Turtledroppings.com

First of all Greivis Vasquez picked up his second ACC Player of the Week award.  Over the two games against Florida State and UNC, he averaged 24.5 points, 9 assists, and 6 boards in helping the Terps get two big wins this week.

Secondly, we have some honors of our own to pass out.  Our very own Bob W, was awarded blogger of the week on the Raycom Sports Blog for his article on Tracking Greivis Vasquez’s quest for the all time scoring record.  I am sure you have all read it, but if you haven’t be sure to check it out.  Just thought I would pass along the good news to all of you.  Next time you see Bobby Dubs, he will be rocking some sweet new ACC swag.

Before I get into the Terps, I just want to say that today was my first 100% Snow Day, not Liberal Leave, not come in late, but pure 100% Snowday, since high school.  Even in the Presidents Day Storm (Click here to read an article on that very subject written by my dad President\’s Day Snowstorm 2003) I had Liberal Leave that Tuesday.  Sure our court hadn’t seen a snowplow yet, but that didn’t keep us from having to use our own leave. 

Of course, we aren’t here to talk about that.  We are coming off an exciting win over UNC.  Chris has already done a great job recapping that, so we are going to move into the big picture.  I am going to take a look at how the conference is shaping up at this, just about half-way point. 

(Thanks to theacc.com for the standings graphic)

The True Contenders:

Duke, Maryland, and Wake Forest all have legitimate shots at the regular season ACC Title.  Duke currently has a game in the win column over Maryland and a full game over Wake.  However, expect this picture to be a little different by next week as the Terps travel to Durham for their long awaited battle in front of the Cameron Crazies.  While the Terps are battling UVA at home and Duke on the Road, the Blue Devils will be facing UNC.  Normally they say “Throw out the records when these teams meet”.  I hope that is true, because we really need a Tar Heel win.  The biggest winner in this is Wake who this week will be home to lowly BC, and a falling off Georgia Tech. 

The Down But Not Out’s:

The Hokies, Wahoo’s, Seminoles, and Yellow Jackets round out this categorie.  Virginia Tech, who has the second best overall record amongst ACC teams I think has the best chance to rise out of this category into the next, if one of the 3 above them fall.  They will face a very beatable NC State, though that one will be on the road, it really should be one the Hokies win if they want to go to the next level in the ACC.  They finish the week as the Saturday night game against UVA.  If the Blacksburg Students aren’t up for that, well I don’t know what to tell you.

As mentioned the Cavaliers will be in a hostile environment come Saturday night (I originally wrote that sentence with the word hostel which totally would have changed the meaning! Are the Wahoo’s going backpacking across Eurpoe?).  Anyway, typo’s aside, UVA will face the Terps Midweek.  I think it goes without saying we will find out a lot about UVA in the next 7 days. 

Florida State is up next.  I put them in the can also content section, but having lost twice to Maryland it is hard for me to imagine them making a run, especially considering they would not have the tie breaker against us.  The FSU schedule for this week, is a classic good news bad news deal.  Starting with the bad, the Seminoles travel to Little John to take on the Tigers.  If Clemson plays them anywhere near as tough as they played us there, that will be bad news for FSU.  The Good news is that they finish the week against BC at home.  Now there are no easy games in the ACC, but FSU can’t lose to BC on their own court, right?  I look for FSU to go 1-1 this week, which tells us very little about the direction they maybe heading.

And finally for those who still have a chance, we have Georgia Tech.  GT was flying high, but then Duke came to town (technically I guess GT went to Duke, but that ruins the cliche).  They also just barely squeaked by last place NC State despite playing in Atlanta.  Not the message a contending team should be sending, but then again a win is a win.  The road to the top isn’t going to be easy for the Yellow Jackets as they have to travel to Coral Gables to face Miami (winnable but tough) and then hit the road again at Wake Forest.  A bad week could make them go from ranked to an after thought pretty quickly.

