#14 NC State(14-2) @ Maryland(13-3)

[murph]

The two times Dez did take it to the rack, he missed a layup and a sure fire dunk. Not Dez's best night at all. He also looked poor on both 3 attempts when they were attempting to "bust the zone" down the stretch. Really would have liked to see Aronhalt do that, but they couldn't find him a good look.

Yea, the first miss...the reverse which was totally unnecessary was worse than the missed dunk IMO. I forget which coach said to always go for the dunk if your capable, because it is such a sure shot, the misses just make it look worse than it really is.....and I think that was the case with the dunk which ended up at half court (although I do think he tried to over emphasize and his re-working of his feet caused the miss)

My take away is this is a game we probably didn't deserve to win (the kids missed too many easy shots and Howard is not an offensive force (but Howard did a good job on Wood at the end)....however our defense continues to improve.

I really would like to see a more set lineup and less rotation, I know we are deep on the bench, but I think the constant in and out of players disrupts the rhythm of the players who are hitting and playing well.

Regardless, it was a great game to see....

[Oriole4Life]

Wooo!! Big one. We could've really won by more. Execution- as was mentioned more than once during the broadcast- could've been so much better. I counted at least 5 missed layups/dunks. More than a few forced shots. Seth Allen has incredible penetration skills but he forced a couple and took a couple shots early. He's young and has skills I'm done criticizing him for the year I feel like I've done that too much ha. So did Cleare and Mitchell. I feel they rebound incredible but need to work on their post games, although Cleare had his best game of the year imo at least that I've seen. And I liked seeing Howard with more confidence. If he has a wide open jumper I'm okay with him taking it, I know some might disagree with that. All in all Faust shot well, there was some good passing. Defense was very impressive. Happy with this win. I'm not discounting a tournament appearance, which I feel would do wonders for this young team. Oh and I love how Wells distributes, an overlooked facet of his game. His driving skills are impressive obviously. And yeah Len, those two free throws were important.

[murph]

Wooo!! Big one. We could've really won by more. Execution- as was mentioned more than once during the broadcast- could've been so much better. I counted at least 5 missed layups/dunks. More than a few forced shots. Seth Allen has incredible penetration skills but he forced a couple and took a couple shots early. He's young and has skills I'm done criticizing him for the year I feel like I've done that too much ha. So did Cleare and Mitchell. I feel they rebound incredible but need to work on their post games, although Cleare had his best game of the year imo at least that I've seen. And I liked seeing Howard with more confidence. If he has a wide open jumper I'm okay with him taking it, I know some might disagree with that. All in all Faust shot well, there was some good passing. Defense was very impressive. Happy with this win. I'm not discounting a tournament appearance, which I feel would do wonders for this young team. Oh and I love how Wells distributes, an overlooked facet of his game. His driving skills are impressive obviously. And yeah Len, those two free throws were important.

I agree and the late 3 from the side which he missed was a shot he had to take, but I just don't have much confidence in him making many, which is a shame. I was very encouraged his freshman year, maybe he will turn a corner after tonight. I loved Faust and Allen on the floor at the same time, man they are both quick!

[The Rick]

UNC is a very winnable game with how poor they've been playing, it will be a test though. I'd feel a lot better if we're 4-2 heading into the Duke game on the 26th.

[Tony-OH]

Yea, the first miss...the reverse which was totally unnecessary was worse than the missed dunk IMO. I forget which coach said to always go for the dunk if your capable, because it is such a sure shot, the misses just make it look worse than it really is.....and I think that was the case with the dunk which ended up at half court (although I do think he tried to over emphasize and his re-working of his feet caused the miss)

My take away is this is a game we probably didn't deserve to win (the kids missed too many easy shots and Howard is not an offensive force (but Howard did a good job on Wood at the end)....however our defense continues to improve.

I really would like to see a more set lineup and less rotation, I know we are deep on the bench, but I think the constant in and out of players disrupts the rhythm of the players who are hitting and playing well.

Regardless, it was a great game to see....

Huh? Maryland really didn't go too deep into their bench last night and this team is so young and inexperienced, I don't see how you can set a lineup and don't give guys a chance to get on the court. I think Turgeon has been getting a bad rap of late from some people over this and it's not warranted at all in my opinion. He self admitted that he moved guys in an out too much during the Florida State game but I didn't see that at all last night. Let's not start acting like Turgeon has no clue what he's doing with a rotation. He's doing just fine with a very young and inexperienced team that can struggle from game to game, or even half to half.

Besides who should not get playing time among:

PG: Howard and Allen

SG: Faust and Allen

SF: Dez and Layman

PF: Mitchell and Padgett

C: Len and Shaq

Padgett is the only guy who can be dropped from the rotation in my opinion but he's also a senior who's calming presences at times can be helpful. Add in Aronhalt when you need a guy who can pop 3s and that's 11 guys that you need to find time for with only two of them being more than a sophomore (Howard and Padgett).

It's not Turgeon's rotation that's the problem, it's the youthfulness and inexperience. I think Turgeon is doing a great job.

[Munson]

It was ugly, but a big win either way. If the Terps can come out of the next four games with at least a split, they would be looking good for the remainder of the season. The majority of the toughest conference games would be over.

[murph]

Huh? Maryland really didn't go too deep into their bench last night and this team is so young and inexperienced, I don't see how you can set a lineup and don't give guys a chance to get on the court. I think Turgeon has been getting a bad rap of late from some people over this and it's not warranted at all in my opinion. He self admitted that he moved guys in an out too much during the Florida State game but I didn't see that at all last night. Let's not start acting like Turgeon has no clue what he's doing with a rotation. He's doing just fine with a very young and inexperienced team that can struggle from game to game, or even half to half.

