Maryland vs. Butler, 3/17

[BaltimoreTerp]

21-19 Butler with about five minutes left in the half.

They are hitting their threes...

[Sports Guy]

So far, Butler is dictating tempo and hitting 3s...They do however have 5 turnovers already, which is more than half of their season average. MD doing a good job getting the ball down low.

Good and bad for the Terps thus far.

[BaltBird 24]

Not doing bad on the inside so far for the Terps, except you never want to see Ibekwe ever go to the free throw line again.

Gotta hope they stop hitting their 3's sometime today.

[BaltBird 24]

8-0 run for Butler.

Team can't go these long scoring droughts against teams like Butler cause they'll eat up alot of clock and it's hard to make up that deficit when you can't shoot the three.

[ledzepp8]

Gist and Ebekwe looking good so far. Butler can't shoot 50% from 3 PT range all game...hopefully they'll tire them selves.

[ledzepp8]

Geez, he just got mugged right there.

[BaltBird 24]

This team is just plain stupid. Stupid passes inside. Ibekwe playing like a goof inside. Vasquez tripping over his own feet trying to do too much. Not being able to score for 5 minutes.

[beaner]

Such different styles, Gary is usually pretty good and getting teams to play his way..Work to do in the second half.

[ledzepp8]

I guess they're going to let them play today.

[BaltBird 24]

Terps down big in this one. Maybe Gary can find someone who can shoot a 3 in the next year or two recruiting.

[inmn]

I forgot Ibekwe and Osby can't handle the ball. Md is frustrated, poor ball movement. Giving up dribble penetration and collapsing leaving the 3 open which you can't do. Looking like baseball season.....

[BaltimoreTerp]

How in the Hell was that a travel?

[ledzepp8]

7 Threes in the first half.:rolleyes:

[BaltimoreTerp]

Nice shot Mike!

31-25 at the half.

[ledzepp8]

Jones finally back in and what does he do...HITS A FRIGGIN' THREE!!:rolleyes:

[BaltBird 24]

Terps down 6 at the half. Could be alot worse, I guess. Hate seeing those 16-1 runs. Gotta hope Gary can motivate the team to come out and play some perimeter D in the second half and maybe put a few more points up.

[ledzepp8]

How in the Hell was that a travel?

I guess because he made the move towards the basket and then picked up his other foot...although the ref didnt' really let him finish the play. I'm pretty sure he was going to shoot.

[ledzepp8]

Terps down 6 at the half. Could be alot worse, I guess. Hate seeing those 16-1 runs. Gotta hope Gary can motivate the team to come out and play some perimeter D in the second half and maybe put a few more points up.

They did hit like 4 threes during that run though.

[BmoreBoy]

Jones keeping hopes alive. I'm feeling down about this one. Need to come out of the locker room with a plan to change things up cause the way the game has been going is not in a the terps favor.

[glenn__davis]

Man, I hate this style of basketball.

[ledzepp8]

Jones keeping hopes alive. I'm feeling down about this one. Need to come out of the locker room with a plan to change things up cause the way the game has been going is not in a the terps favor.

Why was Jones on the bench for so long?

[Sports Guy]

Such different styles, Gary is usually pretty good and getting teams to play his way..Work to do in the second half.

If a team is committed to using 25-35 seconds of the shot clock everytime, it is tough to counteract that.

[BaltBird 24]

Why was Jones on the bench for so long?

Because Parrish Brown is a more vital key to our offense.

Hey, I won't complain. I didn't see Bowers even step off the bench in the first half. We can only hope that it will stay that way.

[BmoreBoy]

Dunno, why couldn't Luke Cage (I think that was his name) hit that second ft to more or less seal a victory over OSU (grrr). If only we could have 6 men on the court, that would be awesome.

[inmn]

Why was Jones on the bench for so long?

All you need to know about Jones's career was when he was stripped inside with about 5 minutes left and turned his back and the ball came right back towards him as he was heading down court. He wasn't the only one either, GW will puke when he sees that.

[ledzepp8]

Hey, I won't complain. I didn't see Bowers even step off the bench in the first half. We can only hope that it will stay that way.

This is true...I don't mind Bowers being on the court when he's just being a warm body and playing some D. It's when he tries to play offense, that's what gets me.

[ledzepp8]

All you need to know about Jones's career was when he was stripped inside with about 5 minutes left and turned his back and the ball came right back towards him as he was heading down court. He wasn't the only one either, GW will puke when he sees that.

He's the only reliable 3 PT threat and made both of the Terps 3 pointers in the 1st half. When the other team is making 7-13, he needs to be in there to at least try and answer that.

[ledzepp8]

What a crap call!

