@Nebraska

[Ooooooohhhh!!!!]

If this team doesn't get upset in the tourney I'll be shocked.

Why would you be shocked? They play these close games and win almost all of them.

There can be complaints about effort, depth, and coaching X's and O's, but this is a very good team. There may not be a better starting five in the country. Their defense is excellent all around, they get to the rim, they can hit the three, and they shoot free throws well.

[Tony-OH]

Why would you be shocked? They play these close games and win almost all of them.

There can be complaints about effort, depth, and coaching X's and O's, but this is a very good team. There may not be a better starting five in the country. Their defense is excellent all around, they get to the rim, they can hit the three, and they shoot free throws well.

The Terps have all the potential in the world to beat anybody on any night, and I like the fact that they've learned how to win when they don't play well, my only problem is that this is starting to become more and more the norm and if that continues it will catch up to them. They normally play good defense, but they dont particularly rebound well on contested rebounds and if a team gets hot they don't make many adjustments to cool them off. Basically the Terps have been lucky teams have shot so poorly against them, and its not always because of the defense. Last night the Terps towered over Nebraska so they had a block shot a thon, good for them, but it doesn't mask the fact that this team just can't put inferior teams away. Eventually they are going to run into a team that gets hot and their constant turnovers, long scoring dry spells, and lack of contested rebounding will cost them. This team is the most maddening 4th ranked team I've ever watcheed. Way too much talent to play like this night in and night out. Remember, this kind of performance has become the norm, not the outlier. If this was an occasional performance I'd be fine, but its too consistent to just shrug off or make excuses. I'd like the team to walk on to the court and actually look a top 5 team once in awhile. Not squeak out wins against .500 teams.

[SouthRider]

Does anyone think Nebraska is a tournament team? Come March the competition is going to get better. With the Terps' level of play I see them squeaking by some team to get to the sweet sixteen, but then it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that is as far as they get. If that happens it will be a bitter end to what should have been the best Terps team since 2002.

[Hallas]

The Terps have all the potential in the world to beat anybody on any night, and I like the fact that they've learned how to win when they don't play well, my only problem is that this is starting to become more and more the norm and if that continues it will catch up to them. They normally play good defense, but they dont particularly rebound well on contested rebounds and if a team gets hot they don't make many adjustments to cool them off. Basically the Terps have been lucky teams have shot so poorly against them, and its not always because of the defense. Last night the Terps towered over Nebraska so they had a block shot a thon, good for them, but it doesn't mask the fact that this team just can't put inferior teams away. Eventually they are going to run into a team that gets hot and their constant turnovers, long scoring dry spells, and lack of contested rebounding will cost them. This team is the most maddening 4th ranked team I've ever watcheed. Way too much talent to play like this night in and night out. Remember, this kind of performance has become the norm, not the outlier. If this was an occasion performance I'd be fine, but its too consistent to just shrug off or make excuses. I'd like the team to walk on to the court and actually look a top 5 team once in awhile. Not squeak out wins against .500 teams.

Among the current top 10 in CBB, the only ones without a bad loss are Villanova, Oklahoma, and UMD. I can't imagine what your reaction would have been if you were a UNC fan watching that Dayton game. Or an MSU fan watching their Nebraska game.

Would you rather have 19 wins but with a bigger margin of victory?

[Satyr3206]

Among the current top 10 in CBB, the only ones without a bad loss are Villanova, Oklahoma, and UMD. I can't imagine what your reaction would have been if you were a UNC fan watching that Dayton game. Or an MSU fan watching their Nebraska game.

Would you rather have 19 wins but with a bigger margin of victory?

I can't speak for Tony but my thoughts about this team are similar. Tons of talent but they play dumb sometimes. At other times the show a lack of effort (rebounding). Turgeon isn't very good at game planning or adjusting. I love the Terps, but this team shouldn't struggle against teams like Nebraska.

[ChuckS]

Among the current top 10 in CBB, the only ones without a bad loss are Villanova, Oklahoma, and UMD. I can't imagine what your reaction would have been if you were a UNC fan watching that Dayton game. Or an MSU fan watching their Nebraska game.

Would you rather have 19 wins but with a bigger margin of victory?

Exactly. The landscape around college basketball is not what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Expectations of dominant play game in and game out are unreasonable. We have played as well as any team in the country. The interior defense was great yesterday. We had something like 13 blocked shots. Nebraska played out of their mind and we still won the game.

I'm enjoying the ride. It's possible that none of the starting five will be back next year and we will be starting from scratch. Melo is definitely gone and likely Stone and Carter too. Holding out hope that one of Stone or Carter comes back. We have two four star guards coming in (PG and SG) so a returning low post presence could be huge to compliment them.

