Cameron Tonight!

[Mackus]

What a fantastic game. To me, the most impressive thing about the way we've played over this 6 game stretch is just how Maryland has completely owned the last 5-8 minutes of every game. Almost every one of these wins was tight with ~5 minutes to play, and Maryland's made the plays every time.

Specficially about last night, obviously great games from just about everybody, but particularly MJ, DJ, and Vasquez. Those guys were all unreal. Greivis a rebound away from a triple-double? I can't ever remember a MD player getting a triple-double.

Duke played pretty well too. Paulus was the best i've ever seen him. Henderson had flashes and Nelson played very well. McRoberts was a ghost again. He does less with more talent than almost any player in the NCAA. I got pretty nervous when Duke started coming back, but it was mostly due to some really stupid passes on several straight possessions by Hayes and Vasquez. Once we settled down, Maryland took back over. The 3 by Strawberry was probably the biggest shot of the game.

As far as the refs go, which way too many people were harping on, they were terrible, but they weren't terrible just towards us. They missed lots of calls both ways, and then called lots of ticky-tack fouls. They were just very inconsistent, and, my personal pet-peeve, there were several situations where a call needed to be either (for example) a foul on MD or out of bounds on Duke, but to sort of hedge their bets, they'd call out of bounds on MD. Awful officiating the whole way through, but not neccesarily to anyone's benefit (except McRoberts and Ibekwe, who both should have had 8 fouls at least). I watched the entire game with my Duke-fan/alum roomate, and he agreed with me completely on the refs.

I definitely agree with Beaner as well about Gary being a much better in-game coach than K. My biggest criticisms of K was at the end of the game. Does he have simply no concept of what an offense-defense substitution is? He's got guys in foul trouble in at the end of games to foul every time they are down. And I still go back to the first Md/Duke game this year when K gave up with 1:30 to play and MD up 10. I'd have been livid if I was a Duke fan in that situation.

[EddieO's21]

The committee doesn't look at the rankings. NOT. AT. ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They use RPI, strength of schedule, and road wins. But they do not care one teensy weensy millimeter of a whim what a team's ranking is. It's not a blunt instrument. Just look at Gonzaga, repeatedly a few years ago, for evidence. The rankings mean nothing. Wins mean everything. Win and you take care of everything.

I just go by what people have said over the years, thats all...I tend to trust people in that position. Am I mis-guided, quite possible. That is just what has been said by analysts in the past

[doggiedogma]

Wow! This team has done a total 180 from three weeks ago! I am stunned by the fact that the upperclassmen have FINALLY started to play like they know what the game of basketball is all about. It has taken 3 plus years for Jones, Ibekwe, Gist, Strawberry to get it ALL together, but better late than never!

I have been very impressed with Mike Jones play the past two weeks. he is finally showing/playing like a complete baller, not just a spot up 3 point specialist. He is finally playing defense and rebounding, and playing SMART! Ibekwe has been hitting his free throws in the most clutch of times, WOW! Ibekwe still makes alot of stupid fouls, but his rebounding has improved as well as his passing. His shot selection has also been a little better. Gist has been The Man inside. He has really steped up his play, and his outside shot has helped big time! Strawberry has taken his game to another level these past two weeks. He is hitting the outside jumper with consistency and this has been huge!

At the beginning of this season I said that Hayes was going to have to be a scorer for this team to win because he was the starting PG. I Knew that the our PG was going to have to score in order for the Terps to play well. Hayes has since then taken a backup role and Vasquez has been the starting PG. Vasquez has been the scorer at PG that Gary needed and everything else has fallen into place.

Everyone finally knows their role and seems to be happy to play their role and allow the team to come first. This is what was missing the past two years and is a key ingredient for a winning team.

Go terps and Gary for coach of the year:p

[scarey1999]

I definitely agree with Beaner as well about Gary being a much better in-game coach than K. My biggest criticisms of K was at the end of the game. Does he have simply no concept of what an offense-defense substitution is? He's got guys in foul trouble in at the end of games to foul every time they are down. And I still go back to the first Md/Duke game this year when K gave up with 1:30 to play and MD up 10. I'd have been livid if I was a Duke fan in that situation.

My favorite part is how he just sits on the bench with that blank stare look at the end of games when his team is getting beaten. Almost like he has given up because he is so disgusted with losing, he has forgotten that he is still their coach

[Dr. FLK]

My favorite part is how he just sits on the bench with that blank stare look at the end of games when his team is getting beaten. Almost like he has given up because he is so disgusted with losing, he has forgotten that he is still their coach

I noticed that as well. It seemed like he went into "pout mode" with plenty of time left in the game. That was very odd to me.