[ledzepp8]

Way to go DJ!!

[ledzepp8]

Mike Jonessss...Who?!!

[ledzepp8]

What did I say about Mike Jones?????

[beaner]

What did I say about Mike Jones?????

Wenzel just said "He Loves the Buffalo Weather"...Interesting, are they playing outdoors.

[BaltBird 24]

Wenzel just said "He Loves the Buffalo Weather"...Interesting, are they playing outdoors.

Retractable roof.

[BmoreBoy]

Jones is craaaazy. Back in it now!

[ledzepp8]

Wenzel just said "He Loves the Buffalo Weather"...Interesting, are they playing outdoors.

Yeah I heard that...I guess the point was it's cold outside but he's HOT inside...hahaha get it?;)

[BaltBird 24]

Also, excuse me while I go and hide with Ibekwe at the line.

[ledzepp8]

When is the last time Ebekwe actually made a free throw?

[AgentOrange]

Wenzel just said "He Loves the Buffalo Weather"...Interesting, are they playing outdoors.

Wow, you just broke LedZepp8's 6 post scoring streak.

[AgentOrange]

When is the last time Ebekwe actually made a free throw?

You know, he was so much better this season, very dissappointing he can't hit them now...

[ledzepp8]

Dayumm Boom!!

[ledzepp8]

Wow, you just broke LedZepp8's 6 post scoring streak.

Yeah no one else was talking.:D

[ledzepp8]

You know, he was so much better this season, very dissappointing he can't hit them now...

Yeah he was alot better earlier...I'm not sure what's going on with him now.

[ledzepp8]

Where was the foul?

[AgentOrange]

what the hell happened to Gist, he was on fire early.

[AgentOrange]

Mike Jones is offically on Fire...

[BaltBird 24]

There's a nasty rumor going around that Ekene Ibekwe actually made a free throw this season. For some reason, I refuse to believe it.

[BaltimoreTerp]

We have a Will Bowers sighting!

[ledzepp8]

Where's Mike Jones?

[BaltBird 24]

When the team is having trouble scoring it's always best to keep your best scoring threat on the bench. They teach that at the Gary Williams school of coaching.

[BaltBird 24]

After we get eliminated today Gary oughta make every returning player shoot 4 hours of free throws everyday during the offseason.

[ledzepp8]

Gosh how many times have I spelled Ibekwe wrong in this thread?

[BmoreBoy]

After we get eliminated today Gary oughta make every returning player shoot 4 hours of free throws everyday during the offseason.

Yeah, they should have already done that a few times during the season.

[Sports Guy]

No team has been better than MD in the last 5 minutes of the game over the past 4-6 weeks.

[ledzepp8]

Man, you just can't defend a shot like that.

[ledzepp8]

Gotta get the ball back in Jones' hands.

[BmoreBoy]

No team has been better than MD in the last 5 minutes of the game over the past 4-6 weeks.

I agree, but with the way the game is going I don't really feeling it coming today. However if it does come then we'll win.

[ledzepp8]

Sky hook by Vasquez.;)

[BaltBird 24]

When the game is on the line, it's best to keep your best offensive scorer on the bench. Brilliant!

[mweb]

Seriously, why is MJ and Gist on the bench?!? They better be back in when this timout is over.

[BaltBird 24]

And on that note you can kiss our season goodbye. Just couldn't make that final push to actually take a lead after getting so close.

[BaltimoreTerp]

How do you shoot 48-*******-% from threes?

[ledzepp8]

How do you shoot 48-*******-% from threes?

How do you shoot 46% from the free throw line?

[BmoreBoy]

That Ft brick by DJ was like a stake through my stomach. I didn't want to watch the second one...at least it went in.

[BaltBird 24]

How do you shoot 48-*******-% from threes?

Them shooting 48% from the three wouldn't even be such an issue if we weren't shooting 46% from the free throw line.

[ledzepp8]

How the F are you going to call that there?

[BaltimoreTerp]

Ah, crap...

[Sports Guy]

WOW, MD decided NOT to foul there!?

I am surprised by that call.

[BaltBird 24]

Oh well, better than could have been expected out of this team from a couple months ago.

[MDFan]

BS charge Call on DJ!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Moose Milligan]

Too bad Md can't shoot free throws. Easily could have won this game.

[ledzepp8]

BS charge Call on DJ!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

No crap...dude didn't have position at all. Plus in that situation you've gotta let the players decide the game.

[BaltBird 24]

Stupid coaching by Gary keeping Jones on the bench for such long spurts and no defensive effort on the perimeter will be the reason for the ending to the season.

[mweb]

SG can say what he wants about us complaining about the refs, but that was an awful call and basically cost us a chance to win the game.

