Turtledroppings.com – Maryland Football And Basketball Blog

Currently I’m trapped up here in Philadelphia going on week 3.  My son is in the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital going through some lung treatments that are supposed to help his left lung open back up.  It was a planned admission and nothing is wrong with him, but as our 1 to 2 week stay  moves into week 3, I can only think of the theme song from Gilligans Island.

Though Philly is only about 50 miles from the Mason Dixon line, I can’t help but feel a million miles away from anything going on in the Land of Terps (I feel even further from home whenever someone says the word “Use”, as in use guys need anything?  But last night I finally got to see the Terps play basketball, albeit from a TV that I could on tell if a ball went in based on the crowd noise or whether or not the player who came up with it ran up the court, or walked over to inbound.

Unfortunately it was another Terp lose to Duke on the night Gary Williams court was unveiled.  And this one played out exactly how it should have….in hindsight.  I of course was optimistic the entire time, but looking back at this game and how it unfolded makes perfect sense, especially for this undermanned and limited experienced Terps team.  But still I was holding out hope and at least for 3/4 of the night, we looked like we could hang with anyone.

Except maybe at the Free Throw line.  Oh and inside.  But other than that.  We were fortunately blessed by some lack luster outside shooting from the Dukies, which is rare for any opponent against the Terps.  Which allowed us to hang around as long as we did, but ultimately, and predictably now, the inside game was just too much.  Alex Len looked like a project at times (especially the first quarter) and picked up 2 quick fouls which would limit his minutes the rest of the way.  Actually I probably need to replace the word “quick” with a description that is…well ah quicker (There is no Thesaurus in the Hospital however).  But you get the point.

There were a lot of positives to take from this one, though I know most Terp fans aren’t interested in taking positives from a Duke loss, but the crowd was great.  Of course this is a double edged sword.  If we can get up for Duke, why can’t we get up for the other ACC games, why isn’t Comcast rocking every game like Cole used to do?  Why are there empty seats in…..gasp the STUDENT section on non Duke/Carolina nights?

Anyway, a student at the University has created a website, which we here at Turtledroppings wholeheartedly support.  It is called betterterps.com (Here is the link).  He also has a Twitter account by the same name.  We encourage everyone to check it out.  The first step in fixing a problem is admitting there is one, so I’m glad to see some student has taken the initiative.

I have no doubt that if Comcast is that loud each and every ACC game night, College Park would be a much tougher place for our opponents to play, and in the new ACC wins aren’t going to be had easily, every advantage we can gain we will need.  Hopefully this movement can gain some traction, because this team is on the rise, but they could still all the encouragement we can give them.

The team everyone at Maryland love’s to hate is in town tonight for the big game with Duke.  If that isn’t enough to get you going, it is also the night Maryland will honor Gary Williams by naming the court after him.  Before I go to far about Duke, let me get this off my chest.  I get it.  I know why we hate them. I know why we want to beat them.  But can’t every ACC game carry the same weight?  Sure quality wins, blah blah blah.  However, Comcast needs to be a home court advantage, and so far this season, it hasn’t.  In the grand scheme of things every win is a win.  There are just as many reasons to hate other schools.  Maybe this summer we will do a breakdown of why we should get up for every opponent.

Anyway, after the court Ceremony tonight (which begins at 8:40 for those going) Maryland does have to get itself together and take on a tough Duke team.   The crowd tonight will look much like a WWE event with signs, costumes, and other things that don’t show up for the Virginia Tech’s of the world.

Duke is coming off a heartbreaking home loss to Florida State that saw Duke tie the game in the closing seconds, only have FSU drain the three at the buzzer.  It made my day.  Freshman Austin Rivers is leading the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game (40% from three), Seth Curry 12.6 ppg (38% from three, potential mismatch material Ryan Kelly 12.4 (46 % from three), Mason Plumlee 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, and Andre Dawkins 10.4 ppg (41.3 % from three and 54% (15 of 28) over his last three games.  Do you get a common theme?  Duke can shoot the three.  Four players shoot over 38%.  I am not a rocket scientist, and I can tell you if the Terps want any chance at winning this game tonight, they have got to defend the three.

