This is the 2nd of a 3 part-series looking at 3 different 2009-10 scenarios for the Terps.

Part 2: What if Vasquez returns to MD, and Stephenson does not enroll with the University of Maryland?

Vasquez has up until June 15th to return to MD for his Senior season. I continue to believe he will. If Vasquez comes back to College Park, the Terps will be returning 10 players from a team that beat both the National Champion, and NationalRunner-up.

With Vasquez back, and without Stephenson; the Terp line-up would figure to look like this:

1 Bowie, Hayes
2 Vasquez, Tucker
3 Mosley, Gregory, Kim
4 Milbourne, Padgett
5 Williams, Burney, Goins

That team lacks the back-court athleticism necessary to be a Final Four team, but they would have the overall depth to be Elite 8 caliber. To be clear, I am not saying they would be one of the Nation’s Top 8 teams. I think they would be a 10-6 team in conference, and somewhere around a 4 to 6 seed entering the dance.

With the experience of this past year, and featuring 3 Seniors, and 3 Juniors; I think winning 3 NCAAT games would certainly be within the realm of capability for this team. There is enough talent and depth on that roster to be able to effectively rotate players and keep the team relatively fresh.

Like this past-season, MD’s lack of guard quicks would make the full-court pressure not quite as imposing as it could be. Still, having players like Gregory, Milbourne, Padgett, and Burney inthe front-court and ready to block-shots would help.

If Vasquez returns, there are going to be some questions that arise though. Every NBA front-office is telling him the same-thing; that if he is going to play in the League, it is going to be as a PG. With that knowledge, Vasquez is going to want the ball in his hands.

That will not be a tremendous problem, as he handled the ball plenty this past year out of the off-guard position. However, with Bowie and Hayes on the team, and needing mts… Vasquez will not get to monopolize theball.

If Vasquez is back, Tucker will continue to get mts, but will have to wait for his own Senior season to have the chance to shine. I would expect the 3pt shooting to be improved for the team.

When Neal was contributing to the offense, it was primarily from beyond the arc.Nobody was worried about him in the post. With Williams in the post,that should at least keep defenders honest, and not be able to be stretched beyond the arc guarding all of the Terps.

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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