[BaltimoreTerp]

.6 seconds.

Pass to Jones.

Pray.

[beaner]

SG can say what he wants about us complaining about the refs, but that was an awful call and basically cost us a chance to win the game.

Yea, they got that one wrong..

[geschinger]

Even though MD had a big rebounding advantage key offensive rebounds by Butler were the difference. I think they had at least 10 pts as a result.

[BaltimoreTerp]

...and Jones ends his career with a fumble.

Weirdly fitting.

Ah well. Good year.

[BaltBird 24]

Just be happy we never have to hear the name Bowers ever again.

[Moose Milligan]

MD lost this game themselves, no one to blame but themselves.

[ledzepp8]

Why do you have Neal...who never touches the ball inbounding it?:mad:

BS charge call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sports Guy]

SG can say what he wants about us complaining about the refs, but that was an awful call and basically cost us a chance to win the game.

It was absolutely an awful call. You guys have the right to complain about it.

However, ask Vazquez and Ibewke why you lost....Free throws.

[Sports Guy]

I agree that this is the key.

Yes, it was an absolutely BS call under the basket on DJ, but if they do better than 7 for 15 at the line, that call doesn't likely matter.

Having said that, the officiating in this game left a lot to be desired on both sides.

Ask Duke how FT shooting can kill you.

[BaltBird 24]

Yeah, I'd say this loss basically falls on the shoulders of Ibekwe's non-ability to even come close to making a free throw. Luckily, we'll never have to hear his name again, either.

[ledzepp8]

I agree that this is the key.

Yes, it was an absolutely BS call under the basket on DJ, but if they do better than 7 for 15 at the line, that call doesn't likely matter.

Having said that, the officiating in this game left a lot to be desired on both sides.I agree with everything here...but no doubt there was ticky tack fouls all throughout this game. No way in hell do you call a charge on that play, not in that situation, and not on that flimsy of a "charge".

[BaltimoreTerp]

There goes my bracket! :D

[mweb]

It was absolutely an awful call. You guys have the right to complain about it.

However, ask Vazquez and Ibewke why you lost....Free throws.

Yeah, the FT shooting killed us, but even with that, we'd have a decent shot at winning if the correct call was made in that situation.

[Dr. FLK]

It's good thing Gary took Jones out for an extended period of time when he was on fire. They really got a lot more out of Hayes. That was fantastic.

[Sports Guy]

If Florida beats Purdue, you get Butler vs Florida...Remember when they played in the tourney before? Mike Miller hit a shot at the buzzer to beat Butler in a 5/12 game.

[Sports Guy]

Yeah, the FT shooting killed us, but even with that, we'd have a decent shot at winning if the correct call was made in that situation.

I agree MWeb...It was a terrible call.

That being said, MD played right into the hands of Butler and that, combined with the poor FT shooting, is why they lost.

Funny how MD and Duke lost their games and it was because of the exact same thing...Let the smaller, less talented team dictate pace and then you miss FTs. It will kill you everytime.

[beaner]

The ACC is not looking too good..

[Sports Guy]

The ACC is not looking too good..

The youth is showing...

[BaltBird 24]

It's good thing Gary took Jones out for an extended period of time when he was on fire. They really got a lot more out of Hayes. That was fantastic.

No offense to Hayes cause he usually runs the offense just fine, but I have to agree with you on this one. Hayes adds almrost nothing to the team scoring wise, and while Vasquez gets his fair share of points he's anything but a reliable source.

Keeping both of them on the court with Straw, Gist, and Ibekwe leave you with only 1 real reliable scorer in Gist. That hurts your chances of scoring.

[mweb]

Why on earth didnt MD foul Butler when there was a 3 second differential!????

If Butler makes a shot the games over, if they miss the ball is bouncing off the rim with 3 seconds left on the other end of the floor.

Just terrible, terrible decisions.

I think there was a 6 second differential. I probably would have preferred to foul, but not the 2nd best FT shooter in the nation. It would have looked pretty smart if they got the defensive rebound.

[inmn]

It was absolutely an awful call. You guys have the right to complain about it.

However, ask Vazquez and Ibewke why you lost....Free throws.

Embarassing loss when you lose to a team that you would not have recruited one kid off of. An 3-4 ACC school should not lose to a Horizon (whatever the hell that is) conference team. I wrote it yesterday this team will go as far as Ibekwe takes them and they did......Goodbye Jones, Ibekwe, and Strawberry-good luck in the CBA. Unless GW finds a way to get more talented kids this is as good as it gets. Watch Ohio St or UNC, what a difference. Hello baseball season.....

[beaner]

The youth is showing...