I am not sure what to expect out of Alex Len tonight, but his size is going to be important against the Plumlee’s and Kelly.  Whoever is guarding Kelly has to be able to step outside and guard him a few feet beyond the three point line.  He is a very capable outside shooter.  Nothing against Berend Weis, but he will get pushed around inside against Duke’s stronger front line.  If the Terps can get 20 minutes out of Len, it will be a huge help defensively and maybe he can draw a few fouls.

The Terps can also not afford to turn the ball over.  Against Duke turnovers can be a five or 6 point swing that can quickly turn into double digit runs.  Poise with the ball is a must.

Sean Mosley also appeared to be hampered by his ankle injury against Temple a bit.  I am not sure we will see him at full strength again.  That ankle injury has been nagging him on and off his entire career.  His defense against any of Dukes guard trio is extremely important tonight.

Do the Terps have a chance?  I think they could be very competitive if Len is able to contribute.  I don’t know that they have the horses to hang with Duke all night, but anything is possible.  I am not expecting an upset, but I can also say I wouldn’t be surprised if for one night the Terps are able to put together an entire 40 minute effort.  And that is exactly what it will take.

Make sure you take a close look at the two styles of shoes the Terps will be wearing tonight.  They are paying tribute to Gary Williams.  I know they have incorporated the pride theme and his signature on them.  I posted a pic on our twitter account last night.  I wonder if they are going to come out in some sort of pride uniform as well.  You never know anymore.

In his weekly teleconference, Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon said he expects Alex Len to play in Wednesday’s night game against Duke.  The question is how much.  Apparently he had treatment yesterday, and will need to improve each day between now and Wednesday to get a lot of burn in my mind.  There is no doubt Maryland needs him against Duke’s frontline of the Brothers Plumlee and Ryan Kelly.  I can’t stand to think what Berend Weis will be like if he has to log major minutes.  He has a little skill, but his lack of strength will be a serious problem against Duke.

Also, don’t forget Wednesday night is the ceremony for naming Gary Williams court at the Comcast Center.  According to a Maryland release, the ceremony will begin at 8:40.  Look for a breakdown of Duke Wednesday morning, though I can already tell you this.  They need to keep Dawkins and Curry from lighting it from three.  I just don’t know.  I have a bad feeling.  Duke lost to FSU, so I am sure Coach K will have his teams full attention heading into this one.  I also, think we may be ripe for a stinker.  However, this team has shown the ability to hang with some better teams recently.  If they stay composed and play the way they are capable for 40 minutes, they could be in it late.  Just remains to be seen if they can put it together for an entire game.

The original post was going to be about how great Maryland plays basketball down the stretch, but…well….

Anyway, Chris and I both followed this story close on Twitter and know that this has a lot of meaning to many of our friends.  In fact, this has a lot of meaning for anyone who has lived near or around Annapolis.  One of the great, well you can’t really call it a secret, but one of the great restaurants in the Capitol is Chick and Ruth’s.

I know I have had many a breakfast there back when I lived in Annapolis, mostly after a night out on the town, and before taking an out of towner back to the airport.  In many cases both.  Well Chick and Ruth’s is famous for hosting all the important political figures in the state (there is a table for the Governor aways at the ready), but they also have the Food Challenges.

The Challenge has 4 versions; first is “Man vs. Food” which is 6 lb milkshake and a 1.5 lb sandwich.  Number two is the Colossal Milkshake Challenge which is just the 6 lb milkshake (I use the term “just” lightly).  The third is the Super Colossal Sandwich Challenge which involves a 3 lb sandwich, and fourth is the Super Duper Colossal Burger Challenge, which consists of a 3 lb cheeseburger.  Win and you get your photo on the Chick and Ruth’s website.

Well thanks to Twitter we know now the Maryland’s own AJ Francis is among the latest to finish the 6 lb Milkshake Challenge.  It didn’t seem as though he had much trouble consuming the milkshake, but keeping it down was another issue.  Congratulations to AJ on being part of an Annapolis tradition (a tradition for others, not me!).  I’m sure he has on less thing hanging around on his bucket list.

