Maryland Basketball: Strawberry Fields Forever

NC State Wolfpack (15-13, 5-10 ACC) at
#24/NR Maryland Terrapins (23-7, 9-6 ACC)
Comcast Center – College Park, MD

ATTENTION ESPN, PLEASE READ. I would like to see my team play in my market. I don't care about a Big East game that takes three hours to finish and comes complete with 28 second half fouls because the referees have no control over the conference. Why does ESPN refuse to switch off games in local networks? Every other network does it. This is the 21st fucking century. This shouldn't be a problem. If Raycom-Jefferson-Corporate Name Network can switch games while broadcasting from an RV and cardboard box somewhere in Atlanta, I would have to assume that ESPN has the technology to do the same.

We here in the D.C. area (and I'm assuming nationwide) missed the first six minutes of the MD-Dook tilt and then missed the last four minutes due to "technical difficulties." In other words, some stiff at the Duke Sports Programming Network decided to pull the plug. The beauty of working at a sports station is that you can get three feed for each game. We get the HD feed, the non-HD feed and a seperate "backhaul" feed which is video that doesn't have the score bug or company logo in the corner. As far as I know, the HD feed and non-HD feed orginate from different on-site trucks. All three of these feeds were cut. Not just one. All three. Which means someone at ESPN, not on-site in the shithole known as Durham, pulled the plug because they couldn't bear the thought of Maryland bitch-slapping their beloved Blue Devils around the court. I hate ESPN. I hate them, I hate them, I HATE THEM!

The half of the game I was able to see looked great. If you are counting, and I always am, that’s two in a row against the Dookies. That’s five of the last seven overall. That’s four of the last seven in Durham, including three wins on senior nights. What more can I say?

Regardless what you think of Maryland, that’s pretty impressive. For a program that’s supposedly been one of the best in the country during this current decade, that’s a lousy record against a team that is “inferior” and not worthy of rival consideration (While we’re on the subject, I think this whole rival nonsense is stupid. I don’t like any of the other ACC teams. I consider them all rivals. We don’t need to anoint one school above another). You can’t say Maryland has gotten the better of Dook recently because of players. During a prolonged seven year stretch such as this one, the teams completely change at least two times. So Maryland winning in Durham in 2001 has nothing to do personnel wise with Maryland winning in Durham in 2007.

The only thing that remains the same are the head coaches. And if the past seven years have proven nothing else, they have shown that Gary Williams is a much better game day coach than Ratface. Sure Gary’s overall record against Dook is not great. But remember, from 1990-93, Williams had to clean up Bob Wade’s mess and deal with probation, postseason exclusions and television bans. Beating Dook or UNC wasn’t a priority. Getting back to respectability was. By the late 90’s, the two programs were on relatively even ground. And all things being equal, and not counting the referee-delivered Final Four game, Gary has gotten the better of Ratface. Can K recruit better? Yes, to a degree. Is he a better practice coach? I would think so. Is he better at developing talent for the NBA? Yes, but only because he is able to recruit All-Americans year after year. But in terms of winning college games, and making adjustments and dealing with on the floor matchups, Gary Williams is the better coach. Period.

So after another thrilling victory in front of the Uber-Dorks, Maryland closes their regular season with a simple home game against awful NC State. The Terps are now playing for playoff positioning for both tournaments. Personally, I don’t care that much about the ACC tournament. It is a bigger deal for the four Carolina schools than it is for anyone else. I’ve always considered the ACC champ to be the team that finishes with the best conference record. That way, you are judging the best team by their play over the course of two and half months instead of one weekend.

I actually think it would be better if Maryland ducked out early and got a couple of extra rest days before the real tournament begins. Would it be nice if the Terps could capture another ACC title? Sure, I have no problem with that. An ACC championship is always something to hang your hat on even if you get bounced early in the NCAA’s. But I would rather see a deep run in the NCAA’s than an ACC title. If you gave me a choice between an ACC championship and an Elite Eight appearance, I would probably choose the Elite Eight game.

