Another year of Maryland Basketball has rolled around and there are a few different outlooks on it. Many experts have Maryland cruzing into the NCAAs, but others see the depth and inexperiance as a problem.
Maryland is coming off a strong run into the postseason last year, only to be haulted by A.J. Graves and his Butler squad. Before that though, Maryland had won 8 of 9 including a win over UNC and two wins against the hated Dukies, the first time that had been accomplished in years. Many of those players are gone now however, as Maryland graduated Strawberry, Bowers, Ibekwe, Brown, and Jones.
This years version will be led by Greivis Vazquez, a 6-7 guard who can play with the ball or off of it. He will be counted upon to be more of the scoring off guard with a fellow sophomore, Erik Hayes returning to play the point. The backcourt is strong with them but behind them, there isn't much depth. Freshman, Adrian Bowie will probably get minutes at guard when Hayes or Vazquez needs a breather, but don't expect to see them out much. Bowie is more of a scoring guard as well, and played with Greivis in high school.
The Small Forward position is cloudy, but it looks like little used sophomore Landon Milbourne will get the starting nod. Gary Williams said that he was ready to play last year but with Strawberry playing so well, he didn't have anywhere to out him. Now we will get a chance to see if he can help relieve Vasquez of the scoring load. Expect to see SF/PF tweener Dino Gregory get more time as the season gets on as well.
The paint will be anchored by the lone 4 year senior, James Gist. Gist played some USA basketball over the summer and hopefully he will be ready to become a leader on and off the court this year. Last year he really showed signs of improvement, unlike his first two years where he looked a bit raw. Next to him will be the beast of the boards, BOOM, Bambale Osby. They list him at 6-8 but that is only true if they count his huge 'fro. He will do little on the offense end but his hustle brings a lot of energy to the rest of the players. He will need to do a better job to stay out of foul trouble with hardly any depth behind him. Expect Maryland to go small when Osby or Gist are on the bench because neither of the newly recruited centers appear to be ready to play yet.
They are 2-0 now but with a huge test on the 19th. Be sure to tune in to see how Maryland ranks vs the #2 UCLA Bruins.
Maryland is coming off a strong run into the postseason last year, only to be haulted by A.J. Graves and his Butler squad. Before that though, Maryland had won 8 of 9 including a win over UNC and two wins against the hated Dukies, the first time that had been accomplished in years. Many of those players are gone now however, as Maryland graduated Strawberry, Bowers, Ibekwe, Brown, and Jones.
This years version will be led by Greivis Vazquez, a 6-7 guard who can play with the ball or off of it. He will be counted upon to be more of the scoring off guard with a fellow sophomore, Erik Hayes returning to play the point. The backcourt is strong with them but behind them, there isn't much depth. Freshman, Adrian Bowie will probably get minutes at guard when Hayes or Vazquez needs a breather, but don't expect to see them out much. Bowie is more of a scoring guard as well, and played with Greivis in high school.
The Small Forward position is cloudy, but it looks like little used sophomore Landon Milbourne will get the starting nod. Gary Williams said that he was ready to play last year but with Strawberry playing so well, he didn't have anywhere to out him. Now we will get a chance to see if he can help relieve Vasquez of the scoring load. Expect to see SF/PF tweener Dino Gregory get more time as the season gets on as well.
The paint will be anchored by the lone 4 year senior, James Gist. Gist played some USA basketball over the summer and hopefully he will be ready to become a leader on and off the court this year. Last year he really showed signs of improvement, unlike his first two years where he looked a bit raw. Next to him will be the beast of the boards, BOOM, Bambale Osby. They list him at 6-8 but that is only true if they count his huge 'fro. He will do little on the offense end but his hustle brings a lot of energy to the rest of the players. He will need to do a better job to stay out of foul trouble with hardly any depth behind him. Expect Maryland to go small when Osby or Gist are on the bench because neither of the newly recruited centers appear to be ready to play yet.
They are 2-0 now but with a huge test on the 19th. Be sure to tune in to see how Maryland ranks vs the #2 UCLA Bruins.
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