The Cornered Animal:

You know what they say, an animal is most dangerous when it’s backed into a corner and has nothing to lose.  I think that is the perfect analogy for the Clemson Tigers.  I am shocked, especially after they shut us down, to see Clemson coming in at 4-5.  They are one below .500 team I don’t ever want to see again.  I still think this team is dangerous and can make noise in the ACC Tourney, but they need to make a move soon.  This week the Tigers host both Florida Schools, FSU mid week, and Miami on the weekend.  If it isn’t a Sunshine sweep, it may be time to accept the Tigers for who they are.  I personally think they will win both and climb right back into the mix.

Thanks for Coming Out:

These teams are done: BC, UNC, Miami, and NC State.  That’s right UNC is done. Enjoy this moment because we don’t see it much, but as Maryland was clearing the bench against the Heels, the fans started to chant N.I.T.  Stupid Terps fans, don’t you guys know you need to have a winning record to make the NIT?  UNC is very close to not having that.  They are 13-10 and play Duke this week.  They finish up the weekend against last place NC State, so that could stop the bleeding.  By the way both of those games are at home for the Heels.  A place they haven’t been since early last week.

Boston College is also done.  They are also in serious danger of finishing below .500 overall.  In fact at 12-11 with nothing but ACC games to go, it could be all but assured.  BC will try to find new life this week against Wake Forest tomorrow on the road (Don’t see it happening Eagles), and then at FSU on Valentines Day. 

Miami is up next, the Cane’s have only scratched out 2 ACC wins to this point, but because they are undefeated outside of conference, they are still at a respectabl 16-7.  Keeping that overall record respectable is going to be tough however.  The Canes will have Georgia Tech at home, followed by a road trip up to Clemson.  At 2-7 in conference play, even if the Canes win one of those, they aren’t going anywhere.

And Lastly NC State.  The Wolfpack have been playing well at home, but not so much on the road.  NC State is another school that is dangerously close to finishing the season with an overall losing record.  They are at 14-10 but I could see them dipping below that line.  This week won’t be any easier for the Wolfpack as they will face VT at home and UNC on the road.  For now all that is left to play for is not getting stuck with that 12 seed come conference tournament time. 

So this is how we look at the mid-way point.  A lot of basketball left to be played, but for some schools, well not enough.  I am pretty confidient the overall champ will come from those top 3, they seem to be playing well, and creating separation from the pack at about the time an eventual champ would be creating separation, but we shall see. 

So for those of you off of work today, go play in the snow, go watch a movie, go do something fun.  Because for me, snow days don’t come around very often.  Kind of like UNC and NIT chants!

Maryland continues to impress at home.  They rung up a 92-71 victory over the reeling Tar Heels.  It was a game that looked like Maryland was going to blow it up at the beginning, and Carolina made a game of it, before the Terps put them away late.

The first half was a shooting display that you don’t often see from the Terps.  They hit 9-16 from three and took a 10 point first half lead.  Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Cliff Tucker were red hot.  Carolina with stood the three point barrage and hung in, but it wasn’t in the cards.

The second half saw the Terps extend the lead quickly before letting it get down to 4.  Then the defense picked it up, and Maryland was scoring the basketball at an alarming rate.  In transition, in the half court, at the line.  Even though they were doing all the scoring, it was really set up by the Maryland defense.  Gary again went with the double team on Deon Thompson, with Vasquez helping, and for the most part it worked perfectly.  They did allow Marcus Ginyard to knock down some open three’s, but the game plan worked well.

Mike Gminksi pointed out a very good stat during the game, that goes to show you how effective Eric Hayes can be when he is knocking down the three’s and getting to the line.  Hey-hey-Hayes (I hope you all saw the Fat Albert sign) had 16 points on only 6 shots, of which he made 5 of them including 4-5 from three.  Much like last seasons late run, Hayes was a key.

We also have to give some mention to Landon Milbourne who scored 15 points and is now a part of the 1000 point club at Maryland.  He used that mid range game very well again this game, and he can make some nice post moves with his speed.  He isn’t the normal power forward, but he gets the ball a little further away from the basket and he can beat his man and use his left to finish.