However, the goal for Maryland is to keep momentum going into the Big Dance. So it would be nice if Maryland could win a couple of games. That’s why I think it would be better for the Terps if they were the five seed instead of the four. They would get an easy game against Wake Forest or Miami (no, I haven’t forgotten that January game) and then a likely second round matchup with Boston College. If the Terps were to win those two games and play a competitive semifinal contest, they would keep momentum, have a decent showing in the ACC tournament, get at least one extra day of rest and keep their seeding steady for the NCAA’s. That would be a win-win. Unless they lose to Dook. I wouldn’t like that. So hopefully Maryland doesn’t come out flat against State, UNC beats Dook on Sunday, and the Terps can make a respectable showing next weekend in Tampa.

Back to this game. It will be senior night and Maryland fans will be saying goodbye to four seniors (five if you want to count Parrish Brown, but I have a hard time counting JUCO’s). Will Bowers came to Maryland as an awkward large white kid who couldn’t jump, grab rebounds or score. He’ll leave Maryland as an awkward, even larger white kid who still can’t jump or score. But he can at least rebound now. That’s gotta count for something. I’ve always called him the shortest 7’1” guy in college history because despite his immense size, he had no vertical and could be beaten for rebounds by guys six inches smaller.

Ekene Ibekwe has had a pretty good run in College Park. It was always two steps forward, one step back with him. At least he slowly progressed over the course of four seasons. Last year, on a team that had no emotional leader, Ibekwe tried to step up and fill the void the best he could. Despite his habit of making poor fouls and disappearing at times in second halves, he always played with emotion, hustle and energy. And he played hurt. During his sophomore year, he helped Maryland to an overtime win over the Dookies while playing with a separated shoulder. Talent wise, he had trouble matching up with some of the better ACC forwards. But he gave it his best, and that’s all you can ask for.

Mike Jones goes on my short list of favorite Maryland players. Sure, there were weeks when you wondered if he was even in uniform. His inconsistencies drove everyone crazy. His defensive skills didn’t catch up to him until this season. However, the nights when he was on fire, no one was able to stop him. The games when he went off, like the past two Maryland wins, it’s hard to argue that there was a better pure shooter anywhere in the country. He is a certified Duke and UNC assassin and that gives him bonus points among the Maryland fan base.

Finally, there’s D.J. Strawberry. He started out as a defensive stopper. As a freshman, he made the All-ACC defensive team. He was the sixth man, the most important player on Gary’s bench. Despite the knee injury that cost him his sophomore season, D.J. evolved into an offensive threat and then this season into the main offensive threat. Now he’s the one player that Maryland can’t afford to lose and the one player they can’t afford to have an off night. Combine his talents with his leadership ability, and here’s a guy that should probably have his jersey put in the rafters with the other Maryland greats.

But forget for a moment what he did on the court. What D.J. Strawberry has done off the court is far more important. Everyone who knows his last name knows what D.J. has had to deal with. This is not a person who has had the most stable family life. His father’s mistakes unfairly made D.J. a target at every arena he visited. More so, those mistakes could have made it easier for D.J. to follow a similar downward spiral, especially when he’s been living at a college campus for four years. Instead, D.J. put some good back into his family name by being the ideal student and ideal citizen. He made a conscious decision to stay away from bars and from shady parties. I attended a couple of shindigs that D.J. also happened to make an appearance at. At the first sign of something illegal, he was out of there. Gone. He refused to have his life go downhill like his father’s. And when his teammates engaged in some questionable behavior (namely, Nik Caner-Medley, Sterling Ledbetter and Travis Garrison), he made the tough decision to be ostracized by his team rather than follow their poor examples. In fact, it can be argued that D.J. has helped his father get back on track. I can’t say for sure because I’ve only met Darryl once, but it seems that attending the Maryland games and watching his son play and grow up helped Darryl keep out of trouble the last couple of years. It seems that the son has become the role model for the father. So D.J., you are a player and a person that all Maryland fans will truly miss. Thank you for four great seasons.

