Terrapins Insider

Financial concerns and more on Yow-Friedgen

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:30:35 -0500

Here is a story from today's Baltimore Sun about the financial concerns of a buyout and more about the devolving relationship between Coach Ralph Friedgen and Athletic Director Debbie Yow. Here is the link. Will and should the financial concerns prevent Maryland from buying out Friedgen's contract? And here is a column from John Feinstein about the unsettled coaching situations at Virginia and Maryland. Here is the link. As always, I encourage everyone to e-mail me with thoughts on a matter that gets more interesting by the day. My e-mail is prisbelle@washpost.com.

Maryland pushes past Chaminade, 79-51

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:58:02 -0500

Another game, another sizable Maryland victory. The final score would indicate the game was a breeze, that the Terrapins asserted their dominance over an inferior Chaminade squad. And throughout the second half, that was most certainly the case. Maryland shot 47 percent from the field, out-rebounded the Silverswords by 12 and left no doubt which team fielded the superior talent. But for the game's first 15 minutes, Chaminade challenged the Terrapins with everything its undersized arsenal could muster. With more than 12 minutes expired in the first half, the Division II program with a 5-69 all-time record in the Maui Invitational held a lead. Maryland recovered, of course, but not before making its coach a little nervous. "I was worried," Coach Gary Williams said. "I’m always worried. In any game I’ve ever coached. As a jay-vee high school coach if it was 14-14 I was worried. So that’s how I

Three things to watch

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:16:00 -0500

Maryland tips off against Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational later today, and while the Terrapins should not struggle against this Division II program, here are a few developments of which to keep track: 1) Half-court offense execution. Maryland certainly showed some improvement in this area Friday against New Hampshire, but there are adjustments that still need to be made. For instance, sophomore guard Sean Mosley said one of the things the Terrapins have been able to do in practice but unable to execute so far in games are lob passes into the players making their cuts in the flex sets. Maryland might not need to be able to carry out such actions to beat Chaminade, but it might in order to take down some of the teams it could face in the next two days. 2) Greivis Vasquez. The question isn't whether he'll be able to

Friedgen may need to make staff changes to save job

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:11:20 -0500

Steve Yanda and I followed up Sunday's story --- which said that Coach Ralph Friedgen's $4 million buyout will not prevent the school from making a change -- with another story today about Friedgen's future, which is now in doubt. Here is the link. Sources tell us that Friedgen may need to make multiple staff changes in order to save his job. What does everyone think about the current situation? Feel free to email me at prisbelle@washpost.com. I look forward to your emails.

Scouting Chaminade

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:36:00 -0500

Aloha from the beautiful state of Hawaii. Later today, No. 25 Maryland will take on Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Chaminade, as you may know, is the Division II program that serves as the host of this tournament. Last season, Chaminade went 15-12 (7-5 in the PacWest Conference) and was short-handed down the stretch. The Silverswords lost five players over the course of last season and finished two out of their last three games with four players on the court. As Coach Matt Mahar enters his fifth season at Chaminade, he said he plans to begin to change the program's typical mode of operation. According to Mahar, many college basketball programs in Hawaii fill their rosters with junior college transfers that stay for only one or two seasons. This, of course, leads to high rates of roster turnover each season. Mahar said that after last season

Friedgen's buyout will not be an obstacle

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:20:28 -0500

Sources say the more than $4 million needed to buy out Coach Ralph Friedgen's contract will not be an obstacle should Maryland want to make a coaching change. Read Eric Prisbell's story, which also details the Terrapins' loss to Florida State on Saturday, here.

Maryland heads to Maui following 82-55 win over New Hampshire

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:05:34 -0500

The Maryland men's basketball team will depart for Hawaii early tomorrow morning, and they'll do so in pretty good shape. The Terrapins are 3-0 after recording a 27-point win Friday night over New Hampshire. That Maryland's margin of victory against the Wildcats was its slimmest of the year thus far speaks both to the level of competition the Terrapins have faced and the high level at which they currently are performing. "I don’t judge the margins, the scores or anything like that," Coach Gary Williams said. "I’m just trying to get us to play at a certain level. A lot of times as a coach I work harder in these games than I do in some of the games later on because when you’re functioning on all cylinders and you’re a good team, you usually do a lot of great things. Now, especially with a couple of freshmen out there

Goins out once again

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:32:36 -0500

Sophomore forward Steve Goins will not be present at tonight's game against New Hampshire at Comcast Center due to a violation of the Maryland athletic department's class attendance policy, according to a press release just issued by a team official. The two-sentence release does not go into any further detail regarding Goins's suspension, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. It is unknown at this point whether Goins will travel with the team to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, which begins Monday. Coach Gary Williams said Thursday that Goins had returned to practice a day earlier and that the 6-foot-10 forward's lingering knee injury was progressing. Goins did not play in Maryland's first two regular season games, nor did he play in the exhibition contest Nov. 3, due to the knee injury.

