Mr. Chris Knoche is heading into his 8th year as the Radio Analyst for the University of Maryland. Prior to that, Mr. Knoche spent 17 years with American University. Knoche played under Coach Williams, and later became the American Head-coach himself for 7 years (1991-1997).
Mr. Knoche was kind enough to answer a few questions from Baltimore Sports and Life about the up-coming Terp season.
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Andy Katz, and Mike DeCourcy have stated they expect to have Maryland in their pre-season Top 25. Dick Vitale did not have the Terps listed in his pre-season Top 40, and Gerry Ahern (Yahoo Sports) projected MD as being a 12 seed in the 2010 Dance.
My expectation is a 10-6 ACC team, that is somewhere around a 4-6 seed, that should be expected to advance to the Sweet 16.
What are your expectations heading into the season?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “I would certainly expect the Terps to find themselves in the upper tier of the league. I don’t think anybody associated with the program is necessarily unhappy with being out of Dickie V’s top 40. Dick is so big I’m not sure it’s even him that does his own top 40. Because the team will have to incorporate some young guys inside during the early part of the season, I think its rational to expect the team to be much better in March than it will be in November, which, after all, is the point!”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “With Vasquez coming back to College Park, MD has 10 players returning from last years team. As the former Head Coach of American University, you obviously saw players develop during their collegiate careers. While understanding that every player has to be personally responsible for working on their individual development, can you speak to the idea of why Terp fans should expect growth from those returning?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “As basketball players, most of these guys are in their formative years. They’re getting the best instruction they’ve ever had (and may ever have). When you combine that instruction with the way they’re working in the weight room and on the track it becomes reasonable to expect a really significant jump from many of them. I thought Dino Gregory was a completely different guy as a soph than he was as a freshman. The confidence you get from busting your tail in the offseason usually pays huge dividends as you approach the real season. The guys who didn’t make the commitment are found out early.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Cliff Tucker averaged 20 ppg in his two match-ups last season vs. the National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels. What does Tucker have to do, to be a more consistent scorer off the bench?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “Cliff might be the most natural scorer of anybody on the team, including Vasquez. I’ve always thought that one of the best things about GV is that he has a pretty short memory…he believes that regardless of what may have happened in the first 35 minutes of the game, he can make a play and win it in the last 5. I think needs to do a couple of things to be that difference making 6th man. First, embrace the role. Everybody wants to be a starter. That said, because of his skill set, Cliff can be a difference maker coming this year and it will almost certainly be off the bench. As a coach, if you can have an offensive spark plug jump off your bench and change the direction of a game, it is a huge advantage. We saw that in the UNC game. Second, back to the point about Vasquez, Cliff has to forget the fact that he may have missed his last 4 shots and that the game is down to a few possessions. Like a great cornerback in football, a shooter/scorer has to always forget what has happened before – its history- and concentrate on what is about to happen.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Landon Milbourne‘s numbers increased across the board last year. He had career highs in mts, FG%, FT%, Scoring, Rebounding, Blocks, and Steals. Still, he seemed to tire-out down the stretch, after banging on bigger bodies all year. With Gregory, and Padgett available off the bench to help at the 4, how much can that help Milbourne? “
Mr. Chris Knoche: “While a player would never admit it, I think statistics bear out the fact that most player will play at a higher level in 30-32 minutes of game time than they will at 36 or 37, though there are exceptions. You have to give Landon a lot of credit for what he accomplished last year. He learned to maximize the advantages he had over opposing big men. On the other hand, one of the reasons he wore down was probably because of all the banging he had to do with considerably bigger bodies. The incorporation of the young guys inside is probably critical to having a fresh Landon down the bench. There is no shortage of heart with this guy. I think he’s destined to have a big senior season. He deserves it!”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “It would appear that Bowie, Hayes, Vasquez, and Tucker will dominate minutes in the back-court, but that mts at the 3 behind Mosley are available for Jin-Soo Choi, if Gregory has to spend time in the front-court. Do you think the comparisons between Choi and former Duke Blue Devil Mike Dunleavy Jr. are accurate?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “The comparison with Mike Dunleavy Jr is an awful lot to put on a guy like Jin-Soo. First off, you can bank on the fact that Gregory will spend most of his time in the frontcourt. That will leave Jin-Soo in a very healthy competition with Mosley and Tucker for minutes at the 3. This might be the most important off-season that Jin-Soo has ever had as a basketball player. Remember, because of clearinghouse issues he was very late to the team last year and was at a real disadvantage by the time he started practicing. He really needs to spend some time in the weight room and it’ll help him out immeasurably. No doubt he’ll make a difference in some games this year, hopefully many. As for the Dunleavy thing, he has a way to go.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Adrian Bowie had a couple of very strong games in ACC play (@Miami, @FSU, UVA) before hitting a wall for most of the 2nd-half of the year. His game seemed to come-back to him in the Tournament. Do you expect him to significantly raise his FT, and 3pt shooting %’s this coming year?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “Adrian is one of those guys who had a really dramatic improvement in play between his freshman and sophomore seasons. One of the reasons he started ACC play so well is because of the hard work he put in last summer in improving his shot and overall offensive play. I’m not sure he’ll ever be a great shooter but he doesn’t have to be. If he improves as much heading into this season as he did last off-season, his shot will open up a lot opportunities for him to do what he does best – take it to the rim.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “As a big-man learning Gary Williams’ flex-offense, what will be the biggest adjustment to College ball for Jordan Williams Is expecting 8ppg, and 5 boards a game realistic?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “All I’ve ever seen of Jordan is the usual YouTube stuff that most folks have already seen. It can be almost impossible to offer up a good guess on how a player’s high school numbers will translate into college. I think I’ll decline the offer to guess and, hopefully, be pleasantly surprised if and when those numbers are exceeded.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “MD has the Maui Invitational (Chaminade, Cincinnati, Arizona, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Colorado, Vanderbilt), a road-game @Indiana in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, and Villanova in the BB&T Tournament. What do the Terps need to achieve prior to the start of ACC Conference play?”
Mr. Chris Knoche: “If you’re asking about the kind of record they would want, I’ll take the players approach on this one and say that I expect to win every game! That said, things happen. The competition in Maui is stiff, no doubt. Playing AT Indiana is no cake-walk, regardless of their situation. Villanova was a final four team last year and the Terps are playing them in a venue where they seem to struggle (Verizon Center). Certainly the record headed into conference play is important. I think every bit as important is HOW you’re playing headed into conference play. Are you getting contributions from mulitple sources? Is the effort in EVERY game where you want it to be? Have players accepted their roles (and in some cases, their lack of a role)? Building the fabric of the team before conference play can be every bit as important as building a solid record.”
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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.