Matt Norlander covers College Basketball as a Senior Blogger for CBS Sports.

You can find Norlander’s work at:
http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/view/26283066?mcctag=Matt%20Norlander

You can find Norlander on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/#!/MattNorlander

Baltimore Sports and Life thanks Mr. Norlander for answering a few Terps questions.

Baltimore Sports and Life: “In an interview with Drew Cannon, from Basketball Prospectus; Cannon has Maryland finishing 7-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. That was with the assumption that Alex Len (discussed below) would be available for the Terps. Cannon expanded that it would not surprise him for the Terps to finish at the bottom, or the top of the Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, NCST, Miami, MD group.

Less optimistically, the ACC Media projected Maryland to finish 9th, and that was before Howard’s injury. Past UNC, and Duke – who both figure to be imposing – what are your general thoughts on the rest of the ACC? Who interests you the most?”

Norlander: “I’d go with Virginia Tech in terms of who the most interesting will be. Seth Greenberg always manages to coach his team into that uncomfortable area of uncertainty. No Malcolm Delaney this year means the team could lack a go-to scorer down the stretch. The ACC will probably be on the same level as it was last year, and Va. Tech had its run of issues. Yet, somehow I still think the Hokies find themselves in the first four in/out convo by March 5.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Are you forecasting a complete rebuilding year for MD, or do you see enough athleticism and talent on the roster where the Terps can compete? Competing as defined as a run at .500 in league play, and the potential for an at-large bid to the Tournament.”

Norlander: “Hate to go short here, but with Howard’s injury and Turgeon’s change in coaching style, it’s a complete rebuilding year. Terps fans get to see how the new regime unfolds, but expectations have to be tempered. Make the tournament and you can go bonkers.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Replacing Jordan Williams will obviously be difficult. In late August, the 7’1, 225 lb Ukrainian Olexiy ‘Alex’ Len arrived at Maryland. At the 2010 U18 European Championships, Len averaged 16 ppg, 11.4 boards, and 4.3 blocks. I don’t think any Maryland fans are expecting that level of production, but Len showed an abundance of athleticism at Maryland Madness. Even if that was just a scrimmage, he certainly looks like a guy who is capable of helping the front-court, and overall depth.

As of 10/31, Len’s case has been under review by the NCAA Eligibility Center for 62 days. My understanding is that the delay has been partly attributed to the NCAA waiting on documentation from the Ukraine. I’m puzzled as to why those documents could not be emailed, but getting past that – there seems to be belief from Maryland that Len will be declared eligible at some point. There are sites rumoring that Len will face a 4 game suspension. If that is accurate, Len would miss the opener against UNC Wilmington, and the three games at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Len has not been able to practice with the Terps since that Maryland Madness event October 14th. If Len was able to start practicing 11/21, do you have a sense of how long it might take to get him into the regular rotation? Should Terps fans keep their expectations with Len, to contributing rotation player?”

Norlander: “I don’t know the nitty gritty details of Len’s eligibility, but I do know there’s dispute over whether he gets eligible this year. The NCAA has stiff-armed a number of teams in recent years because of this nebulous overseas playing/compensation issue. Let’s assume he does get to play and gets on board closer to the end of November. Having read about Len’s skills and potential, I’d expect him to crack the starting lineup by Christmas, if not sooner. Turgeon’s got the option of going with a lot of different looks. And Len could be vital to the 2012-13 team, so why not give him a shot at a lot of minutes if he’s shown how good he can be?”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Beyond Len, the other three Maryland bigs are James Padgett, Berend Weijs, and Ashton Pankey. Each of them is a pretty strong athlete, capable of running the floor athletically, and getting off the ground. None of those three are expected to provide any consistent scoring. Pankey believes he can be a factor on the glass.  If these four (with Len) collectively combine to provide rebounding, and defense; can MD survive without a low-post offensive threat emerging?”

Norlander: “In this year’s ACC? Yes, but only against the bottom half. Maryland doesn’t stand much of a chance against Carolina and Florida State (who I’m particularly high on). The Terps will have such a different feel to them without Jordan Williams. It’s going to be interesting to see how their interior works without that threat of low-post scoring. Sort of like how Duke was—and still kind of is—with the Plumlees involved.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “With 9 scholarship players, it does not really matter who starts, as each are going to have to play significant minutes. The interesting question is how do use the talent that is there? Turgeon has talked about using a 4 guard alignment, and the players that are on the roster seem built to run. However, ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan wrote a piece in May (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/30825/maryland-hoops-is-about-to-hit-the-brakes) which used Ken Pomeroy’s database to compare the tempo difference of Turgeon at Texas A&M to Gary Williams at Maryland. Do you expect to see Maryland up and down the court, or do you think with the minimal depth that Turgeon will slow the ball down similar to his days with the Aggies?”

