Maryland Begins ACC Slate With Road Loss to N.C. State, 79-74
by Ben Broman on Jan 8, 2012 9:12 PM EST
in Basketball
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PrintAlex Len's first career double-double and a game-high 25 points from Terrell Stoglin weren't enough for the Maryland Terrapins to overcome a 20-10 performance from C.J. Leslie and the N.C. State Wolfpack, as Maryland fell in their ACC opener 79-74.
I feel like fans are probably tired of hearing this after we got so much of it last year, but I'll say it anyway: I don't feel bad about this loss. Both Vegas and statistical analysis, like KenPom, had the Terrapins losing by much more than five. I certainly was expecting worse. But Maryland showed a lot of potential today, more or less sticking with a foe with more top-to-bottom talent and experience in a hostile venue. Had a few more bounces gone their way - or had they tidied up one or two things, which we'll get to in time - it wasn't out of the question for them to have come away with a victory.
The first half was a pretty evenly-matched affair, with the scored tied a few minutes before the break at 30-30. A few missed free throws aided a 6-0 N.C. State run to close out the half, and made a three-pointer on their first possession out of the break, pushing their lead to nine. But Maryland would fight back to bring the lead as low as three. The lead would grow as large as 14 later in the game, but a 9-0 Maryland run did make things interesting late. A 10-12 performance from the stripe in the final minute guaranteed an N.C. State victory.
To begin with, Maryland outperformed what I was expecting. I had thought all the way that this was going to be a double-digit loss, but to their credit the Terrapins never really let it get out of hand, and when it looked like it was going to, they fought back, which is always an encouraging sign. Again, I really think they had a shot at winning this one - and instead of that depressing me, I actually find it promising. Where we're at right now with this team is finding out how good they really are, or, more aptly, have the potential to be. And I have to be honest: "capable of beating [what I consider] the third-most talented team in the ACC on their own floor" is a pretty hopeful ceiling. If they start giving away games on a consistent basis then I'll have to reconsider, but right now I find it difficult to be anything but cautiously optimistic about the future.
We'll start off with the good: Maryland had one of their better offensive performances of the season, especially against a good opponent. The Notre Dame and Colorado wins were probably better offensive games, but those were on neutral courts against less-talented squads. Tonight was hardly flawless in terms of execution - there was still too much reliance upon Terrell Stoglin and a three-minute or so scoreless streak - but I did see a lot of positives. With a few rare exceptions, the offense ran sets much more consistently than they have in the past, and was usually able to match State blow-for-blow in the half-court.
One of the keys for tonight was always going to be hitting open shots, and Maryland largely did that. This is a team that, against high-major competition, shot about 41% from the field and 37% from three; tonight, it was 43% and 45%. The improvement from the field is negligible, but we're seeing this group start to hit their threes with greater consistency, even Mychal Parker and Nick Faust. And they did this without a lot of transition points, which was dictated by State mostly holding onto the ball.
Speaking of Parker: I feel like this was a real lights-come-on game for him. Granted, I've said that about three or four times this year, but these types of performances have never really come against high-majors for him. He didn't get a lot of playing time, but when he did he was active on both ends, didn't look lost with or without the ball, actually made several big plays, used his athleticism to his advantage, and made all of his shots. Even his free throws. I can't really think of anything to fault him on.
I don't think Parker will ever be a huge player to this team, certainly not this year and particularly not in the way Mark Turgeon wants them to play. (Jake Layman strikes me as a very different player for some reason.) But Parker came up big several times, and his athleticism can be a major tool, as we saw with his absurd put-back dunk. He didn't do much different tonight, but he did it better, and that's progress.
And while we're on individuals, two more stood out: Len and Sean Mosley. Let's start with the Ukrainian. He got some mixed reviews, but I think it was a pretty solid performance from him all around. Consider, for a moment, the mitigating factors: this was his first collegiate game against a high-major team; it was his first ACC game; it was his first game on the road; and it came against probably the third-best frontcourt in the conference. It was a pretty big ask, and he answered it with his first career double-double.
Make no mistake, he still needs significant development. His conditioning needs to improve, for one; he got beaten down the floor multiple times by DeShawn Painter, and those buckets proved to be a bit of a turning point. But given that he played 31 minutes, I find it difficult to fault him too heavily on this mark. I was more worried about where he is mentally; he seemed to be jittery at times, which I guess is expected from his first ACC road game, and rushed on many occasions when he didn't need to. His awareness is still developing - he needs to learn not to get caught out on the perimeter so much, in particular - and he tends to disappear for spells, rarely demanding the ball in the post or getting caught outside the action. He basically has no post moves when he gets the ball down low, which makes it difficult to consistently rely upon him in the half-court.