Jordan Williams continues to impress.  8 points and 6 boards won’t wow you, but he does a lot of things that make me excited about the future with him in the middle.  What really stands out most, is how he runs the floor.  Several times he got out on the break and got easy baskets.  The other thing I like, is he really makes his man work hard to get position down low, and he has the size to force them away from the basket.

Dino Gregory, I have to admit I was down on him a bit, but he had a solid game today.  He hustles down low, and is hitting free throws like no big man I can remember.  He is a solid contributor, and if you don’t expect the world out of him, he can provide solid minutes.  He still seems a little excited when he gets the ball, but he is helping this team win games.

Overall, it was a great performance.  Sure there were some sloppy moments that allowed UNC back into the game, but they really picked up the defense to get things going again.

Despite the record or near record snow the DC/Baltimore area received, life goes on, and more importantly, Maryland Basketball goes on.  The storm has been so big, my Mom has been emailing pictures all day, with the title of Epic Storm.

Thanks to a really heads up move by North Carolina, (they flew in a day early directly from Virginia Tech), and the ability of the officials to get to the Comcast Center, there will be basketball today.

The good news is, this has to be advantage Maryland.  First of all, Debbie Yow has stated fans should not attempt to come to campus, and they were going to see what they could do to allow students into the game, whether they had tickets or not.  The more students, the better!  Secondly, Carolina hasn’t been home since Wednesday.  That has to take a toll on you.  Ok, now all we need is the Terp team to show up that has last been seen in the win over NCST.

The Tar Heels are not having the type of season they would like, or you expect them to have.  Sitting at 2-5 in the ACC, and 13-9 overall, the Heels are in real jeopardy of missing the tournament this year if things don’t turn around quick.  And on paper it shouldn’t as they face the Terps today and Duke on Thursday.  So, you know Carolina is going to give everything they have today to try and get back into the thick of things.

Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are leading the heels in scoring, and could pose a threat for Jordan Williams and Landon Milbourne.  Both are averaging over 14 points and Davis is averaging 9.5 boards per game.  The heels are without oft injured Tyler Zeller, so the front court is not as deep as it has been, and it could be an advantage for the Terps if they can get Thompson and/or Davis into foul trouble.

Look for the Terps to real apply on the ball pressure to Larry Drew II  He is averaging 6 assist a game, but is also averaging over three turnovers, and in 4 of his last 6 games he has turned it over 4 or 5 times.  The games I have watched, he can be forced into making bad decisions.  In the Heels defense they never have really had the whole team together this year.  They are young and have talent, but it hasn’t seemed to gel yet.

For the Terps, the key will be balanced scoring, and having Greivis Vasquez stay within himself.  The last few games we have seen the best and worst of him, and it would be nice to see that steady performer again.  Another key is to make sure Landon Milbourne is involved.  When he is clicking, he give the Terps a tremendous advantage if he is able to hit that mid-range jumper and pull out his defender opening up the passing lanes for Jordan Williams down low.  Also, it is worth noting, Milbourne can join the 1,000 point club today with 11 points.  Here’s to doubling that number!

That should be all the info you need to know for today’s game.  All systems are go, the teams are there, the officials are there, and even more importantly for me, the TV crews are there on Super Bowl Sunday.  This should be a nice appetizer for the Colts and Saints.  Go Terps.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about Maryland sports, but you can’t possibly think for one second that I can let the possibly biggest snow storm in the history of Maryland pass by without some sort of comment.  Afterall, in terms of hobbies, weather is the biggest rival I have to sports.  And a storm like this is a bit like winning the National Championship. 

Now to keep the site legit, I will say the latest news about tomorrows UNC game is that it will go on as scheduled.  UNC came in prior to the storm so they are already in College Park, but the Athletic Department is discouraging people from coming to the game.  That is correct.  If you have to drive, they are asking you to stay home.  I can only hope that they will counter this by letting in ALL STUDENTS or hell anyone who shows up.  We can’t surrender home court without a fight, and this would be poetic justice for the time UNC had snow and opened up the entire Dean Smith Center to Students.  It was a great atmosphere, and this is coming from a Maryland fan.  It was electric, and it cost us the game.  Take Heed Debbie Yow!!

