Braxton Dupree

[O's84]

What's happening with him this year? Why isn't Gary playing him more? I thought he was a highly sought after recruit. With Gist and Osby leaving next year we will need him more than ever. Again I haven't watched all the games so could someone fill me in here.

[Fairfax Bird]

I tend to agree that Dupree needs to get stronger. His confidence is pretty low, but that will change. After an off-season in the weight room he will be the starting center.

[O's84]

Okay thanks for the info. I guess I just see these freshman phenoms like Gordon for Indiana and wish we had one. I know I didn't expect Dupree to be like that but thought he would of given us a little more than he had, given he was our "star" recruit of this class. Gary seems to get the guys who aren't at the top but has them improve as they go. However I wish we could be getting some of the more heralded impact players so we could get the program back into the upper echelon again.

[Fairfax Bird]

Gary doesn't generally go and get phenoms. He seems to prefer players who will stay for 4 years and learn the system. The last group of guys through he clearly missed on, but this group has been good and I think Vasquez, Hayes, Milbourne, Dupree, et al have a chance to be special before they leave.

[jerryterp]

Has anyone heard ANYTHING about Burney? He doesn't even play when Gary puts in the walk ons. I know he redshirted last year & I thought he had the size to be a power forward.

[section18]

I said a month ago that Dupree needed to play more if we were going to be strong inside. Osby, Dupree and Gist is a solid front line and Milbourne adds a lot also. Dupree has to get more minutes and spell Osby or any of the other up front guys. There are too many guys playing over 30-35 minutes a game. They are going to be really tired by tournament time and won't be able to go 2 or 3 days in a row. Gary might as well start stretching him out now and a few of the others like Bowie and Tucker. Vaszuez is playing too many minutes and has not been as sharp at the end of our games. He looks like he is exhausted with his body language. Sit him for 3-5 minutes clock time not game time and put him back in a few more times during the game. Just give Vasquez, Osby and Gist a few more breathers and I think we might see some sharper play at the end of our games.

[Eight]

Dupree has been bad. I agree we need more post depth, but at this point, depending on matchups, I think Neal, Walker, Gregory, and Burney could all give us more than Dupree.

[ChuckS]

Dupree has been bad. I agree we need more post depth, but at this point, depending on matchups, I think Neal, Walker, Gregory, and Burney could all give us more than Dupree.

Agreed. I don't see how you can count on Dupree for double-digit scoring next season when he has shown nothing this year. Looks like a thick body that doesn't know how to use it. He is Travis Garrison minus the jump shot, I have said it before.

[Mackus]

Agreed. I don't see how you can count on Dupree for double-digit scoring next season when he has shown nothing this year. Looks like a thick body that doesn't know how to use it. He is Travis Garrison minus the jump shot, I have said it before.Again, he's shown a lot more than Milbourne showed last season. He's got the talent to be a big contributor next season, he just needs to put in the work.

I think counting on him is a big risk, but writing him off is an even sillier thing to do.

I'd be absolutely shocked if he doesn't end up better than Garrison.

[ccbird]

Dupree has a long way to go in conditioning to start and have the ability to play 25 or 30 min let alone score in doublle digits next year.

[POR]

Dupree has played significantly more mts in his freshman year, than Milbourne did in his... a reminder that players do learn, and progress in time.

There is no doubt that Dupree is going to have to drop 10 lbs, and also get stronger... for as thick as he is, he gets pushed around a bit...

I think he will do it... in a little over 11mts per game, he is avg about 3pts, and 2.5 boards a game... extrapolate that by the increase in mts, and being the focal point in the post of this flex offense... with his quality hands... he is going to score double figures no problem next year... especially with the way he claims position in the blocks.

He also has 9 blocked shots.. and when you consider total mts played that is fairly solid...

He will need to improve getting his shot-off quicker, at the line, and rebounding positioning...

You also have to factor in the development of Osby... Osby is playing at a near all-ACC level right now...

Dupree had an encouraging stretch early in the year, but he had been dreadful since then. In the last 59 minutes that he has played, Dupree has 3 points (all free throws) and 8 rebounds (5 of which were against Holy Cross). In ACC play, in 44 minutes, he has 6 points and 4 boards and no assists.

Between Strawberry, Jones and Vasquez there were no minutes for Millbourne to get last year. However, the reports were that he was doing well in practice. Dupree is going to have to put in a huge amount of work to be in position to average double figures next year. Considering it is February and he still appears out of shape, his work ethic is certainly questionable. Lately Maryland has been fortunate that Gist and Boom has not been in more foul trouble. The play of the big men of the bench is probably the Terps biggest weakness.

[Lucky Jim]

Vs UCLA 4pts 3 boards 1 block 13mts

Vs Missouri 5pts 4 boards 17mts

Vs Lehigh 14pts (5 for 9) 5 boards 27mts

Vs Ill 10pts (5 for 7) 5 boards 1 block 18mts vs S. Pruitt

Vs VCU 3pts 6 boards 14mts

Vs American 4pts 5 boards 15mts




He has done nothing in ACC play because his mts have been cut in 1/2….. He showed in limited mts earlier in the year that he could be productive.