[Sports Guy]

My favorite part is how he just sits on the bench with that blank stare look at the end of games when his team is getting beaten. Almost like he has given up because he is so disgusted with losing, he has forgotten that he is still their coach

Its called frustration. The stupid plays they were making at the end of the game has to frustrate him. Closing games has been their issue all year long. If they were better at closing out games, they would be fighting for first place in the ACC and a #2 or maybe even #1 seed in the big dance.

I think, at some point, when you see your team constantly making stupid decision after stupid decision, it wears on you.

Duke didn't play a terrible game last night by any means. MD was the better team last night and they have been the better team the last month.

But still, it has to get the point where, as a coach, you get really bothered by watching your players just throw away the game and do dumb things time after time.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Its called frustration. The stupid plays they were making at the end of the game has to frustrate him. Closing games has been their issue all year long. If they were better at closing out games, they would be fighting for first place in the ACC and a #2 or maybe even #1 seed in the big dance.

I think, at some point, when you see your team constantly making stupid decision after stupid decision, it wears on you.

Duke didn't play a terrible game last night by any means. MD was the better team last night and they have been the better team the last month.

But still, it has to get the point where, as a coach, you get really bothered by watching your players just throw away the game and do dumb things time after time.

He's done that any time dook has lost a game, even when they were the #1 team in the country. He sits there and just stares.

[doggiedogma]

I think, at some point, when you see your team constantly making stupid decision after stupid decision, it wears on you.

Duke didn't play a terrible game last night by any means. MD was the better team last night and they have been the better team the last month.

But still, it has to get the point where, as a coach, you get really bothered by watching your players just throw away the game and do dumb things time after time.

Gary knows a thing or 200 about players doing dumb things time after time . I'm glad to see coach K.'s players doing bonehead plays. I never doubted Gary's coaching, I always knew it was the players not learning from their mistakes. Glad to see Duke gets their fair share of slow learners. Gary's team has more heart and passion right now than any team in the ACC, and that can make up for any athletic deficiency in your team. See George Mason last year.

I love seeing coach K. staring vacantly off into the distance LOL

[Mashed Potatoes]

What a bunch of bs. When building a lead, you are not in a desperate, frantic mode. You are when down alot.

It takes alot more out of you emotionally to come back from a huge lead.

Neither of us are budging here. I know that I play just as hard all game regardless of the score. Every big comeback I've been involved in resulted in me being even more energized because of the accomplishment and momentum. Last night I conducted an informal study to see if other people felt the same way. I asked lacrosse, football, and basketball players at our school if they exerted more physical or emotional effort in a big comeback. Their answers were 100% in agreement with me. That probably doesn't mean much to you because you don't know these people, but it's more meaningful than talking heads who need to fill up airtime. I've never met an athlete who became emotionally drained mid game.

Now in regards to the fantastic game last night...we're simply a better team.

1. McRoberts will never succeed in the NBA. He lacks the athleticism. At best he could have a Luke Walton type career. For his sake hopefully the hype that made him overrated will also get him drafted high.

2. When Mike Jones gets involved early we're a tough team to beat because we can score in half court sets as well as fast breaks.

3. Ibekwe began the season as our leader on offense, but all he needs to do is rebound and block shots for us to be succesful.

4. Boom looks better every single game, he's a pleasure to watch on the boards.

5. DJ has taken control of the team. It's a shame he had injury troubles or he might have realized his potential earlier.

6. Eric Hayes is not very good. We all assumed he would be a Steve Blake type player since he was a tall white point guard, but he's no Steve Blake. He's not a great passer, he's an inferior athlete in comparison to ACC guards, he makes poor decisions with the ball and picks up his dribble too early. Now he's just a freshmen and I like his jump shot a lot, but right now Greg Paulus is a better player, and that makes me want to vomit.

7. Duke is not our rival. We pwn them.

[JohnD]

6. Eric Hayes is not very good. We all assumed he would be a Steve Blake type player since he was a tall white point guard, but he's no Steve Blake. He's not a great passer, he's an inferior athlete in comparison to ACC guards, he makes poor decisions with the ball and picks up his dribble too early. Now he's just a freshmen and I like his jump shot a lot, but right now Greg Paulus is a better player, and that makes me want to vomit.