Another second half comeback for Maryland fell short for the Terps at the Pallestra against Temple today.  It was an extremely sloppy game for Maryland and more importantly Alex Len left the game early in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return for the second half.

Terrell Stoglin was able to cut the lead to four, before Temple did what most teams do against Maryland.  You guessed it, got hot from three.  Temple connected on three threes to extend the lead back into double digits and all but finished off the game.

The problem of the game for the Terps was turnovers.  It was an extremely sloppy game that saw Maryland commit 16 turnovers.  Some of the killers where from James Padgett down low including one where he attempted to throw a no look over his head pass in the lane and one where he tried to throw it across the lane.  He had 4 on the game, Pe’Shon Howard had only had 2, but he also only had one assist.  In fact the team had only 8 (Faust led the way with 4).

If you want to put a recipe of success together for Maryland I think you would say defend the three, make free throws, and not turn the ball over.  Well we already discussed the turnover issues.  Temple hit 9 three’s (40%) and Maryland hit only 12 of 21 free throws.  If you put those stats in front of me before the game, I think I would have called it a loss, and sure enough that was what we got today.

Up next is a visit from Duke on Wednesday at 9:00.  You have to think that Alex Len’s ankle is going to have to heal very quickly if the Terps are going to have any chance of hanging with the Plumlee brothers at Comcast Center.

Overall, I think you have to like the way the team fights to get back into these games, but if they can cut down on mistakes they might not get themselves into such a desperation mode.  If they have that many turnovers Wednesday, Duke will light up the scoreboard.  However, it is Duke, and for the first and possibly only time this season Comcast should be packed.  Let’s hope people remember how fun it is to go to a game and decide to comeback for some other games this season.  That goes for you students as well!

I got nothing for those other names but the dreaded DUI has raised his head in College Park. Assistant Basketball Coach Dalonte Hill was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

For this still alleged discretion, Hill will be suspended for at least the Temple and Duke games.

Obviously drinking and driving is a serious issue and especially embarrassing for a public figure that represents a major university, but whatever problem Coach Hill has I am hoping he can work through it and do so while still a member of the Maryland coaching staff.

After all he is a big reason I have been so optimistic about the direction of the program. So here’s to hoping punishment is served, lessons are learned, and we can all move forward from this. Of course that is what I want, but the court of public opinion can often be more harsh in cases like this.

Better late than never I suppose.  Sorry yesterday was a surprisingly busy day for me, and I never got around to writing about the game.   If we look at this season with the thought that I had before the season started, this team is performing at a level I think we can all live with.  However, as soon as the game starts, and you see them take a lead, albeit a short lived 7 second lead in the second half, you start to let your mind wander a bit, and think they can win this game.  In the grand scheme of things this game was a tough loss, that really wasn’t one I was counting on them getting.  Sure it was one of those games where you think, “well if they do this and that, I can see them pulling it off.”

Needless to say, Florida State used it’s beefy and athletic front court to dominate a foul plagued Maryland front court.  There are some things we can take from this one.