And despite all that, he still dropped a double-double on two potential All-ACC post players as a freshman with all of those mitigating factors we discussed. That's pretty major. His potential is mind-blowing, and even just where he is physically right now changes games. As he develops the rest of his game - and I have no doubt that he will, given that all but the most elite freshman struggle in the areas he's struggling in right now - he'll become a serious force.
Switching gears to Mosley: I know it's easy to hate on him, but he was pretty fantastic tonight, as he was against Cornell. He came up with any number of huge plays all game long, on both ends of the floor. If you can believe it, I think Mosley is Maryland's only chance at a real secondary scoring option on the perimeter this year. They need to look to involve him in the offensive more often, so he doesn't disappear like he's done many times this season. Likewise, he needs to be more aggressive about finding his own shot. With Pe'Shon Howard dialed into being a full-time distributor and Nick Faust ... uh, not being "there" yet, they'll need his buckets every night.
As for what went wrong, well, there are dozens of things in games like this. I have a few big culprits: free throw shooting, defense, and lack of a consistent secondary scoring option. Let's start with the easiest one, which is of course free throw shooting. The final stats on this one: Maryland shot 13-21, N.C. State shot 21-24. Maryland missed eight and State missed three; that is, if you're counting at home, a five-point difference. Switch those two, and you have a drastically different game. I hate to harp on free throw shooting because we know it's not going to improve anytime soon - I imagine there'll have to be significant roster turnover to get there - but it's impossible to ignore.
The other two problems are known to us as well, but more fixable. The first was poor defense, especially in the second half. State does have one of the best one-through-five scoring lineups in the conference, but many of the problems here were Maryland-caused. There were a lot of defensive miscommunications and plays where court awareness seemed lacking - things like biting on biting on pumpfakes from a 33% three-point shooter from 23 feet out. There was a period where the two teams were simply trading blows basket for basket, and Maryland could just never come up with a big stop when doing so could've been a huge momentum turn.
The good news is that no other team quite has a player like Scott Wood, who never did anything except catch-and-shoot but still tortured Maryland. A one-dimensional player like that should be easy to lock down, but the Terrapins never really were able to bother him and that was a big reason for the loss.
The final point: Maryland never had a huge scoreless streak and was pretty good offensively, but it's painfully evident that they'd be much better with someone who could truly share the load with Stoglin. Len might get there but right now he basically has no post moves and is a pure garbage man; Faust might develop, too, but he's far from consistent. When Stoglin has to sit down with foul trouble (he had two first-half fouls tonight) it's a real drag on the offense. Whenever he isn't on the floor, commentators always go "Where do the points come from?" and as annoying as it is, it's not a terrible question. This was still a problem tonight even when he was on the floor: as effective as he usually is, you do see him go one-on-five with everyone else standing around. When it doesn't work, it snowballs, as we saw with a few three-minute scoreless stretches that forced Mark Turgeon to call a timeout and regroup the offense.
There were other problems, particularly turnovers and a, er, tepid performance from the bench players. But I thought in most areas tonight, Maryland was good enough to win; just not from the stripe or for a few stretches defensively. (For those who balk at 15 turnovers: the higher-than-usual tempo means that the TO% was right in line with what Maryland's been averaging on the season. And the Iona loss is the only one caused significantly by turnovers.)
I'm okay with the way things turned out tonight. While a win would've been nice, it was probably a bit much to expect this team to win a road game against a top-middle tier ACC team. A loss here doesn't really hurt, and the performance did nothing to convince me that seven or eight ACC wins were an impossibility for this team. There's a lot to correct, to be sure, but also quite a bit to build on, especially individually.
Maryland, which is now 10-4, will stand a good chance at being 12-4 and 2-1 in the ACC by the end of the week. Their next two games are both home contests against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. While both of those two proved themselves to be more formidable than expected - Wake beat Virginia Tech and GT nearly defeated Duke at home - they're still opponents with comparable talent level and experience to Maryland, which means the Terrapins could easily win both. So things aren't all bad here.
(Before I leave, though, a quick note: anyone else notice that State went basically seven-deep? It's a strange sensation to see Maryland be deeper than teams now.)
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Some good news
According to the twitter-verse (so it must be true)
Ron Darby has reopened his commitment.
I like Turtles!
Follow @HarryHareBear
I think you gave NC State too much credit
Sure they are talented, but not that good.
The terps were consistently giving up easy layups either by getting beat down the floor or getting blown by in the half court. I liked what I saw on offense, and I definitely want to see more aggressiveness out of Mosley like today, but unless the team defense can improve they are not going anywhere.