Maryland had 3 seniors, can't blame the youth there...They just didn't hit foul shots. Butler played their game, low scoring, tough d.

[ledzepp8]

MD lost this game themselves, no one to blame but themselves.

C'mon you can look at stuff like missed free throws and say that's why they lost and I would agree with you in the long run. But they had a chance to tie the game and got raped by the Refs with that BS offensive foul.

[geschinger]

[b]Embarassing loss when you lose to a team that you would not have recruited one kid off of. An 3-4 ACC school should not lose to a Horizon (whatever the hell that is) conference team. I wrote it yesterday this team will go as far as Ibekwe takes them and they did......Goodbye Jones, Ibekwe, and Strawberry-good luck in the CBA. Unless GW finds a way to get more talented kids this is as good as it gets. Watch Ohio St or UNC, what a difference. Hello baseball season.....

That's what is great about college basketball. Play solid fundamental basketball, execute your gameplan, shoot the ball well and you have a chance to beat teams with much more raw talent. Butler is a damn good team and while it is disappointing I think it's a little over the top to say that it is embarassment losing to them.

[BaltBird 24]

Yeah, gotta hope that Gary can get on his knees and beg Lucas to be a Terp, cause things look pretty bleak for next year. Gist and Osby should be OK, but where are we going to get points? Basically our top three offensive players are going to be playing for the Madrid Mangos.

[Sports Guy]

Yeah, gotta hope that Gary can get on his knees and beg Lucas to be a Terp, cause things look pretty bleak for next year. Gist and Osby should be OK, but where are we going to get points? Basically our top three offensive players are going to be playing for the Madrid Mangos.
MD has a good future ahead of them...No need to get down on them because they lost today.

[NewMarketSean]

Butler deserved it. They did what we thought they would do. They played great defense and they shot 3-pointers.

[BaltBird 24]

Well, we were 18th in the nation and they were 21st. I guess it isn't really all that much of an upset, especially considering it sounded like a home game for Butler.

[ledzepp8]

No offense to Hayes cause he usually runs the offense just fine, but I have to agree with you on this one. Hayes adds almrost nothing to the team scoring wise, and while Vasquez gets his fair share of points he's anything but a reliable source.

Keeping both of them on the court with Straw, Gist, and Ibekwe leave you with only 1 real reliable scorer in Gist. That hurts your chances of scoring.
I'll agree to an extent but then I will say that they are only freshmen.

[Sports Guy]

That's what is great about college basketball. Play solid fundamental basketball, execute your gameplan, shoot the ball well and you have a chance to beat teams with much more raw talent. Butler is a damn good team and while it is disappointing I think it's a little over the top to say that it is embarassment losing to them.

Totally agree.

I have been saying that it was a bad matchup for the Terps and was chastized for it.

Butler is a tough team for MD. They will pretty much always dictate tempo and if they shoot well, they are tough to beat.

MD had a very good year. It is disappointing that they didn't beat Butler, who they are much more talented than but still, they played great the last 6 weeks and their fans should be pretty proud of the season IMO.

[mweb]

On a positive note, MJ was fantastic, at least he ended his career strong over the last couple months or so. And I'm not going to be one of those people to say good riddance to the senior class, well maybe Bowers.:D DJ, MJ, and Ekene all had solid careers with MD, played hard, and I don't recall them having any off the court issues. Sure Ekene and MJ could have had much better careers, but they were decent and finished pretty strong. This was a good season, and the blame for the two seasons before mostly lies elsewhere imo. In their sophomore year, they had the whole Gilchrist-Gary fued that really hurt the team, and last year they had no PG and McCray failing classes.

Farewell and good luck to the seniors.

[BaltBird 24]

MD has a good future ahead of them...No need to get down on them because they lost today.

Vasquez and Hayes make a nice guard combo, but they don't really know what they have behind Gist and Osby for big men. Behind that you have Burney, Dupree, and Gregory who all have zero college expierence and really only three star prospects.

[BmoreBoy]

So what's crazy is that I'm not as dissapointed as I thought I would be. I really wanted to see us play Florida and get to the sweet 16. But looking back on it now I'm really very happy with this team. We had a nice stretch where it felt like we were invincible, beat Duke twice, beat UNC, and most importantly got into the tournament (and won a game). Vasquez and Hayes bring nothing but hope for the next few years and I can't wait to watch them.

Thank you DJ, Mike, Ekene, and Bowers. You will be missed (unlike Gilcrest and a few guys who left last year).

[BaltBird 24]

I'll agree that it's sad to see DJ and Jones leave, and even Ibekwe to an extent (even though he's an incredibly frustrating player to watch when he's being is dumb self), but I can't be anything but happy to see Bowers riding into the sunset.

