February 29, 2004
5 problems with the Md. Terps
A lot of people wonder what has happened in the falloff since the 2002 national championship. Here's a list of five problems I've noticed.
(1) I believe my brother Jim is correct is saying that the current crop of sophomores has failed to develop on a pace commensurate with that shown by Juan Dixon, Lonnie Baxter and others of the national champions during their careers at Maryland.
Also, it is unbearable to watch them:
(2) miss free throws.
(3) go up with a weak effort in the paint, fail to finish, and then miss their free throws. Did any of these guys ever play on the playground, learning to power to the rim through a forest of arms and finish the shot?
(4) leave opponents' marquee sharp-shooters (think J.J. Redick) unmarked for three point attempts.
(5) and mismanage the fast break.
If John Gilchrist takes the ball in one more time for an offensive foul or block, instead of dishing to a wide-open teammate, I think I will scream.
Gary Williams needs to find some way to get McCray and Gilchrist spending less time working on their tattoos and more on the practice court learning how to defend and how to weave on the break. Maybe this group needs to watch some old Lakers games on ESPN Classics.
Generally I see them up close only during their non-ACC late December meetings with local teams. Even in these cakewalks, however, it's been clear however that even up against teams such as Wagner that this group had trouble penetrating defenses of below-average teams, let alone the Dukes and Wake Forests.
I think we can add Nik Caner-Medley to the list of problems. He has ability, but he doesn't think out there, and he makes a lot of dumb mistakes. Also, one does not need to be watching the game to know when Caner-Medley has shot the ball. The "clink" from the rim is loud and clear.
I think another problem is that Maryland plays terrible team defense. Once an opposing player gets past his Maryland defender, that player usually has a clear path to the basket. There is almost no helping out.
And, of course, Maryland's shooting is godawful. They can't shoot from the field. They can't shoot from the 3-point arc. They can't shoot from the foul line.
Very good point, Harry -- raises the general issue of how few basketball players can shoot, at all. They can dunk, they can launch the three from behind the screen, but actually make a jump shot? A lost art for many.