Where's the Recruiting?

Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay... What do these players all have in common? All of these guys came out of the Baltimore-D.C. area but none of them played at Maryland. Instead these guys were recruited and played for national powerhouses around the country. Missing out on big name recruits from the area has brought on many questions about Gary Williams ability (or lack there of) to recruit.

After Maryland's national championship in 2002, it looked like Maryland was going to become a national powerhouse for years to come. What followed was a series of promising recruits that never turned out for the Terps. Travis Garrison was a McDonalds All-American out of high school who was a formidable power forward in his final two years at Maryland, but never came anywhere near to the expectations placed on him. What most people don't know about Mike Jones is that he was the #2 overall recruit behind Lebron James in 2003. However his lack of defense and poor care with the ball overshadowed his athleticism and pure shooting stroke. Other guys like John Gilchrist, Nik Caner-Medley, and James Gist showed flashes of brilliance but none became the go-to player the team desperately needed.

A lot of the blame has been placed on Gary Williams for not being able to get the big recruits out of Baltimore, one of the three best hotbeds for basketball talent. But with all the major schools in the country competing for these players, its not easy for Gary to get them to commit. It seems like Gary is looking for the hard-working, character guys instead of the highly touted players anyway. But the Juan Dixons and Steve Blakes are hard to find these days. More than ever, Maryland needs to pull in a player that can change the program just like Len Bias or Joe Smith did before. But with other nearby teams like Georgetown, George Mason, and West Virginia emerging, it's going to become even harder for Maryland to land the big names.

I'm not one of those fans already calling for Gary's head. I mean the guy has over 600 wins and two final fours under his belt. He has single-handedly turned this program around and made it one of the elite. But I will say that the calls to have Gary fired will be justified if he doesn't do something soon to turn things around. That will all come down to recruiting.

What's the Future for Maryland Basketball?

Now that the off-season is here I thought it would be a good time to look at the Terps roster and probable starters for next year. Here's a preview of what to look for in the 2008-09 season.

What was Lost
The Terps will lose senior starting big men James Gist and Bambale Osby, leaving a huge void in the paint. Gist was a go-to scorer who was the most important player on the Terps last year. Despite the great play of Greivis Vasquez it was the play of Gist that determined the Terps fate. The Terps will miss Gist's athleticism, shot-blocking and scoring next season. The Terps will miss Osby also, but for entirely different reasons. Boom was the Terps most reliable rebounder and the most intimidating physical presence for the Terps. He wasn't as prolific a scorer as Gist and could be turnover-prone but his offense was still very important to the Terps. Most importantly Boom was the spark plug for the team. His hustle and intensity on the court is irreplaceable.

Who's Coming In?
The Terps have at least three new freshman coming next year: Gus Gilchrist, Sean Mosley, and Bobby Maze. But it's very unclear what kind of impact the three will make at Maryland. It is believed by many that Gilchrist will come in and start right off the bat. With Gist and Boom gone there will be starting spots open and none of the current post players have shown anything to distinguish themselves as a starter. At 6-10 and 235lbs. Gilchrist should have the size and post moves to be successful right away. Mosley is recognized as the #11 ranked shooting guard in the country but may not see much playing time with Vasquez, Hayes, Tucker and Bowie all playing both guard positions. Maze is a junior college transfer who put up gaudy numbers at Hutchinson Community College, but may also struggle to find a spot in a guard-filled lineup.

Season Outlook
Right now it's hard to say where the Terps will end up next year. The Terps will be very young and only have one senior on the roster (rarely-used Dave Neal). The team should be strong and deep in the backcourt with Vasquez and Hayes starting and Tucker, Bowie, Mosley and Maze coming off the bench. The key in the backcourt is finding a consistent outside shooter. Vasquez and Hayes both showed they could hit threes but couldn't make 'em day in and day out. Look for teams to sag and defend the drive if the Terps can't knock it down from behind the arc.

The obvious question surrounding the Terps is how effective will they be in the post Assuming that Mosley comes in and starts at center, there will be some serious competition for the power forward spot between Braxton Dupree, Shane Walker and even Jerome Burney. I'd give the slight edge to Dupree who saw some starts last season and has the best post moves by far out of the bunch.

The final and most important factor for the Terps next season will be the play of swingman Landon Milbourne. Milbourne has shown glimpses of stardom in his first two years and he certainly has the talent. He can jump out of the gym, knock down middle and long range shots, and play stingy defense. However he can sometimes get lost in the offense and struggles to create his own shot. With Gist gone, Milbourne will be the focal point of the offense and the first man Vasquez will look for. It easy to picture the Terps being near the top or the bottom of the ACC but I'd expect them to be somewhere in the middle around 4th or 5th, right on the bubble line of getting into the tourney. What's new, right?

Another Terrapin Disappointment

A trip to Tampa and maybe even a second national championship in three years looked like a very good possibility for the Maryland women after their 3rd round dominance over Vanderbilt. They had the experience (four players from 06 championship team), an inspiring coach, and something to prove after their disappointing 2nd round exit in last year's tournament. It looked as if they had all the elements of a championship-caliber team. However they just ran into a steam-rolling train in Stanford that had maybe even more motivation going into the regional final.

Candace Wiggins and the Cardinal and not been to the final four during her tenure at the university and this was their final shot to do it. There was even extra incentive for Stanford to beat the team that arguably stole the final #1 seed away from them on Selection Monday. Wiggins just wouldn't allow her team to go down, scoring 41 points and the Terps had no answer for her and the rest of the Cardinal's lights out shooting.

The game showed that the Terps lacked the defense to be able to win a championship. You're not going to win when you allow your opponent to drop 98 points and shoot 50% from behind the arc. This was one game in which the Terps may have needed to slow the pace down to get the forwards involved. However Stanford's game plan of collapsing on Langhorne with double and triple teams whenever she touched the ball prevented the Terps from dominating the post. Turnovers at inopportune times and missed free throws by the Terps ensured that there would be no comeback.

For Frese and the Terps it'll be a tough loss to swallow especially for seniors Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper who gave so much to this program and helped build into one of the national powerhouses. There is still a bright future with stars Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman returning next year. But with the loss of two dominant post players, it seems as if this may have been the best chance for the Terps to win a title for awhile. If next year's team is going to win a title, it may take a little magic from Coach Frese.