Terps Keep Bubble Hopes Alive vs. NC State
The final score doesn’t quite do justice to the effort NC State put in yesterday. They outplayed Maryland for a pretty good stretch until they too were consumed by Terrapinitis. [Per Webster's Dictionary "Terrapinitis" is when you play very well against a better opponent only to fold over the last 5 minutes of the game]. This game obviously was an important win for the Terps who’s backs are pretty much against the wall at this point.
Not being able to beat NC State in Comcast would truly have been the death blow, and I actually spent about a half hour yesterday trying to figure out how convey in words that NOW the season is finally over. Seems like we can only use this line so many times until it loses all meaning. But luckily I was able to crumple up and toss that mental version into the trash can as Maryland took over and pulled awa y down the stretch.
Though I can’ t really go much further without tipping the cap to Jordan Williams (26 points), I think the main story here is the emergence of Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin had 25 points and 9 assists. What is telling to me is that over the last two games the announcer has said “When Stoglin is out there, you know something is going to happen, it may be good, it may be bad, but something is going to happen.”. If I am not mistaken, they used to say the EXACT same thing about a young Greivis Vasquez. Though it is tough to see the future, my ceiling for Stoglin has risen dramatically over the last 7 days. I think this kid could be the real deal.
Another emerging story is the starting back court of Stoglin and Pe’Shon Howard. Hard to see Mosley coming off the bench from here on out, but you also can’t help but wonder how many times in the next 4 years these two will be sharing the backcourt when the ball tips.
Lastly a tip of the hat to Dino Gregory. Dino stepped up and contributed a double-double (18 pts. 10 rebounds) to help bring this one home. A good effort by the senior.
So beating NC State unfortunately doesn’t change much, but it keeps the dream alive for another few days. Well see if the Terps can build off of this win as they host 3rd place FSU this Wednesday.
NOTE: Just a casual observation. Terps lead at halftime vs. BC and VT. Lost both. They were behind at halftime vs. NC State and won. I’m not sure what to do with that stat, but I did want to put it out there.
Extra Droppings:
Do these spring training articles that keep popping up in the papers driving everyone else crazy? “Player X is healthy for the first time in a few years”. “Player Y is in his best shape ever”. I know this is an optimistic time of year, but we see these types of articles all the time, and they never come to fruition. The guy who is always hurt gets hurt again, and the guy who is in the best shape of his life never hears the question “Well how come you weren’t in this type of shape the last 5 seasons?”.
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February 21st, 2011 at 11:21 am
I don’t know if Stoglin is the same type of leader as Vasquez but your comparison of taking the good and living with the bad is spot on. There is no doubt he is the best scoring option of any of the guards right now. Sure he jacks up some shots that leave you shaking your head, but at least they have a chance of going in! His decision making is improving, but I have a feeling we are going to see a lot of those crazy shots and drives for the next three years. He is a scorer with the mentality he can score any time he touches it.