Norlander: “I gotta believe it to see it when Turgeons talks using four guards. He’ll be inclined to use the system and schemes that made him successful at A&M, but once you get a month into the season and you see the players you have, what kind of play they can sustain and who’s got the battery to go through March, things can change. This is why, ultimately, Maryland’s going to fall short of being highly competitive in the ACC. It’s very raw and is going to lose its steam come the conference season. And that’s OK. Turgeon’s recruiting like mad, and he’ll have to employ a bunch of tactics this year to know who can do what going forward for years two and three and four.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “One of those 9 scholarship players is Pe’Shon Howard, who has you mentioned is out for the next 10-12 weeks with a broken foot. When healthy, Howard is not going to wow anyone with his athleticism, but he is a strong interior passer, and was regularly knocking down open 3’s as last year ended. I thought Howard ran the offense better than Stoglin in the ½ court, but Stoglin is better at creating. What do you like about Howard, what needs to improve? If he is not able to be back in action early in ACC play, should he redshirt?”

Norlander: “Howard’s going to have to redshirt, I think. Sitting out nearly three months is too much time gone. He’ll have a lot of playing time to compete with next year, I suppose, but put yourself in a position where you can get a full season’s worth of action. What I most like about Howard is his savvy as a 1. He needs improvement on his jump shot, no question.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “In previous interviews with Evan Daniels (National Recruiting Analyst, Scout.com) and Paul Biancardi (National Recruiting Director, ESPN) they were both very enthusiastic about Freshman Nick Faust:

Evan Daniels: “Faust is a flat-out scorer. He started out primarily a shooter with a quick release and deep range. But over the course of the last year he’s added an ability to attack the basket and despite his wiry frame finish through contact. I’d like to see him develop his mid-range game and continue to get stronger, but it’s hard to not be impressed with the overall make up of Faust’s game.”

Paul Biancardi: “He plays the game with high energy along with the natural ability to score the basketball in various ways. He can finish a break at the rim or with the jumper. In the half court he will make 3′s coming off screens or spotting up from his teammates penetration. He has shown the pull-up jumper along with a solid basketball IQ. At 6’6 I like his size to see over defenders and rebounding the ball. He is only 17 so he is young of age. With a strong work ethic, while hitting the weight room he can reach his potential, the talent is all there. Which means he is an All-ACC type of player in time.”

Do you see Faust as a talent that can consistently put up points as a Freshman?”

Norlander: “I have to be honest: I have never seen Faust play in person. Often times, you’ll get folks talking about incoming freshmen, and so much of it can be B.S. There’s a solid crop of guys out there who’ve seen these kids play for three, four years—and they know what they’re talking about. But plenty don’t. I’ve just started having the opportunity of looking at these players, talking with coaches and scouts about them to get an idea of their games and potential. Faust I haven’t seen yet, so I’ve gotta abstain from the question. I do suspect he’ll get his chances this year, though.”

Baltimore Sports and Life:SI’s Luke Winn recently wrote an article (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/luke_winn/08/10/sophomore.breakouts/index.html) which labeled Terrell Stoglin as the Sophomore most likely to breakout Nationally. As Winn pointed out, Stoglin had a stretch of 5 conference games in February where he averaged 23 ppg. For the year, he shot 46% from the floor, 36% from 3, 83% from the line, averaging 11.4 ppg for the year. The 6’1, 185 lb guard was a 2x ACC Rookie of the Week, and named to the ACC All-Freshman team. The negative aspect of his play, was that he often made poor decisions with the ball in his hands. For example, Stoglin never met a shot he didn’t like, which can be good and bad. I saw a guy that looked around and saw teammates that were not capable of putting the ball in the basket, and took the responsibility to score. I’m looking to see improvement from him playing off the ball, defensively, and getting his teammates involved. Do you think it is realistic to expect him to score in the high teens this year?”

Norlander: “High teens? Yes. But that could be a bad thing for Maryland. In terms of production, it’s completely possible that if Stoglin is averaging 18.5 points per game this season, the Terps are a 14-win team by the end of the year. Stoglin would be much better served to get that average around 14 per game, swipe a couple of balls and still distribute assists on 20 percent of his possessions.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “With the minutes available, combined with the athleticism that made him a Top 60 recruit coming into College Park, Sophomore SF Mychal Parker is my pick as the Terp that really emerges this coming year. Thoughts on him?”

