pounds in the off-season, he’ll be a slightly shorter version of Weijs inside. I’m not sure anyone else is available (aside from Mitchell) who could help in that area. With an injury to a big right now, we’d fall back on Auslander and Barks. The same would be true next year, and that’s not the best place to be.
We’re clearly is better shape in the backcourt.
That was supposed to read:
With Shaq, Len, Padge and Pankey, we’re one injury/illness from being VERY thin down low…would we turn to Auslander and Barks?
This year's problems should come as no surprise -
lackluster recruiting over the years has led to average teams. Hopefully, with hard work the new regime can turn things around in the next two or three years.
Please remember...
Turge only had 16 calendar days between Maryland Madness and the first game to teach a new system to his team. Obviously, practice still goes on, but there are strict limitations on the number of hours they can practice, not to mention they have travel time to away games and, yes, even going to class and studying! Turge is installing a completely new system on offence and defence which makes everybody, even Moseley, a Freshman. In the future, the upperclassmen will already know the system and can help teach it to the new guys. They’ve made a lot of progress (perimeter defence is already better than it ever was under Gary) but they can’t work miracles.
3 suggestions for Turge
1. Try a Zone D with Alex and Pankey blocking the lane
2. We should have kept pounding it inside to get Puke’s bigs into more foul trouble
3. Practice free throws for hours and hours. You’ll never win many ACC games unless the team is shooting 70-80% FT’s
Alex and Pankey are learning what it means to go up against large opponents. UNC will be a major challenge.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Testudo Times
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