[inmn]

Vasquez and Hayes make a nice guard combo, but they don't really know what they have behind Gist and Osby for big men. Behind that you have Burney, Dupree, and Gregory who all have zero college expierence and really only three star prospects.

Agreed, remember Duke this year? Next year should be difficult for Md easier when Vasquez and Hayes are juniors. Not one of the four recruits adds a perimeter game. With an experienced team Md should beat Butler. Not one Md guard could stop them on the dribble, then they would collapse to help (which I hope GW warned them not to do) with two shotblockers back. Bad loss. I was excited at the end of the year but no matter how you cut it this is five years without a sweet 16 and that is not acceptable (especially coming off a national championship).

[Dr. FLK]

No offense to Hayes cause he usually runs the offense just fine, but I have to agree with you on this one. Hayes adds almrost nothing to the team scoring wise, and while Vasquez gets his fair share of points he's anything but a reliable source.

Keeping both of them on the court with Straw, Gist, and Ibekwe leave you with only 1 real reliable scorer in Gist. That hurts your chances of scoring.

I can see giving him a rest. But, Gary called a TO and STILL kept Jones on the bench when he was absolutely on fire. Not only was he scoring, but he was rebounding too. And, shockingly, that was the time when Butler pulled ahead again. Gary loses again to a team that makes him play half-court basketball. I know it's blasphemy around here, but I just think he's a totally overrated coach. Go ahead and blast me, but if he can't play transition ball he doesn't win. Maryland just looked confused in the half-court set for about 80% of the game.

[Why Not?]

I can see giving him a rest. But, Gary called a TO and STILL kept Jones on the bench when he was absolutely on fire. Not only was he scoring, but he was rebounding too. And, shockingly, that was the time when Butler pulled ahead again. Gary loses again to a team that makes him play half-court basketball. I know it's blasphemy around here, but I just think he's a totally overrated coach. Go ahead and blast me, but if he can't play transition ball he doesn't win. Maryland just looked confused in the half-court set for about 80% of the game.

But he almost certainly wasn't playing any defense, because he almost never does. I don't know the defensive responsibilities, but it's possible that Jones was hurting the team more on defense than his scoring was helping them.

[Dr. FLK]

But he almost certainly wasn't playing any defense, because he almost never does. I don't know the defensive responsibilities, but it's possible that Jones was hurting the team more on defense than his scoring was helping them.

But Hayes really shut them down on the defensive end, right? And, taking out the only scorer on the team is a brilliant move. I mean, it's easy to come back when you have no one who can score the ball on the court. IMO, Gary has wasted 4 years of a tremendous scoring guard by wishing he was Bruce Bowen on the defensive end. He's not great at defense. We know that. But, defense wasn't the Terps problem today (they only gave up 62). Offense clearly was.

[BaltBird 24]

Have to agree with FLK on this one. Butler made 23 FG's and more than half of them, 12 to be exact, came from outside the three. Is some of that Mike Jones fault? Probably. Is all of it his fault? Most likely not. You can't take the kid out of the game especially while he's knocking down shot after shot after shot. It was just stupid coaching.

[EddieO's21]

I am unhappy, but when a team shoots lights out it is hard to stop them, Vasquez struggled and our free throw shooting was awful, just awful. But I am happy with this year, I really am

[inmn]

Have to agree with FLK on this one. Butler made 23 FG's and more than half of them, 12 to be exact, came from outside the three. Is some of that Mike Jones fault? Probably. Is all of it his fault? Most likely not. You can't take the kid out of the game especially while he's knocking down shot after shot after shot. It was just stupid coaching.

It's was their lack of quickness on the perimeter. Usually it doesn't show but Butler was much quicker, what do you do deny the 3 and let them drive or shoot the 3 and deny the drive-they were too quick. On the other hand Md was not able to exploit their substantial height advantage. Md had an experienced team, individually Md wins every match up but Butler plays better as a team. Md wins if they have a difference maker; Durrant or Lawson but that's another story.....

[inmn]

Oops forgot my main point. Butler's offense was very efficient in producing points per possession. Hitting 50% your 3's is like shooting 75% on 2's.
Ibekwe's 4 turnovers/no assists won't be missed, Strawberry also had 5 turnovers 3/10 from the field. At the end of the day Md was much more talented, this loss goes to the coaching staff. Some of you may be happy with a trip to the NCAA's but I'm not. Md basketball should be a threat to be in the sweet 16 every year and they are not there. I wrote earlier that this was an embarassing loss-I did not mean that for the team, but for the program I believe it is. GW is going to have to close on some more talented kids for this program to be where it should be.