• I think (for most of the game), this was one of Terrell Stoglin’s complete games as a Terp.  He made some really nice passes that led to easy baskets.  Until the game got out of hand, he really stayed within the offensive scheme, and seemed to play fairly solid defense.  You can see an increased effort on defense from game to game, and some of that may just be the fact that he is able to get a rest here and there.  If he continues to improve his overall game little by little, we could see a very special player by the end of his career.  Right now he is just a little too one dimensional, but from time to time you see a glimpse of what he could be with a lot of hard work.
• Pe’Shon Howard has struggled since returning from his broken foot.  There is no sugar coating it.  I really was hoping he would be the steadying force on offense and knock down a few open shots here and there and it just hasn’t all come together for him yet.  He had 4 assists but the three turnovers and missed open shots are the part of his game he needs to tighten up.  I really think it will come, I am just hoping he is still getting caught back up to game speed.
• Alex Len has sort of disappeared the last couple of games.  His lone basket he got away with an extra step.  He was really out muscled against FSU and it showed him some areas he needs to improve upon in order to really take advantage of everything he has been given.  I am sure it is a tremendously tough transition for him, but I think it will all come together for him.  He just needs to be able to establish position down in the lane so he can get some decent shots off.  Right now he gets the ball to far away from the basket to take advantage of his size.
• We all better hope Sean Mosley’s ankle is not a lingering problem.  Behind Stoglin, he needs to be the number two option.  You could tell he just didn’t feel comfortable out there the other night, and if they are going to get some more wins, it is crucial that Mosley is healthy.  He fought hard, but he can’t afford to be out there at 75%.
• Mychal Parker is becoming a decent role player.   We aren’t Kentucky.  Everyone that comes through the door is not going to be an All American.  We have players that are going to have to  fit into the system or specific role.  Right now now Parker seems to be willing to really play solid defense and is capable of making free throws.  You can expect to see him coming and going when Turgeon subs offense and defense in late game situations.  You also have to keep in mind he barely broke a sweat last season, so this is really his first season of significant playing time.  He is not going to be All ACC, but he is going to turn into the type of player you need on a team.  If he ever gets the athleticism to come together on the offensive end, he could be a 12 point per game guy by the time he is done, but right now he is working hard, and seems to have accepted his role.  I can’t say that I am upset with the production we are getting out of Parker.

I am sure there are plenty of other thoughts I had on the game, but those are some of the ones that stuck out in my mind.  The truth is our front court was not contest for FSU.  They out rebounded, they got easy looks, and just pretty much did what they wanted to the Maryland guys.

Again, I am trying to keep in mind that this season is a learning experience for everyone involved, and we weren’t going to contend for any titles.  But you open up the standings and see you were tied for second, you kind of get excited and start to cast some expectations that may not be fair to put on this young team.   If they all learn, and improve, it will be very valuable heading into next season.  With that said, lets just go beat Temple on Saturday!  So much for tempered expectations!

Well it looks as if the replacement for To(dd) Bra(d)for(d) is about to be made.  Brian Stewart, University of Houston’s DC is expected to be announced as the Terps new Defensive Coordinator according to Patrick Stevens.  The interesting part of this for me is, Stewart was passed over by Houston to become the head coach when they promoted special teams coach Tony Levine instead of Stewart.  I don’t know enough about any of the parties involved other than to say it is interesting they went with a special teams coach over a coordinator. You can also throw in the fact that Levine didn’t retain Stewart as an interesting tidbit as well.

When you think of Houston, you think of prolific… offense.  And we go out and get the defensive coordinator.  Sounds like the Maryland Football way to me.  In all honesty, Houston had a pretty solid defense, and some of those numbers are probably worse than they should be, just because of the sheer minutes they spent on the field.  With that much offense going on, you are bound to be out there a little more than the average defense.  One number to look at is red zone defense.  They only allowed points on 67% of opponents trips inside the redzone (2nd in the NCAA), and were among the nations leaders in takeaways.  So I guess you can say that had a pretty solid defense.  I guess it would be hard for a team to go 13-1 with a less than solid defense.

So what does it mean in the grand scheme of things?  Who knows.  You would have to think he would be an upgrade over Bradford.  He has a little NFL experience with the Cowboys, and it appears his recruiting ties would be with Texas and other Midwest states.  Not sure how that translates for the Terps, but I think everyone involved is happy to see Bradford and his historically bad defense leave the team.

If you were just a casual basketball fan, it was an ugly game.  If you were a Maryland fan, it was a beautiful game.  Both teams struggled from the floor.  The Terps held Tech to 24% shooting in the first half and 33% overall.  Most importantly, the combination of Sean Mosley and Nick Faust limited hot shooting Glen Rice Jr. to 6 points, and limited him to only 8 shot attempts.

In the end the final score was a 61-50 victory for the Terps, but this one again saw Maryland let a double digit lead slip to just a 4 point margin with a little over 3 minutes remaining, before Sean Mosley hit a huge three pointer, and knocked down all four of his free throw attempts in the final minute or so.   It was a great all around game for Mosley.  In fact I sent a text to one of my friends saying  it would be really nice to have Mosley one more year, and that was in the first half when he only had 2 points on 0-3 shooting.  He was playing solid defense and made some nice passes.  In the end he finished with 18 points hitting all ten free throw attempts.

