With the brutal beating at the hands of Virgina Tech fresh on the mind, and a now ‘must win’, game vs. Clemson looming; here some quick hits on the Terps.
Topic 1: How many ACC teams will make the Tournament?
As of today, Ken Pomeroy has the ACC as the 4th ranked Conference. That places the ACC behind the Big Ten, the Big East, and the Big 12, but ahead of the Pac 10, Mountain West, SEC, and Atlantic 10. The expectation should still be 4-5 ACC teams will advance to the National Tournament.
Topic 2: Team dying for Gibbs / ’11-’12 Roster
Maryland is dying for the arrival of Sterling Gibbs as a PG capable of running the offense. It is my belief that Parker is going to start next season as the 3. If that is accurate, I’d like to see him getting as much time as possible now.
2011-12
1) Gibbs, Stoglin, Howard
2) Faust, Mosley
3) Parker, Hawk
4) Padgett, Pankey
5) Williams, Weijs
http://www.usabasketball.com/bios/gibbs_sterling.html
I would not worry so much about who I listed as starting, as it does not matter. As far as they are all going to play.
The bigger point is that at the 1 you will have 3 options between Stoglin, Howard, and Gibbs. Stoglin and Howard should be that much more advanced. If the reports of Gibbs’ handle, vision, and passing ability prove accurate; than I think he will be on the court late in games that are close. At a minimum he provides another option.
Coach Williams uses the 2 and 3 pretty interchangeably, but if you are talking about a pure SG, Faust figures to be the best option. Mosley has had a disappointing Jr season so far, but the year is not over. He still has time to change perceptions on this year, and another off-season to figure things out before his Senior year. Clearly with all of that experience, Williams will give him every opportunity. He is going to get plenty of minutes, will probably begin the year as a starter, and will either sink or swim.
Parker and Hawk are both going to play. I do not think Williams will go with Hawk getting starting minutes at the 4, but I do think he will play up there at times.
Padgett is going to get plenty of time at the 4, and MD is going to need Pankey to shake off 2 years of leg injuries to provide at least a few minutes next year.
There is barely anything to discuss about next year if Williams jumps, but assuming he returns, and the PG play improves, it is a deep roster. Another off-season of strength building will help Weijs as a reserve as well.
Topic 3: Harris, Jones, Leslie, and Ross
Maryland had a shot at each of these 4 with Ross obviously giving his verbal. The season has shown how much the Terps needed to land one of the 4.
Harris: 15.6 ppg, 7.4 boards
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97523
Jones: 18.5 ppg, 9 boards
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97672
Leslie: 11.2 ppg, 8 boards
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97506
Ross: 7.7 ppg, 36.1% from 3
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97119
Topic 4: Mosley’s Regression
The Junior Guard from Baltimore is struggling mightily from the offensive end. A former Top 60 National Recruit, the expectation was that Mosley would be able to provide more consistent offense this year as one of the focal points.
As a Sophomore, Mosley averaged 10.1 ppg on 6.9 Field Goal Attempts per game. Mosley shot 50.9% from the floor, made 38.9% from 3 (1.1 attempts per), and 81.1% from the line. He scored in double-figures 17 times, including 3 games with over 20 points (Villanova, NCST, and Clemson).
As a Junior, Mosley is averaging 8.2 ppg on 7.1 Field Goal Attempts per game. Mosley is shooting 43% from the floor, making 23.1% from 3 (1.4 attempts per), and 74.4% from the line. He has scored in double-figures 6 times, including 1 game with over 20 points (Seattle).
You can blame some of his offensive slump on not getting the looks he received last season with Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne on the floor; but part of his lack of production has to be owned by Mosley by himself.
It will be interesting to see if he gets the start tomorrow.
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