Previewing Maryland
2009 Scouting Report/Schedule
2009 Game Plan
2009 Stats
2009 Roster
| Four Factors | Percent | Nat'l Rank |
| eFG% | 50.9 | 131 |
| Turnover Rate | 23.3 | 291 |
| Off Reb Rate | 34.5 | 105 |
| FTA/FGA | 37.5 | 139 |
| Four Factors | Percent | Nat'l Rank |
| eFG% | 46.4 | 269 |
| Turnover Rate | 18.1 | 39 |
| Off Reb Rate | 34.6 | 105 |
| FTA/FGA | 29.3 | 324 |
(Two conference foes don't meet for the first time until March. I hate what expansion has done to the basketball schedules.)
The Terps' shooting, and more specifically, their two-point shooting, has fallen off a cliff in 2009. Their 52.1 2FG% in conference play led the league in 2008, but they've slipped all the way to 10th this season, ahead of fellow incompetents Virginia and Georgia Tech.
They have not been able to effectively replace the production they got from James Gist and Bambale Osby, a pair of highly-involved 50+ percent shooters inside a year ago. Making matters worse, the offense's unquestioned leader, and a guy who'd been a reliable scorer inside the arc, has seen his 2FG% regress significantly. Lose two steady post players and couple that with Greivis Vasquez's poor timing and this is the result. Landon Milbourne and Adrian Bowie are the only two Terps hitting more than half of their twos in conference play, but they aren't big enough parts of the offense to make much of a difference.
If there is a positive to come out of the departures of those big men, it's that Maryland dispensed with a pair of turnover-prone players. And among the returning contributors, Vasquez, Milbourne, Hayes, and Bowie have significantly cut down on turnovers, making for dramatic improvement in this area for the team as a whole. That's helped them stave off complete disaster, but just barely.
Starters:
Greivis Vasquez (6-6, 190) -- His unfortunate 43.7 effective field goal percentage in conference play makes him one of the most ineffiecient primary scoring options in the ACC.
In Conference Play
... %Shots 2FG% 3FG%
2007 18.6 47.3 33.3
2008 27.8 54.9 27.0
2009 26.7 42.5 30.4
Being the modest-baseline-shooting-talent, high usage player that he is, Vasquez is a huge wild card from game to game. He's just as capable of scuttling the offense (see 5-21 performance in loss to Morgan State) as he is of carrying it (see win over UNC).
Adrian Bowie (6-2, 190) -- He's not much of an three-point shooter, so he prefers to do most of his scoring inside the arc. Doesn't make too many mistakes and has a decent assist rate.
Sean Mosley (6-4, 210) -- Shooting has been a struggle (I sense a theme), but he is one of the few Terps that's been able to get to the free throw line with some frequency.
Landon Milbourne (6-7, 207) -- Averages a half a point less than Vasquez per 40 minutes despite taking 12.5 FGAs/40 to Vasquez's 16.4. He's hit a team-high 53.2% of his twos in conference play. Underutilized, I'd say. Good offensive rebounder as well.
Dave Neal (6-7, 263) -- Continuing a fine tradition started by Will Bowers, Neal looks nothing like a basketball player. It's amazing to me that someone with so little in the way of discernible basketball skills could get 25 minutes a night on a team that could reach the NCAAs. His stats certainly don't help his image, though he's good for a bonecrushing screen or two.
Bench:
Eric Hayes (6-4, 184), Cliff Tucker (6-6, 190), Dino Gregory (6-7, 227). Gregory should not be much of a factor offensively, while Hayes and Tucker are just as likely to shoot when they're on the floor as any of the other role players. Hayes is 22-55 (40%) from outside in ACC games.
| Four Factors | Percent | Nat'l Rank |
| eFG% | 44.4 | 12 |
| Turnover Rate | 19.4 | 252 |
| Off Reb Rate | 34.1 | 231 |
| FTA/FGA | 30.9 | 58 |
| Four Factors | Percent | Nat'l Rank |
| eFG% | 48.0 | 120 |
| Turnover Rate | 22.3 | 70 |
| Off Reb Rate | 35.8 | 284 |
| FTA/FGA | 29.3 | 34 |
They do a pretty good job of forcing turnovers and keeping opponents off the line, but their eFG% D, 3FG% D, and defensive rebounding--which rank 12th, 12th, and 10th in the ACC, respectively--are glaring deficiencies.
The Pomeroy Predictor likes State by four.
posted by Steven @ 5:36:00 PM |
