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.

1. Oregon

2. LSU

3. Oklahoma

4. West Virginia

5. Kansas

6. Missouri

7. Ohio State

8. Arizona State

9. Georgia

10. Virginia Tech

11. USC

12. Florida

13. Texas

14. Hawaii

15. Clemson

16. Virginia

17. Boston College

18. Cincinnati

19. Boise State

20. Tennessee

21. Wisconsin

22. Illinois

23. Michigan

24. Kentucky

25. Connecticut

Just missing...Auburn, Penn State

I've been doing a mock draft weekly, this is the most recent one that I made previous to this weekends college and pro football games. The draft order is not as it stands know, it is more of a combination of how I see them finishing, what they have done so far, and their last few games...

1. St. Louis Rams- Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

2. Miami Dolphins- Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

3. New York Jets- Chris Long, DE, Virginia

4. San Francisco 49ers (to NE)- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

5. Oakland Raiders- Jake Long, OT, Michigan

6. Atlanta Falcons- Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville

7. Cincinnati Bengals- Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC

8. Arizona Cardinals- Dan Connor, LB, Penn State

9. Denver Broncos- DeSean Jackson, WR, California

10. Houston Texans- Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (FL)

11. Philadelphia Eagles- Calais Campbell, DE, Miami (FL)

12. Baltimore Ravens- Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky

13. Buffalo Bills- Malcolm Kelley, WR, Oklahoma

14. Chicago Bears- Sam Baker, OT, USC

15. Carolina Panthers- Ryan Clady, OL, Boise State

16. Kansas City Chiefs- Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State

17. Minnesota Vikings- Early Doucet, WR, LSU

18. Jacksonville Jaguars- Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Kentwan Balmer. DT. North Carolina

20. Washington Redskins- Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn

21. Detroit Lions- James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State

22. Cleveland Browns (to DAL)- Reggie Smith, CB, Oklahoma

23. New Orleans Saints- Rey Maualuga, LB, USC

24. San Diego Chargers- Fili Moala, DT, USC

25. Seattle Seahawks- Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon

26. Tennessee Titans- Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State

27. New York Giants- Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College

28. Pittsburgh Steelers- Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas

29. Green Bay Packers- Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas

30. Indianapolis Colts (to SF)- Limas Sweed, WR, Texas

31. Dallas Cowboys- Adarius Bowman, WR, Oklahoma State

32. New England Patriots- FORFEITED

I just found this site while I was searching Mark Clayton's name in google. Already I can tell that this place is perfect for me. I can get updates on my favorite teams, and post my thoughts and predictions on any given sport.

I am in 11th grade and I am an absolute sports fanatic, probably a little too much according to some...but I don't believe that! I am a Ravens, MD Terps, Orioles, and Wizards fan and follow College Basketball and football, as well as the NFL, NBA, and MLB. I plan on going to college and studying journalism. It has been my dream to write about sports for a living, ever since I realized I didn't have all the physical tools to become a professional athlete myself.

In my blogs I'll post my college football polls (always great for debates), some thoughts on the upcoming NFL Draft (already looking at 2008...hey, I'm a sports geek), and of course, my thoughts on all my favorite teams. I'll try to have 2 or 3 entries a week.

Hope you enjoy!