[ArtVanDelay]

Exactly. The landscape around college basketball is not what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Expectations of dominant play game in and game out are unreasonable. We have played as well as any team in the country. The interior defense was great yesterday. We had something like 13 blocked shots. Nebraska played out of their mind and we still won the game.

I'm enjoying the ride. It's possible that none of the starting five will be back next year and we will be starting from scratch. Melo is definitely gone and likely Stone and Carter too. Holding out hope that one of Stone or Carter comes back. We have two four star guards coming in (PG and SG) so a returning low post presence could be huge to compliment them.

Carter will definitely be back.

[ChuckS]

Carter will definitely be back.

I hope so. Some guys choose to leave even when they are projected to be taken in the second round. Or not drafted at all (Gilchrist, Stoglin).

NBADraft.net has Stone going 11th overall now (to Washington) so I agree, he's almost definitely bye bye. His offensive game is already there from a pro scouting standpoint but needs a lot of work defensively and on the boards. Trimble is still projected to be a mid to late first round pick but I don't see his stock getting higher than it already is by staying another year, so he's gone.

So we likely lose four starters. Possible lineup next season:

PG Anthony Cowan - Fr.

SG Dion Wiley - So.

SF Jared Nickens - Jr.

PF Robert Carter - Sr.

C Damonte Dodd - Sr.

Bench:

G Kevin Huerter Fr. (lights out shooter)

F/C Michal Cekovsky Jr.

(Scholarship TBD)

(Scholarship TBD)

We have an offer out to Josh Jackson. Small Forward out of Michigan and third ranked high school player in the country by ESPN. He's a long shot to commit, but we did land Stone this past year so you never know.

Would be nice to have a proven scorer (Guard) coming back. That will be the biggest question mark going into the season.

[ArtVanDelay]

I hope so. Some guys choose to leave even when they are projected to be taken in the second round. Or not drafted at all (Gilchrist, Stoglin).

NBADraft.net has Stone going 11th overall now (to Washington) so I agree, he's almost definitely bye bye. His offensive game is already there from a pro scouting standpoint but needs a lot of work defensively and on the boards. Trimble is still projected to be a mid to late first round pick but I don't see his stock getting higher than it already is by staying another year, so he's gone.

So we likely lose four starters. Possible lineup next season:

PG Anthony Cowan - Fr.

SG Dion Wiley - So.

SF Jared Nickens - Jr.

PF Robert Carter - Sr.

C Damonte Dodd - Sr.

Bench:

G Kevin Huerter Fr. (lights out shooter)

F/C Michal Cekovsky Jr.

(Scholarship TBD)

(Scholarship TBD)

We have an offer out to Josh Jackson. Small Forward out of Michigan and third ranked high school player in the country by ESPN. He's a long shot to commit, but we did land Stone this past year so you never know.

Would be nice to have a proven scorer (Guard) coming back. That will be the biggest question mark going into the season.

That still looks like a pretty good team. Top 15ish, probably. I think Nickens is going to be a very good player at some point, and I like Wiley a lot. If we get Josh Jackson then we'll be pre-season top 5 again.

[ChuckS]

That still looks like a pretty good team. Top 15ish, probably. I think Nickens is going to be a very good player at some point, and I like Wiley a lot. If we get Josh Jackson then we'll be pre-season top 5 again.

Wiley is still a question mark IMO. He didn't get to play much his freshman year and never seemed real comfortable in the offense when he had the ball in his hands. Got to like his upside as an overall player a little more than Nickens though. I really think Nickens is a one-dimensional player (three point shooter) so if Huerter or someone else impresses they could definitely move Nickens back to sixth man. Wouldn't be surprised to see us add a transfer or international player. That has been Turgeon's MO.

[Finisher]

Wiley is still a question mark IMO.

Yeah, people keep acting like Wiley is a great loss. In reality he'd likely be buried on the bench, probably another non factor.

Turgeon will do what he does best: find more guys. Not too concerned, although losing Trimble (probably slightly greater than 50-50) will obviously be the huge loss.

[Ruzious]

Yeah, people keep acting like Wiley is a great loss. In reality he'd likely be buried on the bench, probably another non factor.

Turgeon will do what he does best: find more guys. Not too concerned, although losing Trimble (probably slightly greater than 50-50) will obviously be the huge loss.

Turgeon also said that Wiley had won the starting shooting guard position.

Going into February - getting close to the tournament, it's time that both Carter and Stone are the 2 guys up front. Dodd no longer has to be playing to convince Stone to play defense. It's time to get serious, and play the studs - and Stone will be one of their studs - playing over 30 minutes a game finally - come tournament time. Getting 8 blocks and 10 boards says he's ready.