Official Maryland Terps Thread 2.0

[P'Oed]

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CLIFF


TUCKER


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[miller31time]

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CLIFF


TUCKER


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Insanity.

After the Vasquez/timeout debacle, I thought it was over. Cliff Tucker...oh my.

[P'Oed]

and, you know, this is exactly the kind of game (save the UNC game last year) that we've lost for the past 5 or so years. I really hope it means that fortune is in our favor and things are finally going to smoothly for us. We've dealt with so much "Bubble Team" bulls***...it would be so great to be an absolute lock this year.

[lupin]

aren't the Terps guaranteed to be above .500 in the ACC now? the conference is a bit weak this year, but they'll still get a handful of bids. Terps should be safe, especially if they win one or two more.

so, how's Vasquez looking in the draft now? if he measures out close to his listed 6'5, he could be pretty tempting for some teams. he's a hard-nosed competitor that can do a bit of everything - scoring, rebounding, assists - and is a bit of a triple-double threat. With height and ball handling skills he could be very tempting indeed. (not talking lottery or anything like that)

[P'Oed]

I hesitate to say the Terps are a lock (as usual) because if we can't pull off the Clemson win we could very easily drop our next 2 to very a very tough V Tech team and a highly ranked Dookie team. That would put a lot of weight on the Virginia game on the road and we all know how that game has gone the last couple seasons...It'd be great to take care of Clemson, get the 10 wins and have any win after that just be icing on the cake. No easy task though.

[closg00]

aren't the Terps guaranteed to be above .500 in the ACC now? the conference is a bit weak this year, but they'll still get a handful of bids. Terps should be safe, especially if they win one or two more.

so, how's Vasquez looking in the draft now? if he measures out close to his listed 6'5, he could be pretty tempting for some teams. he's a hard-nosed competitor that can do a bit of everything - scoring, rebounding, assists - and is a bit of a triple-double threat. With height and ball handling skills he could be very tempting indeed. (not talking lottery or anything like that)

Vasquez's stock dropped right out of the draft early in the season, but now I see his name popping-up in the second round. I think he will be taken in the 2nd round exactly for the reasons that you stated. I bet Vasquez plays for a Spanish team for more money than he would make as a non-guaranteed 2nd rounder.

[Ruzious]

aren't the Terps guaranteed to be above .500 in the ACC now? the conference is a bit weak this year, but they'll still get a handful of bids. Terps should be safe, especially if they win one or two more.

so, how's Vasquez looking in the draft now? if he measures out close to his listed 6'5, he could be pretty tempting for some teams. he's a hard-nosed competitor that can do a bit of everything - scoring, rebounding, assists - and is a bit of a triple-double threat. With height and ball handling skills he could be very tempting indeed. (not talking lottery or anything like that)

He got measured in last year's camp - 6'6 in shoes and 6'4.75 without - so height's not a problem. The problem was that he came out dead last in the athleticism rankings of all the prospects that participated - including a 28 inch verticle (ouch).

[doclinkin]

so, how's Vasquez looking in the draft now? if he measures out close to his listed 6'5, he could be pretty tempting for some teams. he's a hard-nosed competitor that can do a bit of everything - scoring, rebounding, assists - and is a bit of a triple-double threat. With height and ball handling skills he could be very tempting indeed. (not talking lottery or anything like that)

Vasquez' draft position will follow the Terps success or failure in the Tourney. But that says nothing about how he'll perform in the league. I have a certainty he'll have a solid pro career, if he doesn't stick in the NBA he'll be an attractive prospect in Europe. But truth is he's got good size, good passing ratings, and shows steady improvement in weaknesses, and you can't discount heart. I think a squad would do well to take him with a late pick, he's going to add a certain competitiveness and attitude to every practice. Think of him as a taller JJ Barea and pull the trigger.

[doclinkin]

He got measured in last year's camp - 6'6 in shoes and 6'4.75 without - so height's not a problem. The problem was that he came out dead last in the athleticism rankings of all the prospects that participated - including a 28 inch verticle (ouch).

Yeah yeah, and Kevin Durant failed to do one rep in the bench press. And DJ Blair has the knees of a corpse. That just suggests he'll be available late. In measures of ball smarts GV ranks well (for a quick thumbnail sketch, I take a look at defensive rebounding and assist ratios relative to position -- ie does he know where the opponent is and does he know where his teammates are). And the steady rise of his pure Passer rating bodes well.

[doclinkin]

BY way of comparison, Jarret Jack posted a 28.5" max vert in the combine. Doesn't seem to handicap him all that much in the league...

[Ruzious]

He got measured in last year's camp - 6'6 in shoes and 6'4.75 without - so height's not a problem. The problem was that he came out dead last in the athleticism rankings of all the prospects that participated - including a 28 inch verticle (ouch).

Yeah yeah, and Kevin Durant failed to do one rep in the bench press. And DJ Blair has the knees of a corpse. That just suggests he'll be available late. In measures of ball smarts GV ranks well (for a quick thumbnail sketch, I take a look at defensive rebounding and assist ratios relative to position -- ie does he know where the opponent is and does he know where his teammates are). And the steady rise of his pure Passer rating bodes well.

I pay zero attention to the bench press, because it doesn't mean anything - especially when I can lift more than Sweetney did when he came out - and I'm turible athuhlete. And it's more important how quickly you jump than how high, but... if your max vert is 28 inches, you're at a disadvantage. I think Matt Fish could jump higher... while doing handstands.