Now back to the snow, to put things in perspective, never, since weather records were kept in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, have we had a winter with more than 20″ of snow twice.  Guess, what now we have.  We also may have hit a record for the amount of snowfall in a single storm.  I think the old record was 28″, I believe when it is all said and done some people will eclipse 30″.  That is astonishing.  Think for a minute, our average annual snowfall is 18″ and I can certainly remember winters with zero snowfall.  (A little factoid about myself, since I did not attend U of Md in 1996, in my 4 years at College Park I never had 1 snow day). 

Also I believe our record for most snow is a winter season is like 56″, if we haven’t broken that yet, we are certainly close.  Below are some pictures I took in the snow.  I figure it would be good practice for my blogging skills to see if I could get this downloaded.  If I can, enjoy, if not just close your eyes and picture a lot of snow.  You’ll get the point.

Digging out the patio, I kind of felt like a WWI doughboy digging a trench

Good thing trash day isn

When I say HB 482, what comes to mind?  As a former State Employee I know that HB stands for House Bill and therefore HB 482 is some sort of proposed law.  In this case HB 482 is actually pretty near and dear to our hearts.  Since you know this is not a political blog, you’ve probably guess that HB 482 has something to do with something that would impact what we care about at this site.

And it does.  HB 482 is the “The Maryland Football Act”.  It was proposed by Delegate Jay Walker who apparently also works for ESPN (who knew?).  This law would require Maryland to play Morgan State or Townson every 4 years.  The idea behind it, to paraphrase Walker, is to have Maryland help out these smaller in state schools by giving them a game.  If we are going to schedule James Madison, why not schedule Towson or Morgan is his logic.  Personally, I have no problem with this bill.  And truth be told Maryland already has both schools on the calendar in the coming years, so the impact this bill has is more symbolic or more looking into the distant future, as opposed to anything that would force immediate change.

The critics of the bill say that Football schedules should not be dictated by Legislature, and in this time of tough budget decisions in Annapolis, they make a good case.  But I did find it interesting that Maryland Football is being discussed in the State House, and you know what they say about publicity (if you don’t it’s that any publicity is good publicity).  Now if only we could make a law requiring the top 10 prospects in the state to attend an in state university, that would be a bill I think we all could get behind!!

Last nights win over FSU was huge, I don’t need to spell that out for you.  We played hard and though it wasn’t anything that resembled pretty basketball, it looked good enough for me!  The reason this game was so important, other than it being a much cherished road win, is because it puts us at 5-2.  When you are 4-2 you can go in two different directions.  5-2 or 4-3.  Losing that game last night would have put us smack dab in the pile of mediocrity that is jumbling up the ACC.  But by winning we stay ahead of that mess and rise a little closer to the top.

I’m no expert, but every week we inch a little closer to a picture where we could see Maryland battling Duke for the top spot in the ACC.  Now that discounts what UVA has accomplished, and also over looks that Clemson really was able to throw a wrench in our offense.  But because we took that game in Tallahasse, we can claim to be emerging from the pack.  We lose that game, and that is purely wishful thinking.  And for us true die hards does anything get your blood flowing more so than the Conference coming down to between us and Duke?

Now a lot can still happen in the ACC and anyone who wants to make a guess on how it all pans out is really setting themselves up for looking foolish, but because we reached 5-2, the Terps can start to ask themselves, why not us?  And they certainly have a right to think that way, but coming out 4-3, and we are back in survival mode. 

Next up we have UNC.  The Heels have been down, but as I commented on Chris’s last post, I won’t believe UNC is down until we win that game on Sunday.  And if you think I’m Johnny Glass Half Full right now, if we win that one, we’ll be looking at 6-2.  Then I’ll have to start asking myself, where should I be March, the ACC Tournament, or at the birth of my second child.   It was an easy choice last month, not so much anymore.*

*Just kidding….kinda

Extra Droppings:

Anyone have Comcast as their homepage when they get on line?  I was logging in to write this post and when the Comcast homepage came up, it talked about the impending Mid Atlantic snow storm and had a picture of people in a grocery store.  And clearly visible is a young man wearing a Maryland Sweatshirt…GO TERPS!!

