Williams Compares Cal to a Familiar Foe

Knowing a team and playing against said team, Gary Williams says, are two entirely different things. So while the Terrapins certainly will watch a lot of tape on California and be cognizant of its tendencies come tip-off on Thursday, Williams stressed all the preparation will be for naught if his team comes out flat.

"If you're back on your heels, Cal will take it right to you," Williams said. "So we have to be ready to go."

The safe assumption is that Williams will take care of that part. So the coach instead was asked Tuesday, based on what he's seen from Cal on tape, if the Golden Bears resembled any of the teams the Terrapins already have faced this season.

"If they took more threes, they would look a little bit like Duke in terms of really looking for that three early in their offense," Williams said. "But [the Golden Bears] don't quite shoot the ball as many times from the three-point line as Duke, you know, when they got it going. Size-wise, they have a 7-footer, but after that, they're pretty much Duke's size. They're a solid team in terms of being smart and not letting themselves get beat by the way they play, making the other team beat them and that type of thing."

Duke, as Maryland fans are likely well aware, defeated the Terrapins three times this season, though the last two meetings were tightly contested until near the end.

I'll put up a few more posts in a little bit after the team's media availability and open practice session.