Everything except this was more or less right. This though? This is so far off the mark I can not even comprehend how you put this in writing. He's no Blake yet, but to say he makes bad passes and is not good is silly. He's not playing his best ball right now, but most of the year he was far and away the better PG. That's changed of late, but it has not been par for the course all year.

[scarey1999]

Its called frustration. The stupid plays they were making at the end of the game has to frustrate him. Closing games has been their issue all year long. If they were better at closing out games, they would be fighting for first place in the ACC and a #2 or maybe even #1 seed in the big dance.

I think, at some point, when you see your team constantly making stupid decision after stupid decision, it wears on you.

Duke didn't play a terrible game last night by any means. MD was the better team last night and they have been the better team the last month.

But still, it has to get the point where, as a coach, you get really bothered by watching your players just throw away the game and do dumb things time after time.

Was it that Duke was making stupid plays, or that the Terps fine play made them look stupid? Just kidding.

I did expect Coach K to have his team better prepared for the game as far as execution especially on the offensive end. They got a lot of open looks that just didn't fall, but it seemed to me there was no real strategy or play calling that made sense within the game flow. Gary's flex cut offense was on full display last night for sure.

Either way I think K will have them geared up in time for the big dance. Duke is just a talented as about any other team in the uber-competitive ACC and has a just as good a shot to win against a team on any given night. Well, all except for the Terps!

[Mackus]

6. Eric Hayes is not very good. We all assumed he would be a Steve Blake type player since he was a tall white point guard, but he's no Steve Blake. He's not a great passer, he's an inferior athlete in comparison to ACC guards, he makes poor decisions with the ball and picks up his dribble too early. Now he's just a freshmen and I like his jump shot a lot, but right now Greg Paulus is a better player, and that makes me want to vomit.

Woah, I was with you until here, but this is just an awful, awful description of Hayes.

He's a terrific passer, a very good shooter, and a strong ball-handler. Is he great every night? No, of course not, he's a freshman. He had a particularly rough night last night. But he's played very well all season. He hasn't made the progress that Blake did his freshman season, buts thats because he's splitting time with Vasquez at the point. Blake was the guy his freshman year, and did a great job, but he made a lot fo the same mistakes Hayes is making. He learned a bit quicker, but its mostly because he had to, Hayes is progressing just fine.

And why is it bad that Paulus is better right now? Paulus has improved a lot this year, and he's clearly Duke's best player right now.

[doggiedogma]

Here is all you need to know about last night's win:http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=810669''>http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=810669' rel="external nofollow">

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=810669

[Sports Guy]

Here is all you need to know about last night's win:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=810669

K looked like he had alot to say to Gary after the game as well.

You can tell he is impressed by the Terps.

There have been 2 teams, over the past 8 years or so, that have handled Duke at a pretty good rate...MD and UCONN. Both are built very similarly. Usually big, athletic teams with very good guard play.

Usually that means a bad matchup for Duke.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Everything except this was more or less right. This though? This is so far off the mark I can not even comprehend how you put this in writing. He's no Blake yet, but to say he makes bad passes and is not good is silly. He's not playing his best ball right now, but most of the year he was far and away the better PG. That's changed of late, but it has not been par for the course all year.

You're right I got carried away. I was drunk last night and he had a bad game, and that stuck in my head. Since we've elevated our game I've elevated my expectations, so I'm hyper critical of the team and he's the only one who didn't play well.

Woah, I was with you until here, but this is just an awful, awful description of Hayes.

He's a terrific passer, a very good shooter, and a strong ball-handler. Is he great every night? No, of course not, he's a freshman. He had a particularly rough night last night. But he's played very well all season. He hasn't made the progress that Blake did his freshman season, buts thats because he's splitting time with Vasquez at the point. Blake was the guy his freshman year, and did a great job, but he made a lot fo the same mistakes Hayes is making. He learned a bit quicker, but its mostly because he had to, Hayes is progressing just fine.

And why is it bad that Paulus is better right now? Paulus has improved a lot this year, and he's clearly Duke's best player right now.

I was on the same page as you because that was Eric's bio coming out of high school. The more I watch the less impressed I am with his passing. I maintain that he's not a great distributor for an ACC point guard and picks up his dribble far too early putting him in bad situations. I also think no matter how much he improves he's going to have trouble against the more athletic blue chippers in our conference. It wasn't just last night I've seen it all season.

I'm holding him to a high standard because I see guys like Ty Lawson be great immediately as a freshman. That's the reality of our conference. I'm glad he's on our team and I don't mind him running the point, but I'd prefer Jai Lucas next year with Hayes coming off the bench.