Terrapins Insider - The Washington Post's in-depth coverage of University of Maryland sports - January 4, 2009

Terps Claim Comeback Win Over GaTech, 68-61

What an interesting game. Maryland forces 18 first-half turnovers with an all-out, full-court defensive effort, yet trails by five at the half because it shot 25.0 percent from the field. Then, the team found its stride in the second half...

By Steve Yanda | January 10, 2009; 4:43 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Vasquez to Fans: 'Support Us or Get Out'

This is an entry I'm posting on our new blog, Press Break, but I'll post it here, too. Here is the link to Press Break, where we have a wide assortment of notes, analysis, tidbits, bracketology and many more things....

By Eric Prisbell | January 10, 2009; 3:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Home Court Advantage?

It's pretty desolate here at Comcast Center. Lots of empty red seats in the stands. Then again, we are still more than an hour away from tip-off, so you've got plenty of time to get here if you're just finishing...

By Steve Yanda | January 10, 2009; 10:53 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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GaTech Also Likes To Press

Maryland isn't the only ACC squad who's ability to operate effective pressure defense will go a long way towards determining its success this conference season. Georgia Tech likes to hassle its opponents as well, and it would seem freshman guard...

By Steve Yanda | January 10, 2009; 8:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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More on D. Brown's Hiring

Sorry for the late arrival on the blog. Crazy day of running around and then I did TV again. He’s a brief rundown of Ralph Friedgen’s teleconference regarding the hiring of Don Brown as defensive coordinator. Ralph said he interviewed...

By Eric Prisbell | January 9, 2009; 7:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Football
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Williams Not Concerned With Slow Starts

The Terps have made somewhat of a habit out of doddling along in the first half before asserting control after halftime with sizable runs. Maryland needed second-half runs of 10-0 and 21-2 to pull away from American and Elon, respectively....

By Steve Yanda | January 9, 2009; 3:41 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Onward And Upward

When asked today at his sitdown with a group of reporters whether the team had gotten over the sting of Wednesday night's one-point loss to Morgan State, Gary Williams claimed it had and that the focus has shifted fully to...

By Steve Yanda | January 9, 2009; 1:15 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Hire Defensive Coordinator

Eric and Steve are at Comcast Center talking to Gary Williams, so Eric asked me to relay this news: U-Mass. head coach Don Brown appears to be Maryland's new defensive coordinator. I say "appears" because Maryland has yet to acknowledge...

By Matthew Rennie | January 9, 2009; 12:57 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Football
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GaTech's Big Men Quick On Their Feet

Georgia Tech is an interior-oriented squad that prides itself on its big men's ability to run the floor well in transtion offense opportunities. The Yellow Jackets start a trio of big men who can rebound and run the floor well,...

By Steve Yanda | January 9, 2009; 10:38 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Scouting Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech does not play the prettiest brand of basketball. It's wins come via force of will more than simply out-classing an opponent (sound familiar?). Take, for instance, this quote from Yellow Jackets sophomore forward Gani Lawal following Georgia Tech's...

By Steve Yanda | January 9, 2009; 7:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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The Plan For ACC Season

In a little more than 24 hours, the Terps will host Georgia Tech at Comcast Center in Maryland's conference opener. How the Terps fare in ACC play will determine whether the go dancing or not come March, and just as...

By Steve Yanda | January 9, 2009; 6:45 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Not Enough Charity From The Stripe

Once again last night, Maryland continued to display its improved free-throw shooting ability. The Terps shot 12-for-15 (80.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The only problem Gary Williams saw with that statistic was the number of attempts. It was, by...

By Steve Yanda | January 8, 2009; 4:19 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Six Solid Minutes

One of Gary Williams's frequent talking points revolves around his team sustaining a high level of play for 40 minutes. Or at least, very close to 40 minutes. Last night against Morgan State, the Terps fell well short of that...

By Steve Yanda | January 8, 2009; 2:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Struggle With Match-up Problems

Morgan State Coach Todd Bozeman made what turned out to be a savvy adjustment to his team's staring lineup last night. Rather than going with 6-foot-5 senior forward Marquise Kately*, Bozeman inserted 6-foot-10 sophomore Rodney Stokes into the Bears' starting...

By Steve Yanda | January 8, 2009; 12:13 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Maryland's Portis Heads To California (Pa.)

It was no secret in recent weeks that backup quarterback Josh Portis was pursuing transferring down a level (or two) in order to get more playing time at a school next fall. A school official told me a few days...

By Eric Prisbell | January 8, 2009; 11:39 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Football
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Evaluating Vasquez

With the game coming down to the wire last night, it was no surprise to see junior guard Greivis Vasquez handling the ball. He is the Terps' self-proclaimed go-to guy, and honestly, I'm not sure his teammates would want it...