Besides who should not get playing time among:

PG: Howard and Allen

SG: Faust and Allen

SF: Dez and Layman

PF: Mitchell and Padgett

C: Len and Shaq

Padgett is the only guy who can be dropped from the rotation in my opinion but he's also a senior who's calming presences at times can be helpful. Add in Aronhalt when you need a guy who can pop 3s and that's 11 guys that you need to find time for with only two of them being more than a sophomore (Howard and Padgett).

It's not Turgeon's rotation that's the problem, it's the youthfulness and inexperience. I think Turgeon is doing a great job.

I hear you and the bolded is definitely more of an issue, agreed. I guess I am going off the 10-0 start and then 3 subs, then a 13-4 turn around, it seemed to early to pull the hot hands, but I understand a deep bench makes it tough not too....plus you should rest when you are ahead. I am not second guessing Turgeon as much as wanting the players who are feeling it to be able to continue to be on the floor a bit longer.

[Finisher]

Besides who should not get playing time among:

PG: Howard and Allen

SG: Faust and Allen

SF: Dez and Layman

PF: Mitchell and Padgett

C: Len and Shaq

If it were up to me, Howard would never see the court. He's horrendous. But then I can't stand guys who force shots and make needlessly dangerous passes. Howard is like Stoglin in that regard, except Stoglin could actually score. Notice we started Allen at point last night and we take the 12-2 lead.

And I'm sorry, but Len has a lot of room for improvement. I know he made the game winner, but he misses way too many point blank put backs. He also still isn't strong enough. He's clearly not ready for the next level.

You have to like the talent level though overall.

[clapdiddy]

If it were up to me, Howard would never see the court. He's horrendous. But then I can't stand guys who force shots and make needlessly dangerous passes. Howard is like Stoglin in that regard, except Stoglin could actually score. Notice we started Allen at point last night and we take the 12-2 lead.

And I'm sorry, but Len has a lot of room for improvement. I know he made the game winner, but he misses way too many point blank put backs. He also still isn't strong enough. He's clearly not ready for the next level.

You have to like the talent level though overall.

Unless there is huge improvement over the remainder of the season, I'd have to agree with you. You have to think that the Plumlees are going to give him fits.

[Tony-OH]

If it were up to me, Howard would never see the court. He's horrendous. But then I can't stand guys who force shots and make needlessly dangerous passes. Howard is like Stoglin in that regard, except Stoglin could actually score. Notice we started Allen at point last night and we take the 12-2 lead.

And I'm sorry, but Len has a lot of room for improvement. I know he made the game winner, but he misses way too many point blank put backs. He also still isn't strong enough. He's clearly not ready for the next level.

You have to like the talent level though overall.

I don't really disagree except the fact that Terps just don't have an effective guy running the point without Howard in there. He's a truly awful shooter, no doubt, but his turnover to assist ratio is pretty good and he can be effective when he's in his pass first mode. Allen is a much better player but can be just too erratic protecting the ball at this stage in his career. I would really like to see Allen at the two because Faust is just not very good overall either. When the Ravens are deep enough to have guys like Faust and Howard as 11-13 minute players they will be ready to take the next step.

As for Len, I agree. He's not close to being ready for the NBA yet.

[Brendan25]

Padgett is starting to irritate me.

[NewOwnerNeeded]

I wasn't able to see the game. I saw the ESPN highlights and I noticed that after Brown made the jumper to give NC State the lead, he started woofing at the fans. So I made the comment to a friend who is State fan how his team is classy as always. He made a comment back about Len shoving Leslie and how he should have been given a technical. I obviously had no idea what he was talking about. But if Len is showing some attitude, that would be awesome. Does anyone have any info on what actually happened, if anything did happen.

[Tony-OH]

I wasn't able to see the game. I saw the ESPN highlights and I noticed that after Brown made the jumper to give NC State the lead, he started woofing at the fans. So I made the comment to a friend who is State fan how his team is classy as always. He made a comment back about Len shoving Leslie and how he should have been given a technical. I obviously had no idea what he was talking about. But if Len is showing some attitude, that would be awesome. Does anyone have any info on what actually happened, if anything did happen.

I was at the game and didn't notice anything like that.

[The Rick]

I wasn't able to see the game. I saw the ESPN highlights and I noticed that after Brown made the jumper to give NC State the lead, he started woofing at the fans. So I made the comment to a friend who is State fan how his team is classy as always. He made a comment back about Len shoving Leslie and how he should have been given a technical. I obviously had no idea what he was talking about. But if Len is showing some attitude, that would be awesome. Does anyone have any info on what actually happened, if anything did happen.

I didn't see a Len shove, but I definitely saw the Brown doucheness.

[Danielos38]

I wasn't able to see the game. I saw the ESPN highlights and I noticed that after Brown made the jumper to give NC State the lead, he started woofing at the fans. So I made the comment to a friend who is State fan how his team is classy as always. He made a comment back about Len shoving Leslie and how he should have been given a technical. I obviously had no idea what he was talking about. But if Len is showing some attitude, that would be awesome. Does anyone have any info on what actually happened, if anything did happen.

I was in the 3rd row and I saw both of those things. Brown was yelling to the crowd, "shut the f up. You quiet now."

As for the Len thing, Len and an NC State player were getting tangled up as they were running down the court. Len gave him a little shove to get him off. Even looking at it from a neutral perspective, there is NO chance that was a technical foul. Only an NC State fan would call that a tech.