I would agree with the latter sentiment about defense needing to improve, obviously
But I’ll defend my assessment of State as the third-most talented team in the conference. I’m not sure they’re the third-best, but in terms of pure talent, 1-through-5, there’s: a four-star PG; a three-star SG that’s a senior; a three-star SF that’s a junior; a five-star PF; and a four-star C. How many other programs in the ACC have two four-stars and a five-star in their starting lineup, with the other two guys being upperclassmen? Duke. UNC. And that’s it. Pure talent, this is a very good bunch. And they’re very experienced, compared to a team with only one real senior on the roster.
+1
Its amazes me that they’re not better than their record. Just goes to show you that coaching goes a long way in the NCAA.
by word2bigbird on Jan 9, 2012 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
btw bird and Ben
Was it just me, or did Gottfried have the deer in the headlight, hand on the chin (I’m deep in thought) look, at the end of the game? Turge was workin’, and Gottfried seemed to not be addressing the press except to try and give it to Wood (which is a great idea when he’s (now) made 46 straight). Gottfried had a TO and he took about half of it standing aside with his assts talking, but not addressing his squad. I found that unusual.
"A new era has dawned in Maryland Athletics..."
by bball purist on Jan 9, 2012 12:54 PM EST up reply actions
Eh, Gott seemed alright
He’s never been a great coach but he didn’t exactly look like Sid on the sidelines. I did find the taking off his coat thing to be pretty funny, though not in the way he intended it.
Maybe I read into it too much
They did win after all.
Yes, the coat off routine is funny – he did it to start off vs. UNC Asheville too – might be his little trademark tirade to pump up his guys.
"A new era has dawned in Maryland Athletics..."
Too much emphasis on star ratings to continue into college
I don’t care if NC St. had five 6 star players. If their coach can’t develop them further (Sid Lowe), it doesn’t matter how highly regarded they came in, unless the coaches can make them better every year. CJ Leslie basically sucked last year. What a turnaround this year. The same with Howell.
NC St. has a better team this year, thanks to Goddfried. They’ll be better next year.
Good call Ben
There are def some positives to take away from this game and build off of. Watching this was absolutely killing me though because they were right there poised to take over the game so many times but they just couldn’t eliminate the bad decisions and turnovers. Now that I’ve had a little while to calm down much happier and more positive for the rest of the season though.
I agree and also agree w/ Ben about Parker...
Maybe he should start. I especially love his ‘d’ and he doesn’t try to do too much on offense.
by WherestheBison on Jan 9, 2012 8:20 AM EST up reply actions
We should have beaten
them, Peshon played horrible, so many turnovers and Pankey is no where to be found. I think we came in a little aprehensive and thats all right because for parker, len, faust and pankey and somewhat padge this was their first acc road game with serious minutes.
Pe only had 3 turnovers and 8 assists
But I get what you are saying. The TO’s he did have we’re pretty awful at times and I’m not sure he got credit for all that he should have. Also, some of those shots were awful and 1-8 from a pass first guard? NOT a good sign. I don’t think Pe was quite horrible, but he certainly wasn’t good tonight. 8 assists will never make up for 3 bad TO’s and 1-8 shooting…., but that being said, I do like actually having someone who can get some assists on this team. It’s a start at least.
Same thing holds true as always
You’ve got to hold serve on your home court and steal a few on the road. With the exception of UNC, we are capable of beating any team in the ACC. However, all other 11 teams can beat us as well if we don’t take care of the basketball, control the boards, and play better defense.
Like tonight, I think Maryland will play many close games this year. We are not the type of team that is going to run the opponent out of the gym, but I also don’t see us getting blown out either.
N.C. State is one of the better offensive teams that we will see in conference play this year. If you look at the majority of ACC teams, this is a defensive league. Many teams are struggling to score over 70 points on a consistent basis.
Overall, a good effort and let’s take it to Wake on Wednesday Night!
The lack of a second scoring option is killing us
Jordan on the inside and Stogs on the perimeter would have been a sick combo this year.
I don’t think this problem is going to get much better as the season progresses. A few guys will hopefully progress some more (Len, Faust), but i don’t see anybody consistently stepping into the #2 scorer role this season.
It is what it is. Experience and growth for next season’s team is what i’m really looking for.
I still think Mosley, with the right sets called for him, can score 10-12 ppg in the ACC
And that’s probably as close as we’ll get, with another 10-12 from Len. Not enough, but something.
?
It does on any other team. The whole NC State team practically shot 12-13 ppg each.
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 12:40 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think T Free means
secondary scoring option as in the second go to person. NC state is ridiculously balanced, and the rest of their team is basically the second scoring option. We don’t have that, and it took a longggg time for someone other than Stoglin to even get into double digit points.