You also have to give James Padgett some credit in this win.  He continues to be an offensive rebounding machine.  Padgett finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds, 7 of them offensive.  Padgett is developing a nice up and under post move and he can finish with his left hand.  I think a big factor for Padgett was he knocked down 6 of 7 free throw attempts.  That is going to be huge going forward.  Padgett is not going to be a superstar in the ACC, but he is becoming a solid contributor right before our eyes.  His offensive rebounding is something to watch.  He always seems to be in the right position to get to the ball.  Of course a couple of those always seem to come from his own misses, but the fact that he sticks with those misses can’t be overlooked.  Now if we can get him to hit the defensive glass the same way he does the offensive he could be a real asset.  Of course having a 7-1 teammate gobbling up 9 rebounds limits your chances a bit.

Terrell Stoglin only scored 14 points, but I feel like it was one of his better games.  He played pretty decent defense had 5 rebounds and 2 assist.  He shot only 4 of 12, but he seemed to hit some timely threes along the way.  I think this team had some nice offensive balance last night, and a lot of that was the fact that Stoglin didn’t force too many shots, and the team really looked to move the ball around.

Alex Len was a factor in the game even though he scored 0 points in 29 minutes.  Len had 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, altered numerous other shot attempts.  He had a nice pick to free Nick Faust for an easy back door layup, and nice pass inside that lead to free throws for Padgett I believe.

Over the years we have seen some really great basketball games that the Terps haven’t always won.  Last night was a fairly ugly game that the Terps won.  If they are going to win a lot of games this year, they are going to look a lot like this.  The offense isn’t quite powerful enough to win a shoot out.  They are going to have to rely on solid defense to win, and last night they did just that.  The win puts the Terps to 2-1 in the ACC which is tied for second with UNC, NC State, Florida State, and Boston College.  Up next is a trip to Florida State.  In case you didn’t see it, FSU totally embarrassed UNC on Saturday beating them 90-57.  It was so bad, Roy Williams decided it would be best not to play the final 14 seconds to get his team off the court before someone got hurt when the Noles fans rushed the court. We can hope for a let down right?

First of all, I would like to apologize for not covering the Wake Forest game, we were sort of in a unique position last week as Chris was without a computer and I am living out of a suitcase up in Philadelphia while my son gets hospitalized for some treatments.  So the Wake game sort of came and went without any coverage from Turtledroppings.   But for those who missed it, the Terps did win, so yeah!!

Anyway, the news of the day is the Todd Bradford buyout, which became official today.  Sometimes news comes out of nowhere and sometimes you can see things coming from miles away.  This was the later.  Speculation was that Bradford would be bought out, so this should come to no one as a surprise, but more of  making something official.

No need to re-hash the Bradford era, he wasn’t a popular choice when hired, and we were even mocked (and rightfully so) by Southern Miss fans.  Bradford then proceeded to steer the program into it’s worst defensive effort of all time, ranking last in the ACC.  Under Bradford the Terps gave up 34.2 points a game, while teams wore themselves out amassing 457.2 yards per game.

It wasn’t entirely Bradford’s fault, there were plenty of injury issues, but after the NC State game, there was little to be said about retaining him, injuries or not.  So now it is time to move on to the speculation of who will be replacing Bradford.  I know Clemson’s DC just became available, but I can’t see him commanding much attention after that Orange Bowl debacle.  One name that won’t be brought up is PSU’s Larry  Johnson.  Though we would all love to have him, PSU is keeping him, so we can put that baby to bed right now.

The good news is that Maryland can’t do worse next year, so whoever comes in, will enter a position with a potential for a lengthy honeymoon period, so that has to be appealing.  Hopefully we can hire someone who can bring the buzz we generated locally by bringing back Mike Locksley.  That will remain to be seen, but I do find it a little bit more easy to be optimistic about Terp Football again.

So that’s good.