By Steve Yanda | January 8, 2009; 10:30 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Upset by the Upset? Chat About it at Noon

This just in: our own Eric Prisbell will host a live discussion at noon today so you can talk about last night's loss to Morgan State. Eric, of course, covered the Terps men's basketball team for years, and now covers...

By Jon DeNunzio | January 8, 2009; 9:48 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Terps' Loss Alters Team's Outlook?

Curious to see how you all interpreted last night's one-point loss to Morgan State. Maryland played an uninspired brand of basketball, but was the performance simply an abberation or a sign of things to come? poll by twiigs.com...

By Steve Yanda | January 8, 2009; 7:00 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Fall To Morgan State, 66-65

Yep. You read that correctly. Maryland, the team at was 11-2 and headed into ACC play with a full head of steam, faltered against Morgan State, a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Terps started off poorly, then picked...

By Steve Yanda | January 7, 2009; 11:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Heyward-Bey to Enter NFL Draft

Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has decided to forgo his senior year of college and enter the NFL draft. The announcement was not a surprise even though Heyward-Bey, one of the most prolific receivers in school history, declined to publicly...

By Eric Prisbell | January 7, 2009; 2:52 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Football
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Terps Blocking Collectively

Without the imposing presences of James Gist and Bambale Osby to protect the post on defense, one category in which the Terps were not expected to produce high numbers this season was blocked shots. And while the team's total number...

By Steve Yanda | January 7, 2009; 1:45 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Bears Pose Rebounding Challenge

Gary Williams didn't hide how he felt about Morgan State's ability on the boards, especially at the offensive end. He called the Bears "ridiculous" in that regard, meaning to compliment a team that has out-worked its opponents on the offensive...

By Steve Yanda | January 7, 2009; 10:47 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Neal's 'YMCA' Skills

On Monday, Gary Williams said during the ACC coaches teleconference that senior forward Dave Neal utilizes "a lot of, like, YMCA moves." But don't think that was Williams making a subtle jab at his starting big man. Yesterday, Williams clarified...

By Steve Yanda | January 7, 2009; 7:13 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Men's basketball
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One Boot On; One Boot Off

Freshman forward Steve Goins is not expected to play tomorrow night against Morgan State while he works himself back into shape after missing nearly two weeks due to pain in his lower left leg. But the fact that Goins is...

By Steve Yanda | January 6, 2009; 3:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Pick The Terps' Soundtrack

Earlier today, Gary Williams told me two of his favorite bands to listen to on gamedays are Linkin Park and The Killers. Those choices seem to fit his personality well, which got me thinking: What bands or songs would make...

By Steve Yanda | January 6, 2009; 1:16 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Scouting Morgan State

Gary Williams said yesterday it will be imperative that his team not get too excited for the start of ACC play on Saturday, what with a nonconference game against Morgan State to play Wednesday night and all. The Bears (5-8)...

By Steve Yanda | January 6, 2009; 10:53 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Count On Their Defense

The saving grace of this Maryland team might be that it has the ability to play solid defense, emphasis being placed on "might" and "ability." The half-court offense, as has been frequently discussed, is not fully functional as of now....

By Steve Yanda | January 6, 2009; 7:07 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terps Get A Few More Votes ...

... but here's guessing Gary Williams isn't happy with the total. Maryland received 25 points in the Associated Press top 25 poll released about an hour ago. So for those of you who believe the Terps are close but not...

By Steve Yanda | January 5, 2009; 4:19 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Hot Spots And Stress Fractures

As most Maryland basketball followers are well aware, the Terps have been without the services of sophomore forward Jerome Burney and freshman forward Steve Goins in recent weeks, both due to lower leg injuries. Burney suffered a stress fracture in...

By Steve Yanda | January 5, 2009; 1:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Williams On ACC Teleconference

Some quick highlights from Gary Williams's segment on today's ACC coaches teleconference: Williams said one key challenge for his team in its final nonconference game Wednesday night against Morgan State (5-8) will be not looking ahead to Saturday's ACC opener....

By Steve Yanda | January 5, 2009; 12:04 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Sense Of Relief For Mosley

With just less than five minutes to go in the first half Saturday, the Terps had possession and trailed by eight to a hyper-athletic Charlotte squad that was shooting out of its mind from three-point range. As Maryland passed the...

By Steve Yanda | January 5, 2009; 10:29 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Williams Pines For Respect

The final question of Saturday's postgame press conference was centered on the breakout performance of freshman guard Sean Mosley (more on him in a post later today), and Gary Williams initially obliged by praising Mosley's toughness, his work ethic and...

By Steve Yanda | January 5, 2009; 7:12 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Men's basketball
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Terrapins Insider: January 4, 2009 - January 10, 2009