Secondary Scoring... options primarily are Mosely, Len, and Padgett and than hopefully Faust and Parker develope as the season progresses
Mosely- when he is on we will be in any game we play
Len- not sure I agree about him not having moves…hoping that he’ll shoot it more…even at the top of the key- he could have shot more tonight
Padgett- give him credit he’s not afraid to get the ball to the rim and he manges to find pretty good angles
we lost the game on defense tonight not on offense
Defense was probably the bigger problem tonight
But what i kept finding myself thinking was that if we had a bonified #2 guy, we would have won the game. Perhaps it was just easier for me to think about having a second major scorer than all it would take to be better defensively.
Didnt Juan Dixon take
1000 free throw every day at the end of practice?
I could be making this up.
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 12:39 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Len
Len needed more help in the paint. Len is great with offensive rebounds but padget, pankey, and Weiss gave up offensive rebounds in bunches. Padget missed some easy buckets. They didn’t defend leslie. Parker was a beast.
by torope on Jan 8, 2012 10:12 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Padget mostly played well
Yeah, he had some mistakes. A missed easy bucket or two and a travel in one of the really early possessions. But he put together a fairly solid performance and occasionally had some pretty nice put backs in the paint.
That being said, we lost the front court battle tonight. Not by a huge margin, but they just played better than we did. We almost got them into foul trouble, but really couldn’t finish that one off. Pankey is starting to disappoint and I don’t like the look on his face when things aren’t going well (something Coach is calling him out on a bit lately).
Overall, like Ben, I’m about as happy as I could be without winning the game. I too expected a worse loss, but the team mostly played well. Still cringed at times from some really careless errors that cost us big and of course the pretty bad foul shooting, but otherwise a game that didn’t make me feel awful to watch, especially considering my expectations going into this season.
I thought Len got badly out experienced and out played, but damn, he is really damn tall and that saved him on more than a few times. Can’t wait until he actually learns how to play and stops rushing the fast break passes after rebounds that result in costly TO’s.
I want to see Parker and Len shoot it more...and Mosely too...other than that everyone is playing within their game
and agree with torope- Len could have got more help from the other guys
Some thoughts
There were definitely a lot of positives to take away from this game on individual levels. We still have a little ways to go in putting that all together for a team effort, but this is only our 4th game at full strength and they are making progress.
Solid performance by Len. Besides grabbing boards and getting some points, his size also bothered people down and changed a few shots. He also had a really nice screen for a wide open 3 by Stogs—would like to see more of that. Him developing moves isn’t just putting it in the basket, but also moving without the ball.
I was also encouraged with a few of Sean’s drives at the basket. All we can ask for is for him to stay aggressive. If he’s good for double-digit points every game, that’s huge.
I thought Padge had some good looks and missed some easy ones: all about concentration. I really wish he’d focus a little more on the defensive end sometimes—at least 1-2 rebounds went right past him that led to State buckets. I’m still glad that he’s getting more minutes though as he is definitely our 2nd best option down low.
And yeah, I love Nick, but at this moment it’s looking like Parker is really making his case for more PT.
You know.
I’m gonna come out and say it. Len resembles Faust more than anyone on this team. Hear me out.
Len was playing good today but not great. I felt like his head was a bit confounded at times. He was setting pics that were called off by Parker a few times, and were really out of his area. To his defense there was no movement and he was getting things started. I liked that but if youre going to do too much at least make it count.
He also didnt feel confident in his defense. He needs to throw himself around a bit. A lot of his rebounds came purely because he was 2 feet taller than everyone and the ball reached his outthrown arms first. Len needs to OWN the area under the basket. Howell wants some offensive rebounds? Too fucking bad!
Finally Len was a little tentative on the offensive end. He’s got the skill but its for a system that we dont use. I dont know how they ball in Europe, but he seems to be processing all the differences all at once. He’s HEAPS better in his learning and improvement in the game than Faust, and Faust doesnt even need to relearn anything! However, Len has no ceiling and I feel like he’s on his way to improvement. The whole team, too, is taking their transformation from a previous 9-10 in the ACC to a legit 5-7 team very well.
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 12:36 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Len, like Faust, needs to be cut some slack.
Both are freshmen, and you never know how well – or how quickly – a freshman is going to adapt to college-level play. Len has some things to learn, and he needs to add another 15 pounds of muscle during the off-season.
It may not be the best example, but Parker didn’t adjust very well as a freshman, either. It could be argued midway through his sophomore season that he still hasn’t reached his potential. (He may have developed more quickly had he not wound up in GWs doghouse last year, but that’s water under the bridge).
Clearly, Len has a great deal of potential. And we all knew going in that there would be an adjustment period. It’s also clear he’s still in that adjustment period, AND HE STILL FINISHED WITH A DOUBLE-DOUBLE in his first ACC game.
Didn't like the officiating tonight
Seemed like Turge and the team didn’t either. Seemed like they weren’t calling much down low.