[mweb]

But he almost certainly wasn't playing any defense, because he almost never does. I don't know the defensive responsibilities, but it's possible that Jones was hurting the team more on defense than his scoring was helping them.

That's quite an exaggeration regarding Jones' defense, he's actually been decent this year, and I don't think he had a poor peformance on that side of the court today.

[Dr. FLK]

That's quite an exaggeration regarding Jones' defense, he's actually been decent this year, and I don't think he had a poor peformance on that side of the court today.

SO if it wasn't his defense, and it wasn't his offense, why was he sitting on the bench during a critical stretch?:rolleyes:

[mweb]

SO if it wasn't his defense, and it wasn't his offense, why was he sitting on the bench during a critical stretch?:rolleyes:

Bad decision by Gary which I said during the game.

[glenn__davis]

Pretty good season. I really would've like to have seen what we could do against Florida, but they're going to run Butler out of the gym.

[EddieO's21]

Pretty good season. I really would've like to have seen what we could do against Florida, but they're going to run Butler out of the gym.

agree, i see florida beating Butler by at least 15

[Tony-OH]

That's what is great about college basketball. Play solid fundamental basketball, execute your gameplan, shoot the ball well and you have a chance to beat teams with much more raw talent. Butler is a damn good team and while it is disappointing I think it's a little over the top to say that it is embarrassment losing to them.

I have to agree. although maryland was the more athletic team, Butler dictated the tempo of the game and they executed their gameplan to perfection. They hit their threes and when you add in a poor game from the free throw line from Maryland, you get what you got.

Look, we got a pretty good run from a team with no go to scoring threat. Both Vasquez and Hayes showed their youth in the tournament with neither taking a step up. Ibekwe and Gist were good shot blockers, but neither showed any ability to dominate the inside game despite the fact that neither Davidson or Butler had any inside players.

Could Maryland have beaten Butler on another day, certainly. But the Butler squad is a good slow tempo team that made Maryland play their game. Unfortunately, Williams wasn't able to find a combination to break that tempo and Butler kept hitting their three's.

I give credit where credit is due, and that's to Butler for perfectly executing their gameplan.

[clapdiddy]

Does Gary have any plan of bringing in a JUCO big man who can actually score with his back to the basket? I know he likes athletes who can run the floor, but when you don't have the outside shooters, you need to have a big guy who you can run the half-court offense through.

As much as I like Gist, his game is geared toward playing the wing and being a little creative. I also don't think Osby is a starter and he's not much of an offensive threat either.

They need a big guy in the Lonnie Baxter mode who can score down low and is smart enough to stay out of foul trouble. What a waste of talent Ibekwe has been. A guy with that athleticism should have dominated.

[mweb]

Does Gary have any plan of bringing in a JUCO big man who can actually score with his back to the basket? I know he likes athletes who can run the floor, but when you don't have the outside shooters, you need to have a big guy who you can run the half-court offense through.

As much as I like Gist, his game is geared toward playing the wing and being a little creative. I also don't think Osby is a starter and he's not much of an offensive threat either.

They need a big guy in the Lonnie Baxter mode who can score down low and is smart enough to stay out of foul trouble. What a waste of talent Ibekwe has been. A guy with that athleticism should have dominated.


Braxton Dupree is an incoming freshman who has been compared to Baxter. We'll need him and/or another big man step up to go along with Gist and Osby to be a good team next year. Milbourne and/or hopefully Lucas will also need to contribute quite a bit.

[BaltBird 24]

The one thing that killed Ibekwe the most seemed to be that his basketball IQ was about 0. I don't care how athletic you are, very few players can get by on just their athletic ability. At times throughout his career it seemed as if he had no idea what he was doing on the court.

I disagree about Osby not being a scorer. He might not be our top option to go inside for scoring, but I think he's better around the basket than Gist scoring-wise. Osby can bang the points in. Gist seems more suited to the spin and shoot shot.

It might be a long year, however, considering we'll be entering the year with new starters at the 2, 3, and 4 assuming Gist is the center. Who are we looking at for the 3? Milbourne?

[mweb]

The one thing that killed Ibekwe the most seemed to be that his basketball IQ was about 0. I don't care how athletic you are, very few players can get by on just their athletic ability. At times throughout his career it seemed as if he had no idea what he was doing on the court.

I disagree about Osby not being a scorer. He might not be our top option to go inside for scoring, but I think he's better around the basket than Gist scoring-wise. Osby can bang the points in. Gist seems more suited to the spin and shoot shot.

It might be a long year, however, considering we'll be entering the year with new starters at the 2, 3, and 4 assuming Gist is the center. Who are we looking at for the 3? Milbourne?

I would think either Milbourne or go with 3 guards if Lucas is signed.