Norlander: “At his best, to make a comparison with Turgeon, Parker can be a poor man’s Khris Middleton for Maryland this year.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Mosley had a poor Junior year. There is no getting around that. He lacked confidence and it showed as his numbers decreased across the board from a very solid Sophomore season. Most of the Analysts we have spoken to point to the difference of being a 4th or 5th option as a Sophomore, to having the burden of trying to help carry the team as a Junior. Do you think with most people not expecting much from the Terps this year that helps him relax, and again find his game?”

Norlander: “You’d think, but there are no guarantees. Toss in the new coach and Mosley’s probably got the widest range of good-to-bad that lies ahead. I think he falls in the middle somewhere, with a better season than last year, but doesn’t quite touch that ’09-10 season.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Out of Conference, Maryland has Alabama in the 1st round in Puerto Rico, Wichita State or Colorado on Day 2, and Purdue, Temple, Iona, and Western Michigan on the other side of the bracket.

The Terps will host Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten challenge, face Notre Dame in the BB&T Classic, and travel to Philadelphia for a January 21st game against Temple (potentially facing the Owls for a second time).

If MD can get two wins in Puerto Rico (clearly a difficult task if MD only has 7 scholarship players playing), and take two of three from Illinois, Notre Dame, and Temple; do you agree that the Terps would have a solid OOC resume?  Does that seem realistically obtainable to you?

Of the other OOC games vs. UNC Wilmington, Florida Gulf Coast, Mount St. Mary’s, FIU, Radford, Albany, Samford, and Cornell – do you see Wilmington as the biggest threat?”

Norlander: “I think the non-con is OK. It’s what Turgeons should have done for this team, so long as it had Howard. Without him, it gets tougher and tougher. This is an uphill climb I don’t think the team can overcome this year. But you’re Maryland—you should be scheduling tough games every season. If they get two or three good wins, yeah, it’ll be huge for them. But getting two out of three against Illinois, Notre Dame and Temple probably won’t happen.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Syracuse and Pittsburgh have agreed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as the 13th and 14th schools. Whenever they begin play within the league, the ACC will again assume the position as the premier basketball conference. ACC Commissioner John Swofford has been clear in his comments that the ACC is ‘comfortable’ with 14 teams. Would you advocate to Swofford that the ACC should also add Connecticut, and a 16th? (Rutgers, other?)”

Norlander: “Absolutely. Get it to 16 and essentially become what the Big East used to be. Rutgers doesn’t matter; it will make the tournament once every five seasons, if that, if it goes to the ACC. But UConn’s a huge fish. You bring them on, and you’ve got five of the 10 most important basketball schools in the nation. Or best basketball jobs—however you want to phrase it. UConn wants in. The ACC is the one pumping the brakes right now, because I don’t think it wants 16 until it sees it as a necessary, vital piece to complete the football puzzle. (Which UConn doesn’t play into at all.)”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “When there were 9 schools in the ACC, each team would play a home-and-home with the other 8 universities.

If the ACC were to add UConn, and Rutgers, you could have natural North and South divisions for football, which I think could also be carried over to basketball.

ACC North: BC, UConn, ‘Cuse, Pitt, Rutgers, Maryland, Virginia, VTech
ACC South: UNC, Duke, Wake, NCST, Clemson, GaTech, FSU, Miami

With hoops, I think it would be important for the conference schedule to increase. You would want to play home-and-home series against your division, and some games against the other division. While it would be unlikely for the league’s Coaches to agree to up the conference schedule from 16 to 22 games, I think that would be ideal. (2 games vs. each of your 7 divisional opponents = 14 games, + 1 game each vs. the other division.)

With those 22 games on the schedule, you could then eliminate the hardest 5 or 6 games on the OOC schedule. Do you think the league’s Coaches would ever go for that?”

Norlander: “Not. A. Chance. They’d go as high as 18.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “We are not one game into the 2011-12 season, but many Terps fans are extremely excited about the prospects for Maryland starting with ’12-’13.

2012-2013 Roster as of today:
Guards: Stoglin (Jr), Howard (Jr), Faust (Soph), Allen (Freshman)
SF: Parker (Jr), Layman (Freshman)
Bigs: Padgett (Sr), Pankey (Jr),  Len (Soph), Cleare (Freshman)

Allen will give MD another capable PG, Layman is a SF, that is a Top 50ish player in ’12 Class, and Cleare is a Center that is a Top 40 player.

Should the Terps also add a Top PF, do you see the makings of a National Contender?”

Norlander: “With what Turgeon and his staff have done, I see an ACC contender, so that means a national contender, too, sure. It’s going to take a few years before fan expectations can be at the really high level, but no one can deny that Turgeon’s doing things in recruiting that fans have been clamoring for, for nearly a decade.”

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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