Before we get all gushy, there is still a game to play. After their loss to Maryland, the Wolfpack seemingly took a flyer on the rest of the season. Five wins is more than I expected from them, so it’s hard to call this team a disappointment. However, I must go on the record again by saying that Herb Sendek made the last five NCAA tournaments. The man really couldn’t coach a lick, but at least he’s not Sidney Lowe. This guy Lowe is a bum. He’s worst than Little Herby. Let’s just make sure that he’s properly hydrated on the sideline.

Hopefully the seniors go out with a win and a little bit more momentum for the March run. It will be hard for the Terps to come out and be fired up for this one, so the Wolfpack could make it interesting. In the end, Maryland has too much to play for and too much talent. This game really shouldn’t be in doubt.

Maryland 83
NC State 71

Elsewhere in the ACC…

I was only 3-2 last week. I should have known better than to pick Virginia Tech. I even said on Monday that they would have a bad week. Yet I did it anyway and lost. Serves me right. The record is up to 52-26.

SATURDAY
Florida State at Miami
So is this the final nail in the Leonard Hamilton experiment? Has anyone else gotten better jobs with fewer qualifications than this guy? I mean, other than Norv Turner. He failed at Miami. He failed with the Wizards. He’s now failed again at Florida State. Clemson will be looking for a new coach soon. He’ll probably be the front runner.
Pick: Florida State 74, Miami 71

Virginia at Wake Forest
You don’t know how badly I want to pick this upset. Virginia is still playing this Jekyll and Hyde thing pretty well. They’re 8-0 at home in conference, but only 3-4 away from the JPJ, including a stunning loss at Miami. With everything on the line, against an opponent only playing to stay out of the cellar, this game reeks of Hyde Virginia showing up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Pick: Virginia 77, Wake Forest 68

SUNDAY
Clemson at Virginia Tech
Leonard Hamilton is already getting measured for an orange blazer and looking around for the purple tie to go with it. However, Olie Purnell can still, stunningly, save his job. You have to think that the 17-0 start, combined with wins over Virginia Tech and FSU in the tournament could sneak the Tigers into the NCAA’s with a bunch of weak bubble candidates around the nation. Leave it to Purnell to do one thing consistently…lose meaningful games.
Pick: Virginia Tech 85, Clemson 70

Boston College at Georgia Tech
Where’s Boston College been lately? Doesn’t it seem to you that they played their 15th conference game three weeks ago and have been sitting around doing nothing? I can’t remember talking about them recently. Who did Al Skinner have nude pictures of to get nine days between games this late in the season? BC is guaranteed a bye in the first round and they’re also guaranteed of doing no better than a two seed. So look for the Eagles to mail this one in and for the Jackets to get the final stamp on their invitation to the Big Dance.
Pick: Georgia Tech 84, Boston College 74

Duke at North Carolina
Seriously, I’m so tired of hearing this “National Championship Game” excuse from both UNC fans and Duke fans. Enough. I keep hearing that the only reason the Terps went 3-0 against these teams is because the game meant so much more to Maryland than it did the other two. In essence, those games were “championship” games for Maryland while meaningless games for the Carolina pair. The real reason UNC lost to Maryland is because they couldn’t hit a free throw and couldn’t locate D.J. Strawberry for an entire game. The reason Duke lost to Maryland is because Maryland is flat out better than they are. End of story. If this rivalry game is the only game that either team is going to show up for, why do they bother playing the other 14 conference games if everyone else is going to play at a “championship” caliber level? Sometimes you lose because you’re simply not good enough. Stop making excuses and start playing hard you bunch of elitist pussies. As for this one, I can think of nothing better than sending “14th ranked” Dook to a .500 conference record.
Pick: North Carolina 79, Duke 67