Thought we should’ve won this game, but hopefully we take something from this and move forward better
Turge showed some fire from the bench
I loved it when he threw his clipboard down to wake the guys up, and he was rightly pissed at that traveling call on Nick. He just got his first taste of the Carolina refs, and I don’t think he’ll be forgetting it.
The team was definitely frustrated with the calls.
SSM was hopping up and down several times and Pe went crazy after one call and scored his lone basket on the following possession. I thought the Faust call was bad more so because Padgett was fouled on that play before Nick ever got that rebound.
The other thing to mention here is that Stogs got two quick ones. His first foul was an INTENTIONAL??? REally? Did anyone see Stogs do anything on that replay? This was the reason he had some sliding door defense towards the end of the first half. Turge was right that when Terrell gets into foul trouble he stops guarding. If I were in Stogs shoes I would too. The likelyhood of him getting a charge there is so small that its not worth risking the third foul before half time and costing the team 5 minutes of him out there not being able to help score.
I really liked how focused Terrell was on scoring, however, I’m pretty sure Turge was pissed at Stogs for taking a quick three on like the second or third possession. He pulled Stogs pretty early in this one and I think it was a costly mistake.
I love me some Turge, but pulling Stogs early and not getting Len out when Deshawn Painter made those two buckets in transition were tactical mistakes IMO. All of this, plus sick games from CJ Leslie and Scott Wood, and we still lost by 4? All good signs of things to come.
Turge needs to learn that Stogs really is our best offensive weapon out there and that he needs some freedom to take bad shots. He did that earlier in the season and I think Terrell won some of those games almost single-handed. If some of our other guys (looking at you SSM, Len, Faust, and Pe) can man up and start scoring like I know they can, then all the better, but for now, it looks like Stogs is the only one who WANTS to take the big shot.
Watch the replay again
He held the dude’s jersey. and then when that slipped out of his hand, he grabbed the dude’s hand. You see people do that all the time, but he made it really obvious. It’s called like that at the end of games if you foul like that, so it made sense it was called like hat during the game.
Could've been a red
Had he sold it the right way lol
Yeah
They weren’t giving NC State their calls. It was a bit surprising that the team who shot more jumpers got to the line as much as the team who went inside and drove to the basket all game. NC State ended up shooting 3 more free throws, and that was because of the fouling at the end of the game. Had this game been officiated right, it would’ve been over by halftime.
This bunch showed some grit.
They have a lot of flaws, biggest of which is, like many young teams, they don’t know how to maintain their intensity for 40 minutes. If this game were in Febuary, I’d bet they’d win it.
More Mychal Parker....Less Nick Faust
I want to see more of Mychal Parker. He has a way of creating his shots (though he is a bit charge prone). His 3 pointers tend to be more polished than Faust, and he seems to be a better and stronger re-bounder.
Nick Faust is clearly the future of Maryland…just not this year. He still needs a year to develop and thrusting him into a starting solid minute roll is very much premature.
Agree with your first point.
But if Faust is the future of Maryland then lets hope there’s a huge maturation of his game. He just hasnt hit that gear. I feel like when I see Faust with the ball, three out of four times something unpredictably bad will happen. And you know what that KILLS our game sometimes.
On that same note, I’m not sure you would disagree haha
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 12:29 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
That description you used for Faust
Could be used for almost every freshmen in America. Very few ever hit the ground running and it takes them all season or more to find their groove. Also remember Faust has been working on his true game , as a 2 guard, for all of 3 weeks now.
Don’t forget Stoglin , who had some absolute ghastly performances last year, was all over the place as a freshmen. The Duke game at Cameron sticks in my head. I just knew we were going to give Duke a game and Stoglin went out and just laid an egg. 1-10 with numerous air balls and a couple turnovers. Then by the end of the season he is winning consecutive player of the week honors. All of our players I worry about Fuast the least. He will come good
Now will someone please teach Padgett how to make a lay up!
I basically agree with Ben's assessment, but it is difficult for me to draw hard conclusions from what I saw tonight.
A few thoughts…
I do think Alex will play himself into better shape. I also think other teams will try to run on him, so he has to improve his conditioning. That said, Ashton also needs to be ready to play a bigger role. He should be the first option as backup for Alex and James. Berend has trouble making his presence felt in games and I’m not sure what he can do about it.
I really agree with Ben about Mychal’s play. Until Nick is able to raise his game, Mychal should be backing up both Terrell and Sean. The way he is hustling now on D, I think he could have shut down Wood. Mychal is fast, has long arms, and can sky. Now that he seems to be making better judgements, let’s see more of him. Nick has also improved his D and court awareness but he needs to be a more limited role player for awhile.
