Maryland Minute 1.31.13: Moving on (and distracting) from Florida State

Well, that kind of sucked, huh? Again, I haven't seen it yet, so I'm not going to analyze much. This is more about moving on over the next few days, plus some football stuff to get your minds on something happier.

Yes, those last few words were just written.

Morning review: Terps couldn’t close again vs. Florida State
It's a young team that doesn't know how to win yet. It happens.

But man, reading Turgeon and Wells talk about it ... I'm a little frightened about the course of the season. Not because this loss changes how I view the talent level on this team - it doesn't. I still think they're probably a bubble team, at their core. But they seem so down on themselves, so emotionally drained - and that happens when you lose, especially like this - that you have to wonder how much fire they're going to have over the next few games. The good news is that the next game is Wake Forest at home, so there's definitely some margin for error. But they're going to need to show up.

Mark Turgeon on Alex Len: ‘You’ve got to give us something, you have to play better’
Seen a lot made of Turgeon's quotes after the game, but they're virtually all of the regular ol' "disappointed coach after tough loss" variety, with some extra Turgeon honesty. How rough he is on Len is surprising, though - he even implies that Len isn't actually one of Maryland's best players. (He later says he's "arguably" one of Maryland's best players - no, he is.)

I still haven't seen the game yet, but I know Len was hugely disappointing. Regardless, I feel as if the fanbase, and perhaps Turgeon, is a little tougher on Len than they should be. We see so much more that he could do, making what he does do pale in comparison. Doesn't mean he isn't, over the course of the season, doing a heck of a lot.

Analyzing Maryland's loss at Florida State - Markus at the Sun
Not too terribly much interesting here. But seriously, did Len start shooting at Maryland's basket or something? Markus says he's making a difference, but "not necessarily in a good way." Is that where we're at now? Saying that the guy who is taking more shots when he's on the floor than anyone else on the team and still has the team's highest offensive rating, plus is leading the team in rebounding, is hurting Maryland? Never thought I'd see Len start to approach Pe`Shon Howard levels of critique.

Again, haven't seen it. Maybe if I had I'd be angrier with him too.

Jacquille Veii adds Nebraska offer, will choose between Terps, Iowa, Huskers
That's a scary offer. Veii is one of the few guys left on Maryland's radar, aside from Ngakoue, who would improve the class in both talent and depth.

Meet Maryland defensive line recruit Kingsley Opara
Couple days old, but it sounds like he's finally completely in. Be an interesting test now that Georgia Tech's offered last-minute.

Rick Snider: Former Maryland Terrapins star Vernon Davis made a change for the better
Man, I miss Duke. So glad to see him playing as well as he is.

Penn State's AD on Big Ten divisions: "will be more geography-based"
Which everyone knew, aside from a matter of degrees. Hopefully "more geography-based" means "virtually entirely geography-based."