Rounding Up Future Terps' Performances in the Capital Classic

You've probably heard that the Capital Classic, the local all-star game of DMV and non-DMV players, went down last night. Sadly, I was unable to attend, so I can't push out any player impressions, but there's so much potential linkage that sticking it all in the MM would be an injustice. Instead, let's talk about it here.

The Capital squad somewhat surprisingly beat out the U.S. All-Stars, 117-108. Terrell Stoglin had 11 points and two assists. Perhaps the best news to come out of the Classic, actually, was Stoglin's:

Stoglin, a slight lefty, scored the game's first points on a floater in the lane. He made three of his first five shots and finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting -- including three 3-pointers.

Three 3-pointers? Yes please. There's no definitive answer as to who will replace Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez as the outside threats, but it would be nice if Stoglin could do it.

Meanwhile, Pe'Shon Howard netted 14 points and 3 assists. You kind of get the feel that those types of performances might just end up being another day at the office for Howard in College Park. I'm very confident about his ability to be an early impact player. Of course, he always has plenty of swag. Jeff Barker (the same story is linked above) starts off his recap with Howard's desire to wear Greivis Vasquez's #21, which I can only be in favor of. In Terrapin Insider's report, he had quite the set of expectations for next season:

Just to keep winning and keep up the expectations from last year. I think a lot of people are kind of sleeping on us because we're going to be young, but I just want to work hard and make sure we keep up the same success the team had and maybe go further.

That might be a bit much in the long run, but it's always good to hear a confident player.

Haukur Palsson rounded out the Maryland commitments in the event, and probably had the least flashy statline: 3 points, 4 rebounds. Word is that he lit it up in practice from deep, so hopefully that's an indication that his shot is what we've heard and better than he's shown. The statline still isn't revealing enough to render any sort of conclusion, but I wouldn't call it promising for an early impact. With his work ethic and basketball IQ, I have no doubt he'll see plenty of time on the floor eventually, but expecting it early may be a stretch.

And here's a surprise: according to Palsson, Maryland is a lot like Iceland:

You've got the seasons. So do we. It's not like Florida where they've got one season all around, but I like it here. That's one of the reasons why I chose [Maryland] is it's similar to Iceland. We've got summer when it's summer. We've got snow when it's winter. It feels like home here, so it's good.

Huh. Wonder if drunk Scotsmen hate the Old Line State too.

The Diamondback also has some video of the three talking about each other. Good to see that they have some chemistry already.

Update: IMS also has a highlight video up. Stoglin has some nice threes, but the real star to me was a no look, behind-the-head dish from Howard to Nate Lubick. Unfortunately, Lubick couldn't hold on to the ball.