I also agree that we need other scorers than just Terrell, although he doesn’t seem to mind carrying the load. Right now it looks like Mark wants our big guys to get second chance points by pounding the offensive boards. That’s good but we also need them to score of our offense. That includes Alex, James, and Ashton.
pankey isn't comfortable at the 4
I think its pretty clear that Ashton Pankey is not used to being the tallest guy and occupying the most post space on his team.
That’s something I’m sure the coaches are working on in practice but for the sake of in game performance I vote for Padgett to start and Pankey to spell Len. Padgett can be active with Alex or Pankey on the floor.
Also, really dug Parker’s effort tonight. Turge is molding the kid into a ballplayer and if he’s a straight energy guy like that through conference play then I’ll be a happy dude.
by umterp07 on Jan 8, 2012 11:51 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I think Len should get more (and different) touches
I agree with Ben that his post moves are pretty lacking right now. But, we know he can shoot the outside shot. The announcers even talked about how he can hit 3’s “like layups” and that Turge just needs to figure out how to work that into the offense.
Well uh, work it into the offense man. He had a nice looking jumper from 12 feet today. Give him spots, play to his strengths.
So basically, I think we should give him some looks from further away, and let Padge clean up if he misses (that plays to everyone’s strengths). Also, I’d like to see a couple more lobs to Len like that play to open up the second half. I was hoping we’d try that lob play again. I feel like, if you have an athletic 7 footer, you lob it to him every other play.
Muggsy -- 2,318 career NBA rebounds.
The easiest way to get Len outside looks
is to run pick and rolls or pick and pops with him. It would be damn near impossible to stop a jumper from Alex. If the offense is lacking, this wouldn’t be a bad 2nd option for some scoring
by terpsallday on Jan 9, 2012 12:41 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Pick and Pop
Don’t know why Turge doesn’t have a pick and pop with Stogs and Len. Perhaps he doesn’t want to take Alex away from the glass for offensive rebounding, but given that the opposing five would also be out, Padgett/Pankey or Parker could fair as well on the offensive glass. Its possible they want to save Len’s energy and athleticism for the glass, since he seemed to get winded today, but they have him running around setting a lot of screens, shouldn’t be too hard to let him float out for a few open J’s
Observations
Pankey has skill but when it comes to movement he’s really a “what’s the least I can do to look like I’m playing basketball?” kind of guy. His feet don’t move. He is lacksadaisical. Not at all impressive. Contrast that with Len who is on the other extreme. Setting pics that he probably shouldnt. Always doing SOMETHING productive. He definitely looks to have a more complete game. Pankey looks like he has the life sucked out of him sometimes.
As to whom should pick up the slack when Stoglin is gone. Parker and Faust. They’re risk-takers. You’re gonne see something happen when the ball is in their hands…even if they’re just passing back to Pe. It feels like they accomplish much more even when they don’t produce at all.
Big props to Padgett. He’s like the anti-Pankey. Constantly on the move when down low with the ball, kind of like a running back looking for extra yards after the tackle. Like it but it looks like his potential is maxed out sometimes especially considering he doesnt like making points at the line.
Our team needs to be less one-dimensional. We get our points from Stoglin. Rebounds from Len. Assists from Pe. If one is not feeling it that night out comes the inconsistency of which we’re so fond. Honestly it comes down to our backcourt. That is the most volatile. We need Faust to learn to be consistent. Pe to take some shots. Stoglin/Mosley to have more assists. A rounded game by more players has always been our ticket to success and you can see it in the box scores of our better games.
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 12:23 AM EST via mobile reply actions
SIDE NOTE:
This was the second most points we have scored all year! It was not that long ago when we couldn’t seem to buy a basket….
Backseat coaching recommendations
1. Echoed on here, Mosley needs to play as aggressive offensively as he did in several significant stretches of both NC State and Cornell games. Basically he just needs to look for his shot and dribble drive, as he needs to be our secondary scoring option.
2. An extra 2-3 points from Padgett on the FT line per game is needed as observed today. Make him take 500 free throws every day
3. Len’s conditioning and hands need to improve (that one alley-loop attempt that went right through his hands could have been a huge morale changer), develop 1-2 go-to low post moves for this year, set some plays to get him some outside shots – he sure has a pure touch (his 18 footer would have never rattled in without having a soft touch/good rotation). And, give him a few more suicides in practice, and specifically work on feeding him the ball in practice too.
4. As swagtastic as Pe’ comes across, he is Jekyll and Hyde out there in terms of being a playmaker/not doing anything to create offense. He certainly isn’t the quickest nor the fastest, but he’s our best ball handler. I’d tell him to stop with his AND1 aspirations, keep it simple – will eliminate 1-2 to’s a game.
