Maryland Minute 1.22.13: Terps re-up with BB&T Classic

More of a mediocre "tournament", the Terps' offensive path going ahead, and: what's happened to the ACC?

Terps to play in BB&T Classic once again, this time against George Washington
First reaction: seriously? Blargh. I thought we were done with this.

Second reaction: well, assuming it's the sixth-best (or so) out-of-conference opponent on the slate, it isn't too bad. Yes, it's essentially sacrificing a home game against a mid-major team, but a team like GW wasn't likely to be a big draw out to College Park anyway. If the BB&T turns into a "Maryland against the mid-major of the year" type of thing, I can live with that. But then Turgeon and the athletic department have to know that they need to get some home-and-homes cooking up, pronto - perhaps even two next year, one at home and one on the road. This year should've taught us our lesson: play big names before the conference starts.

We've played this game before, but if you were Kevin Anderson or Mark Turgeon, who'd you'd be interested in starting a home-and-home with? No Big Ten schools or ACC schools (obviously), but Texas (given Maryland's recruiting efforts in the state), Kansas (the Turgeon connection), and Marquette (in an effort to continue building a presence in that north Midwest area) spring to mind.

ACC basketball is marked by low scores and parity in 2012-13 season - WaPo
Not to seem like I have an agenda here, but you have to look at the increase in defensive teams in the conference - including, for what it's worth, Maryland under Turgeon. If anyone is still upset about the Big Ten's style of play, what the ACC is now - and what it's about to become, once Pittsburgh and Notre Dame join up - is miles away from the run'n'gun days of yore. And what's more, I don't think Turgeon wants those run'n'gun days of yore anyway.

Is Virginia The Next Big Ten Target? - Off Tackle Empire
Worth a read, especially for the schadenfreude that would result from the ACC's potential destruction.

Terps seek to reclaim offensive mojo: ‘It’s all gone bad at once’
Again, I do wonder if it's more of a structural issue than "we're just not hitting shots." They're getting some good looks, or at least are on occasion, but it's not happening with consistency and they're certainly not showing that there's enough talent to hit those shots when they do finally get them. Be interesting to see if they turn things around against a second-worst-in-the-ACC defense in Boston College.

With Alex Len drawing plenty of attention, Dez Wells could get more involved - Sun
Dez ran things a bit against North Carolina, or was at least relatively effective. Problem is that Len doesn't stretch the floor to open up things for Wells to drive, and everything Dez does is based off penetration. He has an underrated mid-range game, but he can't access that solely from the perimeter. If Maryland's going to build around a Dez-Len combo, they need Len to be a mid-range threat and have a shooter - Logan Aronhalt or Seth Allen, preferably - on the floor to keep things stretched. Not ideal, given Maryland doesn't have a great shooter just yet, but better.

Na’Ty Rodgers commits to South Carolina
Meaning it's all-in on Yannick Ngakoue. Although I really doubt that Locksley and Edsall are going to give up before he's signed the LOI, he seems solid.

Alyssa Thomas earns back-to-back POTW honors
Nice prelude to the forthcoming player of the year honor.