[Fairfax Bird]

Boy this is my first post to this thread and I know it was already said, but Gary really blew it.

Forty seconds to go and down two, you extend the game. He choked. You have to foul. I was stupifyied by his decision to let them run the clock down. I can't imagine doing what he did. Terrible.

[Fairfax Bird]

When the team is having trouble scoring it's always best to keep your best scoring threat on the bench. They teach that at the Gary Williams school of coaching.


I was told last week that he was a great game coach. It did not show today.

[mweb]

Boy this is my first post to this thread and I know it was already said, but Gary really blew it.

Forty seconds to go and down two, you extend the game. He choked. You have to foul. I was stupifyied by his decision to let them run the clock down. I can't imagine doing what he did. Terrible.

Well the problem with that is the guy who had the ball is the 2nd best FT shooter in the nation. If they got the defensive rebound they would have been in a decent position. However, I'd prefer to see a foul there as well, but don't think it was that bad of a decision.

[Fairfax Bird]

Well the problem with that is the guy who had the ball is the 2nd best FT shooter in the nation. If they got the defensive rebound they would have been in a decent position. However, I'd prefer to see a foul there as well, but don't think it was that bad of a decision.

Extend the game. Graves hits two free throws. They let Maryland get a lay-up almost uncontested and you deny Graves any chance to catch the inbounds the 2nd time. Now you are down two but instead of only 3 freakin seconds on the clock there are about 20. It was AWEFUL coaching.

[bbasal]

i know this is my 2nd post on this site but i've been a die hard terp fan since i was 6 years old going to watch the terps for the first time play wake. i remind oyu i am from upstate ny.

i have read your posts for the last 2 weeks and decided i would like to join this forum. the reason i decided to join this forum is b/c you people are real about things.

Look at how we lost tonight, all of you could have blamed the charge on straw, but none of you did unless i didn't look back more in this thread. i commend all of you for being real terp fans through inand through out.

i think we all know the reason we lost is because of all the open 3's we allowed to 3 point shooting teams. we are lucky davidson did not take advantage of us and beat us.

i love the terps and hope you all understand my comments

[mweb]

Extend the game. Graves hits two free throws. They let Maryland get a lay-up almost uncontested and you deny Graves any chance to catch the inbounds the 2nd time. Now you are down two but instead of only 3 freakin seconds on the clock there are about 20. It was AWEFUL coaching.

If they get the rebound it's not awful coaching. And your down 2 with Butler having the ball and a even if you can deny Graves from getting the ball(not as easy as you make it seem), a good FT shooter will get the ball. Yes, it probably would have been smarter to do that, but I can see the other side of this.

[rolliefingers]

If they get the rebound it's not awful coaching. And your down 2 with Butler having the ball and a even if you can deny Graves from getting the ball(not as easy as you make it seem), a good FT shooter will get the ball. Yes, it probably would have been smarter to do that, but I can see the other side of this.They let Graves run down the clock a little bit, but he passed the ball to other guys with plenty of time left. Those were the guys we should have fouled. Just a terrible decision there.

I will give credit where it's due - Butler executed their game plan perfectly, and didn't turn the ball over very much, and when they did, it always seemed to go out of bounds, to preclude any transition points.

That said, terrible officiating (I counted at least two blatant offensive fouls on push-offs that weren't called, and that charge on DJ was complete BS), terrible FT shooting, sloppy passing, etc. We were clearly the better team, and we just blew it, referees aside.

[AgentOrange]

Well I would have liked to go to the sweet 16, I am really happy with this season.

I know we were a strong bubble team at the time, but to end up a 4 seed this year, I think the kids played very well. I only hope this is a spring board season for the Terps to get back to where they used to be.

They may have lost the game tonight, but I believe they gave solid effort for almost every game this year, even if some of the games looked like a cluster...

Go Terps!

[Grady]

Just to clear up something, Jones was on the bench for the 7 min with bad leg cramps. Didnt anyone see him laying on the floor wit JJ Bush working on his legs?
I guess its poor coaching to take a guy out of the game when he cannot move with leg cramps.
Butler beat the Terps, they shot better and rebounded when they needed to,they deserved to win. It was a good year for the Terps,a better year had they had a chance at Fla.

[Fairfax Bird]

If they get the rebound it's not awful coaching. And your down 2 with Butler having the ball and a even if you can deny Graves from getting the ball(not as easy as you make it seem), a good FT shooter will get the ball. Yes, it probably would have been smarter to do that, but I can see the other side of this.

You CAN'T let them take the clock down like they did. You are limiting yourself to ONE chance. It was poor coaching plain and simple.