5. Parker needs to take some more minutes away from Faust. Parker’s performance is climbing on both ends of the court. With a more natural shot, more physicality, and even more athleticism, it looks like he can help us more at the present time. His bball IQ and handles both have noticeably improved too.
Padgett should worry about layups first
He missed at least three that led to easy transition baskets the other way.
As for Parker, he has played a couple of good games this season but is still prone to bad ones. Against Cornell he had only 3 points in 15 minutes with 3 turnovers. He also looked awkward whenever he had the ball.
Just like everyone else on the team, Parker needs to work on consistency.
Agree on the Parker and the inconsistency sentiment
But getting Padgett to fix his touch in close around the bigs seems like a tall order, almost like expecting Faust to go from a league-worst 20% 3 point shooter to an above-average .40% 3 point shooter. I think more improvement can be hoped for from the charity stripe where the same shot can be rehearsed to no end in practice.
And also generally about Len, it looks like we’ll receive the biggest impact from a couple realistic, short-term improvements. With proper conditioning last night, he makes at least 1 of those 2 free throws down the stretch and he eliminates 5-6 points in which he couldn’t keep up with his man in transition. Reducing his nervousness at this level (which should be reasonable over the next few games), hopefully will slow the game down for him and make his handles better. He had 1 or 2 frantic outlet passes and one missed alley-oop which added to another 4 point swing.
This team has moxie
fight grit or whatever other name you have for it. They don’t quit and I love that. That fight back from two separate double digit deficits was all I could have asked for a young team on the road in its first ACC game.
This team is young , really young, and we will be winning games like that one by the end of the season. This three game stretch will tell us alot about where this season is headed. God I would love to be on a three game W streak when Duke comes to town.
Terps
Rallied when they were down, were in it to the end and played tough if not winning basketball last night.
The most pleasant surprise of the night was Mychal Parker, who gets more minutes, I’m thinking.
Least inspiring were the turnovers, many not coming through any particular pressure, just sloppy ballhandling.
Len was tired at several points, letting his man run out unchecked on the break and missing free throws he would have made earlier in the game. To be expected and easily corrected. Len has got to find quickness on his back to the rim offense. A couple of his moves in the pivot were so slow, it felt like you could go get a beer and still see the end of the play. He is not yet the second scoring option that he’ll become shortly.
Nick started out looking like he was going to be punked out completely, but got it together as the game progressed. Give me some more Parker while he’s still learning.
Sean, step up offensively. Go for it, you can do it.
James Padgett, nice work..
Terrell, without you, well….
Down throught the ages Tobacco Road officiating has a deserved reputation. It’s tough to be fouled twice and then be called yourself.
They were in this and with a few different bounces, could have won it.
Looked like an ACC team that came to play.
I love Pagge's energy...but damn...he missed (unofficial) 4 chippies
because he gets so frantic that his sh*t’ll be tossed! That and the free throws and we win by 8. I love this team and this couch, though, and expect to see some big wins and at least .500 in the conference.
I think he missed two on the same possession twice
so its only like missing once twice…no that makes no sense.
PH had a poor scoring game. Stat-wise Padge had a decent game but I bet he lost some serious sleep last night over the putbacks and the FT misses.
I am liking Parker more and more. I agree with those who believe that he has earned more minutes than Faust at this point. What happened to Pankey? He showed so much promise at points earlier in the season; granted, he has played exactly 14 games over the last 2.5 years so I am thinking that its an issue that MT will be able to rectify.
r-hgr
I can't tell how many times
I was screaming at my TV: “Don’t be afraid to get your shot blocked!”
It looks like he is terrified of getting his shot blocked, and tries all sorts quick release, reverse layups. I’m all about using the rim to protect the layup from the defender, but Padge needs to release that he is a well-built post player. He needs to go up strong, protect the ball, and try to score through the defender, not around the defender.
I guarantee he will make more layups, get fouled more often, and only occasionally get stuffed.
plus, teams have the film on Padge doing that all the time
he has to mix it up, much like baseball pitchers. One time one pump, then no pump, then two, depending on the situation and what he feels. But he has to take it right up there, maybe draw the foul, maybe get blocked, who cares. sometimes quick release beats the recovery/reaction of the defender. Plus, he’s starting to make the little left handed lay in more since I was chirping about that many games back. He should use that for the quick release as teams do not expect opposite hand as much.
Speaking of which, Alyssa Thomas’ right hand is sick. That layup drew the defenders expecting the lafty layup, and she totally fooled them on the more difficult reverse right hander – guys should take note of that skill – wow.
"A new era has dawned in Maryland Athletics..."