Maryland announces three signees for 2010 recruiting class

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:14 -0500

Maryland team officials just handed out a press release announcing the signing of three members of its 2010 recruiting class. Point guard Terrell Stoglin, small forward Mychal Parker and power forward Ashton Pankey have signed their letters of intent to play for the Terrapins beginning next season. "All three players should have an immediate impact on our program," Coach Gary Williams said in the release. "They have the maturity and ability to play at a high level." The two-page release makes no mention of shooting guard Terrence Ross (Montrose Christian), who gave Maryland a verbal commitment in April but will wait until the spring to sign his letter of intent. Colleague Josh Barr broke that news earlier this week. Assuming Ross eventually signs with Maryland, the Terrapins will bring in a 2010 recruiting class that ranks in the top 20 in the nation. Scout.com currently has Maryland's class ranked No.

Patience is key for Maryland on offense

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:46:00 -0500

One of the interesting things to watch tonight when Maryland takes on New Hampshire at Comcast Center is how smoothly the team starts out on offense. In both of their first two games, the Terrapins got off to sluggish offensive starts before performing more effectively after halftime. Per usual, Maryland has not struggled to create points in transition off of turnovers. But Coach Gary Williams repeatedly has said that the team can't always rely on its defense to bail out its halfcourt offense. On Thursday, Williams was asked how he felt the halfcourt offense was coming along. "Halfcourt offense takes time," Williams said. "It's probably the toughest thing because, I mean, if you just run screen and roll plays like I've seen on a couple games, unfortunately our players have seen that too, but we do a little more than that, so there's a lot of timing involved and it

Recruiting update

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:25:00 -0500

Okay, I'll admit that was a bit of a tease. The only update is to say that Coach Gary Williams held off Thursday on commenting on Maryland's four-man 2010 recruiting class. The early signing period ended Wednesday. "I'd really not like to do that today, the day before the game," Williams said. "There still could be some more. We're kind of waiting to see everybody that does sign with us." Maybe he was waiting for this guy to make his decision public, since the Terrapins have one spot still open in next year's class and were pursuing his services. That, as you may have clicked and read, did not work out, so there's still one spot left open in the 2010 group. And although point guard Terrell Stoglin and power forward Ashton Pankey have signed their letters of intent, shooting guard Terrence Ross and small forward Mychal Parker (who have

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Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:25:00 -0500

Prediction Time

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:26:40 -0500

I am 7-3 with my predictions this season, and this one is not that hard. Florida State 31, Maryland 17 It may not be that close. Maryland has yet to score an offensive touchdown without Chris Turner. What's everyone else think?

Choi could return against New Hampshire

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:29:17 -0500

Sophomore forward Jin Soo Choi could return to Maryland's lineup Friday night when the Terrapins host New Hampshire at Comcast Center, Coach Gary Williams said Thursday. Choi missed Tuesday's win over Fairfield with a sprained right ankle he suffered four days earlier during Maryland's regular season opener. "I’m hoping he will be" able to play Friday night, Williams said of Choi. "He ran straight forward yesterday. If he can get involved in practice today, yes, he’ll play." Williams also said sophomore forward Steve Goins participated in practice Wednesday and is progressing with his lingering knee injury. Goins underwent surgery on the knee in August and had been unable to workout with the team in recent weeks due to persistent discomfort. Goins sat out both of Maryland's regular season games, as well as its exhibition contest Nov. 3. "I talked to (Goins) this morning and the big thing you find out

Gregory expected to return Dec. 12

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:14:18 -0500

Junior forward Dino Gregory is expected to return to the Maryland lineup Dec. 12, according to Coach Gary Wiliiams, who spoke with reporters in a typical day-before-game media availability Thursday. Gregory has missed the first two regular season games, as well as the team's exhibition contest Nov. 3, becasue of what Maryland described as an unspecified violation of team rules. The last day of the fall semester of classes at Maryland is Dec. 11. On Dec. 12, Maryland hosts Eastern Kentucky at Comcast Center. The nature of the rules violation has not been explained, and Williams declined to speak further on Gregory's situation Thursday. An athletic department official declined to elaborate on Gregory's suspension or on the significance of Gregory's return date. In August, Gregory acknowledged that his eligibility for the upcoming season was in question because of a charge of academic dishonesty. It is not known whether the academic

Morning links

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:19:15 -0500

Here are some links to check out this morning: Florida's governor wants Bobby Bowden back as FSU's coach next season. Noted handler Terrelle Woody and South Florida in hot water over possible NCAA violations. More on the comments from Bowden's wife.