[Fairfax Bird]

Just to clear up something, Jones was on the bench for the 7 min with bad leg cramps. Didnt anyone see him laying on the floor wit JJ Bush working on his legs?
I guess its poor coaching to take a guy out of the game when he cannot move with leg cramps.
Butler beat the Terps, they shot better and rebounded when they needed to,they deserved to win. It was a good year for the Terps,a better year had they had a chance at Fla.


That is funny, I watched the entire game and I didn't see that he had crampls. Must have been an oversight on my part.

You know it is funny that I read articles from 3 different papers and didn't see it mentioned anywhere. Strange.

Anyway, you are right that the Terps were just outplayed, but coaching played a part, especially at the end.

[ledzepp8]

They let Graves run down the clock a little bit, but he passed the ball to other guys with plenty of time left. Those were the guys we should have fouled. Just a terrible decision there.

I will give credit where it's due - Butler executed their game plan perfectly, and didn't turn the ball over very much, and when they did, it always seemed to go out of bounds, to preclude any transition points.

That said, terrible officiating (I counted at least two blatant offensive fouls on push-offs that weren't called, and that charge on DJ was complete BS), terrible FT shooting, sloppy passing, etc. We were clearly the better team, and we just blew it, referees aside.

I agree that we probably should have fouled, but like mweb said if we had gotten the rebound(like we should have)we would have been in a great position. What was pathetic was not getting the rebound. Wasn't there like one Butler player around the basket with like all of our guys? And not one of them could grab the ball.

[glenn__davis]

I agree that we probably should have fouled, but like mweb said if we had gotten the rebound(like we should have)we would have been in a great position. What was pathetic was not getting the rebound. Wasn't there like one Butler player around the basket with like all of our guys? And not one of them could grab the ball.

Well, and not to take anything away from Butler, but they had some pretty lucky breaks. They had that three point shot that bounced about 5 feet above the rim and came back down. Twice Gist blocked Graves lay-ups, but the ball bounced right back to a Butler player who found Graves for an easy three. There's just not much you can do about that kind of stuff.

[Sports Guy]

Well, and not to take anything away from Butler, but they had some pretty lucky breaks. They had that three point shot that bounced about 5 feet above the rim and came back down. Twice Gist blocked Graves lay-ups, but the ball bounced right back to a Butler player who found Graves for an easy three. There's just not much you can do about that kind of stuff.Lucky breaks happen to each side all the time.

[glenn__davis]

Lucky breaks happen to each side all the time.

No question, not making excuses at all, just saying Butler caught some really good ones yesterday.

[Sports Guy]

No question, not making excuses at all, just saying Butler caught some really good ones yesterday.

And i am sure MD did as well...That's all i am saying.

However, when you get these lucky breaks, you have to do something with them, like Graves did twice.

[ledzepp8]

No question, not making excuses at all, just saying Butler caught some really good ones yesterday.

You mean the three from the sideline at about half court with 2 seconds left on the shot clock? Yeah that was a pretty lucky break.;)

[rolliefingers]

And i am sure MD did as well...That's all i am saying.

However, when you get these lucky breaks, you have to do something with them, like Graves did twice.As I noted earlier, Graves also got away with at least two push-offs that weren't called...I guess you could call those "lucky breaks" as well.

[Sports Guy]

As I noted earlier, Graves also got away with at least two push-offs that weren't called...I guess you could call those "lucky breaks" as well.

What many of you guys always fail to realize is that you can probably call some kind of violation, whether it be a foul, travel, double dribble, carry or whatever on every possession. It is like the NFL. Something "shady" is always happening.

So, my guess is you could say that the MD players got away with alot of things as well.

[rolliefingers]

What many of you guys always fail to realize is that you can probably call some kind of violation, whether it be a foul, travel, double dribble, carry or whatever on every possession. It is like the NFL. Something "shady" is always happening.

So, my guess is you could say that the MD players got away with alot of things as well.Obviously, I'm not an unbiased source. I wasn't actively looking for non-calls against MD. But the two incidents I'm referring to looked pretty blatant to me, and one of them came in the last couple of minutes.

That said, if we had hit our damn free throws, the refs wouldn't have had a chance to decide the game.

[Fairfax Bird]

What many of you guys always fail to realize is that you can probably call some kind of violation, whether it be a foul, travel, double dribble, carry or whatever on every possession. It is like the NFL. Something "shady" is always happening.

So, my guess is you could say that the MD players got away with alot of things as well.

This is generally true, bad calls go both ways and no calls go both ways. I wouldn't blame the Terps loss on the refs yesterday. The charge call at the end was not a good one, but was a tough call either way.

Of course, the first statement that I made does not apply at Cameron Indoor Stadium.:p