Would I like Gary to find more mts for him down the stretch? Of course…

Does it mean something that Gary has been less willing to play him? Of course.. My own interpretation is that Gary can see Dupree's conditioning is poor, and is not seeing what he needs to out of Dupree in practice… I'm sure that Gary looks on the floor and sees Osby playing at an All-ACC level and figures Osby needs more mts right now…

Is it fair to say Dupree showed nothing earlier in the year? No it is not… he had two games where he had more than 5 shots, and he scored in double figures both games…


Dupree is a 18 year old kid that is adjusting to college, whose confidence is probably a bit shaken… and will have to work to get stronger, and a bit lighter…

Gary will build him back-up a bit before the end of this year…

You can guess what his production figures to be, based on the mts he figures to receives and his existing skill-set.

You really come off as an apologist for Dupree. He's been bad. His "existing skill set" isn't that of an ACC-caliber starter. Yet. His conditioning is poor. And he's not particularly athletic.

He may yet end up being very good. But why argue that he's shown that he can be counted on when, in fact, the very opposite is true?

[Mackus]

Dupree has very clearly been passed by Shane Walker on the depth chart. I don't think he'll get much of a chance to get back up it.

Next year we'll likely be relying on him, but he's an afterthought for this year, our 4th option inside, and maybe not even that high when we have a lead and can just go to Neal for his defense.

[Sports Guy]

The bottom line on Dupree is this:

He has flopped as a freshman. The Terps aren't even playing him that much, if at all. He has poor conditioning.

But the talent is there...It is up to him whether he will be a contributor or not.

Either he gets in better shape and works hard at his game and becomes a solid guy or he never has the drive to do anything and just flops.

Its all up to him. I also wonder what his attitude is like...Does he feel like he should be playing? Does he like Gary?

Is there any chance he says, forget MD, i am transferring out of here because i am not playing?

[inmn]

The scrub games (Lehigh etc...) make his numbers look better because he was playing smaller guys or guys his own height with less bulk-not so in the ACC. This is something Osby struggled with last year. He's a freshman-who knows, he may turn out to be something, he certainly presents himself to the ball well and can catch and shoot. But he has been recruited over with Gilchrist and Bowman and lost minutes to Walker.

Everyone states conditioning as an issue-but can anyone tell me where this rumor is coming from? It wasn't a problem early in the year and shouldn't have become worse during the season. The big issue with Dupree is that he's not a shot blocker and struggles with blocking out (through out the scrub game numbers)-so he's not going to sub for Gist and he's not going to play if they want to press or need backside help. At this point Walker has a greater upside, runs better, is more active, influences more shots, appears to be a better rebounder. Forget about height, wingspan is more important in rebounding and blocking shots and Walker looks have much greater reach.

The issue at this point is that you can't burn 5 sholarships on Burney, Walker,
Gregory, Neal, and Dupree-because none of them are producing. The upside is they have a monster class coming in next year which will balance the roster.

[Ruzious]

The scrub games (Lehigh etc...)
Everyone states conditioning as an issue-but can anyone tell me where this rumor is coming from? It wasn't a problem early in the year and shouldn't have become worse during the season. The big issue with Dupree is that he's not a shot blocker and struggles with blocking out (through out the scrub game numbers)-so he's not going to sub for Gist and he's not going to play if they want to press or need backside help. At this point Walker has a greater upside, runs better, is more active, influences more shots, appears to be a better rebounder. Forget about height, wingspan is more important in rebounding and blocking shots and Walker looks have much greater reach.
That's true about wingspan, but strength is also very important - as we've seen with Osby. And Dupree has the body - at least - to be a strong rebounder.


The issue at this point is that you can't burn 5 sholarships on Burney, Walker,
Gregory, Neal, and Dupree-because none of them are producing. The upside is they have a monster class coming in next year which will balance the roster.
Valid points, but it's way too early to write all the guys off. And one of them is leaving after this season - otherwise, there would be no scholarship available for Bowman.

[inmn]

Ruz,

Good points as always, didn't mean to infer that they were totally wasted-just not producing this year. As you know any of these kids can develop as others have done in the past. Let's not lose sight of the fact that they are 19-20 years old, and really working for the first time in their life. As others have pointed out there is a huge jump between Fr and So years. Dupree was a top 75 concensus recruit so others saw things they liked in him.

[AgentOrange]

Good info from Don Markus of the Baltimore Sun:

Levi, Gaithersburg: What is the latest on Braxton Dupree? He was getting a lot of minutes, showed flashes of his talent, but seemed like he regressed to the point where he doesn't even get into ACC games.

Don Markus: With Dupree, it's a matter of conditioning and confidence. Or a lack thereof. The former Calvert Hall star showed some flashes early in the season, but he could rarely play more than three or four minutes at a time without getting winded. Also, unlike Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker, Dupree is a little too sensitive when getting an earful from his coach and immediately goes into a shell. That's OK for a turtle, but not a Terp.