Gary Williams and Co. held their second open scrimmage of the season this afternoon. For those of you that couldn't make it, here are my notes on the guys.
Jordan Williams: Had a decent scrimmage, a lot better than his first one. Some of the comparisons floating around to Braxton Dupree are premature and probably a little unfair. JWill did a lot of good things today. He brought down a ton of rebounds which was nice to see. Defensively, though, he was a little inconsistent. Williams had a great block on James Padgett on a fast break that drew a loud cheer from the crowd. Unfortunately, he also seemed lost on defense at times. There was one play where Williams missed an assignment and Gary did one of his "I can't believe that just happened, now I'm going to put my hands on my head" things. Overall, though, it was a solid day for JWill who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
James Padgett: Also had a solid day. He probably outplayed Williams, but not by that much. Padge initially struggled putting the ball in the hoop but got better as the game went on. It's clear that he's going to get significant playing time this year. He dropped 17 points and brought in 11 rebounds (6 offensive) on a 6 for 12 shooting day.
Jin Soo Choi: Jin Soo scored 8 points and had a couple of rebounds but didn't really stand out. It doesn't seem like he's really put on weight and he doesn't look greatly improved from last season. I doubt that he'll be in the regular rotation come ACC play but obviously a lot can change between now and January.
Sean Mosley: Mosley was good today and should be an even bigger part of the team this season. He seems a lot more assertive on the offensive end and also looks to have gained a step or two. Mosley's greatest strength on offense is probably finding the open man and he did a good job of it today, leading both teams in assists with seven. He also added 16 points on 6-11 shooting.
Adrian Bowie: Bowie had a decent day with 14 points and three assists. He wasn't too great from 3, though, shooting 1 for 6 from behind the arc. Bowie also played some point guard today and did a nice job of it. Still, he's probably the third PG option behind Greivis and Hayes.
Eric Hayes: The senior guard looked good and if he doesn't earn a starting spot, he'll be the first guy off the bench. Hayes scored 18 points on a 6 for 9 shooting day. He was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. He also seems more comfortable this year. Hayes isn't flashy or loud but he's a huge part of this team. He'll have a big part in determining how successful the Terps are this season.
Landon Milbourne: He's a monster and should have a huge year. He seems more comfortable at the 4 which is good because that's where he's going to be forced to play this year. Landon finished with 21 points on 7 for 11 shooting and brought down 6 boards.
Dino Gregory: Dino stood out more to me than any other player on the court despite not really showing up on the stat sheet (it seems like he scored a lot more than 8 points.) Regardless, Dino was a defensive presence and looked pretty sharp on his mid-range jump shot from what I saw. There was one play where Greivis and Jordan Williams were on a fast break with Dino playing defense and Williams went in for a tomahawk slam. Dino swatted the ball into the crowd and let out a "Get that outta here!" It was awesome. Probably the play of the game.
Greivis Vasquez: Greivis is Greivis. He's the best player on this team and it's not close. Terp fans, appreciate GV because we're going to miss him next year. The guy just finds a way to score. He hit from three and created shots by driving to the lane with ease. There was one sequence where Vasquez hit two straight threes, then stole the ball on defense and threw a no-look pass to Mosley who slammed it home. He's the man. We'll go as far as he takes us this year.
A Few Other Notes:
- Walked onto the court after the scrimmage and saw Mychal Parker and Hippolyte Tsafack sitting first row. Both were laughing and seemed to be having a good time. Hopefully we'll have more on Hippo and how his visit went in the next day or so.
- Anybody who thinks that Gary isn't as intense or dedicated as we once was, you're wrong. He was screaming at the coaches and players in typical Gary fashion, all while sporting a neck brace from his recent surgery.
- The front court is by no means a strength this season, but it should be improved. Dino looks greatly improved, Milbourne looks more comfortable, and both the freshmen bigs seem like they can contribute.
- Steve Goins didn't play and according to Pat Stevens, he was out with a knee injury.
- The feel good moment of the scrimmage was when Ersin Levent hit a gorgeous turnaround jumper that drew a large applause from the crowd. Gary and Greivis both came over and gave him some dap. Pretty sweet for a guy that walked onto the team two weeks ago.