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Jordan Williams Gets #20, Padgett #35
New numbers for basketball were introduced today - these are the only changes. It's tough to say how good they'll look in the numbers without actually seeing them in them in Terp jerseys, but they are the same numbers they wore in high school. You might remember a famous Terp #35 - Lonny Baxter. Good choice, Padge.
Dickie V's All-Rolls-Royce Team: Vaz second team
Surprised to see Vaz only on the second team, what with V's insane ACC homerism. That said, I wasn't surprised to see Kyle Singler on the first team. He's gotta rep Duke, I guess. That said, will Singler even play forward next year? With Duke's guard issues, he'll probably get some PT there, too.
Pat Stevens: Maryland at #52 in nation in FB
I think it's a little bit low, but not egregiously so. Mostly even-handed. However, he believes last year's team would lose to Duke this year. I know Duke's coming up in the ranks, but they are not going to be a sudden middle-of-the-road ACC team.
Required Reading: X’s & O’s of Basketball: A Look at The Gary Williams Maryland Flex Offense
This is the best breakdown/explanation I've ever seen of Gary's flex offense. A fantastic read for any Terps basketball fan. If you want to understand Maryland's offense, this is what you need. [from homertuck]
Portrait of the Fridge in winter - Dr. Saturday - Rivals.com
The folks at rivals/Yahoo have a nice breakdown of the Friedgen's performances over his entire tenure at Maryland. They have a good numbers breakdown too, showing how the Terps dominated the ACC in stats his first 3 years, but have since fallen off tremendously, especially on defense. I think this is the make or break year for Fridge. [from homertuck]
Terps to be Examined by ESPN on August 6
ESPN is looking at 15 teams in what they call the "CBB Summer Buzz": five rising (like Kentucky, West Virginia, and Texas), five falling (like Louisville, Arizona,and UCLA), and five at a crossroads. Surprisingly, Maryland isn't falling, but at a crossroads. The other crossroads teams? UNC, Duke, UConn, and Oklahoma. Throw in Maryland, and one of those five is not like the others. Regardless, circle August 6th on your calendar.
Maryland positional preview: Defensive line - D1scourse
In a word: agreed.
In the end, the Terps might be a little bit better on the defensive front than in 2008. But they probably won't be great, and that's going to have some limiting effect the entire program's upside in 2009.
Honestly, I'm okay with "better than last year". Last year was awful, but we still made it to a bowl game, and we're replacing every starter, as well as introducing a new defense. If we still improve, through all that, I'll consider it a victory.
Barnes Signs With Skins
Great news for KB, who I think can have a bigger impact than Josh Wilson in the league. It's such a shame he got hurt, and I rue it even more because the AP ended their story with this nugget:
He posted the highest score (41) on the Wonderlic logic-thinking test given to prospects at this year's NFL Combine and is also well-known for a big hit that became an Internet sensation. Barnes leveled California's Jahvid Best last season, leaving Best on the ground several minutes before the running back vomited. Was that not the best moment of the first half of the season? It was great. We'll probably still use it to trash talk against Cal.
Remember Eteyen Edet? He has a home
Perhaps you remember Eteyen Edet, a sleeper Maryland football commit in 2008. Edet was actually one of my favorites from that class - he looked like he would be very good, especially for a 2 star. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way, and he had to prep (twice). He's found a place to play in North Carolina A&T - good to hear he got into school.