Disappointed with the loss, pleased with the potential
ok, there were chances to pull ahead, and NCST deserves credit for playing a great game and hitting on multiple cylinders. I think that all 9 of our scholly players showed flashes and all nine showed room for improvement. We can talk about a couple of bounces, a couple of ref calls, but clearly the FT% remains an issue, and a slightly better night scoring from PH would have likely delivered the win. we are soooooo close to being really really good.
First road game. First hostile environment. First time with questionable officiating (and it started out BAD).
we’ll be ok in the ACC this year, but we can’t look at anyone remaining on our schedule as cupcakes. Like how the announcers kept harping on our strength of schedule versus the rest of the conference. Bring on the Deacs.
r-hgr
Pleased
We were poised for a double-digit loss to a good team on Tobacco Road and came back to be in a position to tie or win the game at the end. This was a fine result from a team with two key freshmen playing their first ACC road game and a sophomore backcourt playing its ninth. The comeback showed again that the Terps have a big heart.
The errors that prevented a better result can be corrected. Howard has to learn that when his shot isn’t on, he shouldn’t take it. How many of those seven misses would have been assists? For me, a big plus was that the Terps were virtually even on the boards against a very good front court playing at home.
It’s easy to criticize various facets and players. See the big picture: Len is a freshman with four games under his belt. Faust is a freshman with four games at his true position. Don’t expect miracles. With a young team still learning a new system under an excellent coach, being competitive is the first step toward being a winner in the ACC. And, yes, the Terps continue to demonstrate they have a serious need for a free-throw tutor.
Not to get nitpicky but....
Pankey is a freshman as well…..and it showed last night.
r-hgr
what's up with Pankey...he had that stretch of games where he looked like he'd really be pushing Padge for minutes...
lately he seems more distracted…hopefully he and Weijs both find their niche and we end up having “the four horseman” and not end up fwhere we are buying minutes when they come in. I know Weijs is skinny and has limitations there but he also has a pretty good shot and is good at blocking shots…with the right match-ups he can do fine. If Pankey can develope and become like the third main spoke down low it would be huge.
Like, Faust...
….Pankey is a freshman, and freshman are prone to inconsistency (consider, too, he played no hoops to speak of for 2 years). Faust has had some good outings (Samford), but hasn’t been able to do it consistently. The same applies to Parker (a virtual freshman, IMO). We can’t afford to give up on him. It’s obvious he has skills. Consistency will come with time.
I think the TERPS looked about as good as their going to be.....
considering it was a road game, and NC State fans packed that house and were REAL loud during most the game……so a very hostile place to play. The MAIN reason we lost……13-21 at the charity stripe……that’ll do it in a close game every time. This is to much like the team last year. Were good, and we can compete…..but were not good enough where we can mess up on something as easy as free throw shooting.
forget about this game and look at the big picture
we came into this season thinking we would be lucky to win 14 games. a few short months later we are nitpicking a 5 pt loss to a good ACC team. this team is going to be EFFING DIRTY next year and EVEN THEN we are gonna get even better the year after that. watch out ACC, we’re a-commin for ya. Hide the children on tobacco road
It's Official
Mychal Parker should be the first player off the bench. In 12 minutes he got 9pts, 3stls (at crucial times down the stretch), a couple boards and just played well. He made good decisions with the ball, both passing and shot selection. I wanted to see this happen, but I definitely think he may have won the confidence of Turge. I’d be surprised, actually mortified if he didn’t get more minutes than Faust in this game on Wednesday. Well done Mr. Parker.
*All Terp Everything*
Terps will continue to get better with time, just like wine
I’m a newbie here but have been reading for a while and looking forward to being a part of these discussions.
So far as yesterday, it would have been nice if they had won but I think a close loss is a better way to get the team’s attention on what they need to do to improve
Stoglin won the game for them as he has all season. That said, depending on his ability to score while avoiding foul trouble and / or injury is no recipe for success, so the rest of them have to step up and contribute more.
I think Faust is going to be more of a positive eventually, but as others have said here Parker has shown he should be in the mix a little sooner. The difference Len’s shot blocking and other skills make are already evident. There were a lot of rejections yesterday that just wouldn’t have happened without Len.
tI think Mark T is going to turn this into a very good team, this season. By the ACC tourney they should be capable of showing the rest of the ACC and the NCAA they aren’t easily dismissed.
by Northwestern68 on Jan 9, 2012 2:15 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
A question to ponder:
Because we’re so young, does it make sense to expect our rate of improvement (as a team) to be greater than more experienced teams?
We're already doing it.
But that being said the improvement could be inconsistent. You’re packing a lor into a little space of time!
by db0255 on Jan 9, 2012 5:17 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Terps will get better during the season than NC St.
We have more potential than most ACC teams. I was proud of the way we played, especially with such a young team. I look forward to the rest of the season to see if Turge can really improve us. I think he can.
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