Maryland got the road win we so desperately wanted to see.  A close game, where they had to fight for all 40 minutes.  This wasn’t the type of game we saw early in the ACC schedule when the Terps were seemingly firing on all cylinders.  This was a game where there were a lot of lead changes, and both teams were able to go on runs.  It just so happened the Terps were able to hang on going down the stretch.  Had their been a couple more minutes in the game, I am not sure they would have hung on.

Greivis Vasquez led the team in a lot of categories again last night with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and also 5 turnovers.  Sure the 5 turnovers are something he needs to cut down on, but other wise he had a pretty good game last night.  Most importantly in my mind he did an excellent job getting the ball to Jordan Williams for some easy dunks last night.  When was the last time we had a big man dunk 4 baskets?  I am really becoming more impressed with Williams every game.  It has been a long time since there has been a big man in Maryland with hands as good as he has.  I was also impressed with the way he was able to battle Solomon Alabi on the blocks all night.

You have to give Landon Milbourne some credit as well.  Sure he scored 18 points and had 6 boards, but his offensive rebound, and subsequent made FT’s  with about 3 and half minutes left as FSU had cut the lead to 1.

Another key play was the charge that Dino Gregory took on Michael Snaer, that could have possibly given the Noles the lead with 14 seconds left.  You also have to credit Dino for sinking those two FT’s at crunch time.

Overall, it wasn’t a perfect performance, but the Terps defense has been there consistently, and allows them to stay in the game when the offense is not as hot as it has been lately.  They scrapped and fought again and were able to pull out the close game on the road.

It will be interesting to see what the weather does for Sunday’s game.  While it sounds like the DC area is going to get hammered with snow yet again, it does look like things should be cleared up enough for Sunday’s game.  If not open the door to all the students on campus and get that place rocking for Carolina.  Even though they are down, they are still capable of pulling of the win.

I heard rumblings this was about to be announced today, but some how it slipped my mind after Signing Day.  So here we go.  The big change up is the Navy game got switched from Saturday the 4th until Labor Day (Monday) at 4:00.

My initial take on the schedule is, the away schedule is a lot more appealing.  Yesterday Fridge was talking about selling more tickets and suites, and I know the ACC schedule is what it is, and we do owe WVU a road game, but FIU, Morgan State, Duke, and Wake are not big sellers to the average fan.  Sure the die hard fans will be there but this program needs to get new fans and the only thing that is going to help that is winning and scheduling.  I would think Florida State will be a good crowd, provided the Terps are competitive, and NC State is going to be a tough one since it is Thanksgiving weekend.  I will tell you since I travel to all Maryland games that aren’t at Boston College, I think I will be seeing more games outside of Byrd Stadium this year than inside!  Anyone up for a trip to WVU, and Miami?????   I have some things I need to get done before the Basketball game tonight.  If I do I will go into the schedule a little more.

09/06/10	vs. Navy	Baltimore, Md.	4:00 p.m. ET
09/11/10	vs. Morgan State	College Park, Md.	TBA
09/18/10	at West Virginia	Morgantown, W.Va.	TBA
09/25/10	vs. Florida International	College Park, Md.	TBA
10/02/10	vs. Duke	College Park, Md.	TBA
10/16/10	at Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	TBA
10/23/10	at Boston College	Chestnut Hill, Mass.	TBA
10/30/10	vs. Wake Forest	College Park, Md.	TBA
11/06/10	at Miami	Miami, Fla.	TBA
11/13/10	at Virginia	Charlottesville, Va.	TBA
11/20/10	vs. Florida State	College Park, Md.	TBA
11/27/10	vs. North Carolina State	College Park, Md.	TBA

I know not everyone is able to go out to College Park to attend the signing day celebration, but if you wish to follow along live, the athletic department is providing a live feed.