But I think his mentality - which makes him a great college player - is going to prevent him from making it in the NBA. He's the BMOC, the guy who tells all his teammates what to do, who draws attention to himself (Grevis wiggle), who gets the respect from opponents. I can't see him adapting to being the low man on the totem pole - which he would have to struggle to achieve in the NBA. But I hope he proves me wrong. He is a legitimately great passer.

[Ruzious]

BY way of comparison, Jarret Jack posted a 28.5" max vert in the combine. Doesn't seem to handicap him all that much in the league...

I'd call that a fluke. He's clearly a better athlete than Greivis... and Matt Fish.

[miller31time]

HOW THE HELL ARE WE STILL NOT RANKED?!?!

This is getting ridiculous.

[P'Oed]

HOW THE HELL ARE WE STILL NOT RANKED?!?!

This is getting ridiculous.

be careful what you wish for Miller! You and I know better than anybody that MD happens to suck when theyre ranked. If we pull off the win against Clemson I'm sure we'll get a number though...

[doclinkin]

He got measured in last year's camp - 6'6 in shoes and 6'4.75 without - so height's not a problem. The problem was that he came out dead last in the athleticism rankings of all the prospects that participated - including a 28 inch verticle (ouch).

Yeah yeah, and Kevin Durant failed to do one rep in the bench press. And DJ Blair has the knees of a corpse. That just suggests he'll be available late.

In measures of ball smarts GV ranks well (for a quick thumbnail sketch, I take a look at defensive rebounding and assist ratios relative to position -- ie does he know where the opponent is and does he know where his teammates are). And the steady rise of his pure Passer rating bodes well.

I pay zero attention to the bench press, because it doesn't mean anything - especially when I can lift more than Sweetney did when he came out - and I'm turible athuhlete.

It's all a stupid argument. Greivis has the same standing reach as Brandon Roy; same lane agility score. He has better lane agility than defensive spider Delonte West or first round productive player Rodney Stuckey or speedster TJ Ford. Not sure why we're wandering into Wiz'nasty territory here. For a productive NBA player you need sufficient athleticism to play your position, that's it. What's more key in the NBA is if you can make the fundamental plays of your position, with minimal mistakes. He can make all the passes he needs, efficiently, can score from outside, has a floater, a runner, hesitation and change of pace moves, and most uncommon nowadays can use the glass from range. And he's got a great sense of timing, the chairotic sense that characterizes the best players at his position.

Vasquez has all the athleticism he needs to play the point. Quickstep small guards will get past him, beast strong guards will knock him off position. But he's got the anticipation and ball smarts to get good position, use his length, and is surprisingly strong for his frame, hence the rebound rate he's posted in years when the Terps lacked real size up front.

But I think his mentality - which makes him a great college player - is going to prevent him from making it in the NBA. He's the BMOC, the guy who tells all his teammates what to do, who draws attention to himself (Grevis wiggle), who gets the respect from opponents. I can't see him adapting to being the low man on the totem pole - which he would have to struggle to achieve in the NBA. But I hope he proves me wrong. He is a legitimately great passer.

He was a cocky bastard even as a freshman, but I take the opposite view. I think it's his desire to win that will help him most at the next level. Nobody is more competitive and passionate. Kid hates to lose, whether in practice or playground or video games or whatever. He'll do every drill take every step needed to chase that success. Those are the sorts of players coaches love to keep, and those are the players who tend to improve over time. Like Big John says it's much easier to reel in a player who has too much passion than to try to light a fire under someone who doesn't have it. Guaranteed he'll be fired up for every game.

If Steve Blake is a player in this league, Vasquez is an NBAer. Terp pedigree aside they're very similar players in outlook attitude vision determination.

GV will make a bench, play productive minutes, hit a few Steve Kerr style big shots, and it wouldn't startle me to see him as a sometime starter in his career. Larry Brown would love him, would bitch him out all the time and run him ragged, but would love to have him.

[P'Oed]

i can't believe we just won that game with the awful rebounding, lack of boxing out and the gift three's...HOLY CRAP!!!! This team keeps disproving EVERY Maryland bball trend of the last 6 years or so. I honestly think this makes us a lock of the tournament, alhtought getting at least 1 of our last 4 (including the ACC tournament) would be great. MARYLAND WE'RE ALL BEHIND YOU!!!!!

[Halcyon]

RAISE HIGH THE BLACK AND GOLD!

[closg00]

Terps are heading in the right direction heading into the tournee's. Will they collapse when they are not playing at the Comcast Center?

[Ruzious]

We'll have to agree to disagree, doc. While I think the pre-draft tests are overrated, the fact that he was dead last of all participants backs up the eye test that he's not athletic enough to play the point - especially when you combine that with the fact that he's a poor ball-handler for a PG (completely opposite of Blake) and makes a few awful plays most games. On the positive side, he's improved his offensive efficiency dramatically from the beginning of this season - and those head-scratching plays he makes have declined. Lately, he's almost been winning games by himself, so I think some of us have forgotten the awful shot selection he's had in his previous 3 seasons.

The best player to compare him to imo was Blake's biggest college rival (with all due respect to Jay Williams) - Julius Hodge - skillswise, sizewise, athletically, and emotionally. Blake was an ubertough no-nonsense pure PG at MD who had to be encouraged to shoot more and was fine with other players being the stars. This was a guy who was regarded as a top HS player while averaging less than 10 points a game - that's how good a pure PG he was. He had to redefine his game to play for the Wiz - becoming a shooting threat and less of a pure PG - because he didn't have the physical ability to penetrate against most NBA PGs.

[miller31time]

Terps playing some inspired ball in the 2nd half of our game against VT.

Vasquez, after an awful offensive 1st half, is on fire this half (I think he has 24 already).

Down 1, let's hope we can pull it off!