Official Maryland Terps Thread 2.0

[Wizardspride]

Mitch McGary breaking the backboard before today's game.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHzQnDgg ... r_embedded

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Am I the only one surprised that he suffered lacerations and had a pretty good amount of blood streaming down after the backboard splintered into shards of glass?

I've never seen anyone else cut up like that after breaking backboard. Whoever made that backboard might be putting an inferior product out that is dangerous. It wasn't a particularly forceful or violent dunk, but the rim just ripped away and suddenly glass is all over the place.

At the very least somebody needs to make sure the same lot of backboards isn't used in competition by anybody who can dunk.

[7-Day Dray]

Am I the only one surprised that he suffered lacerations and had a pretty good amount of blood streaming down after the backboard splintered into shards of glass?

I've never seen anyone else cut up like that after breaking backboard. Whoever made that backboard might be putting an inferior product out that is dangerous. It wasn't a particularly forceful or violent dunk, but the rim just ripped away and suddenly glass is all over the place.

At the very least somebody needs to make sure the same lot of backboards isn't used in competition by anybody who can dunk.

Yeah the backboard didn't look like it had a lot of support on it. It wasn't even a powerful dunk.

[Wizardspride]

Report: Maryland Adds 7-2 Ukrainian Olexiy Len to 2011 Roster

In search of reinforcements for a depleted frontcourt, the University of Maryland basketball staff has gone international, adding 7-foot-2 Ukranian Olexiy Len.

Sources tell InsideMDSports.com that Len, who goes by Alex in the States, is on campus expected to enroll for fall classes, which begin Wednesday, and it's hoped he'll be declared academically in time to help a Maryland program that has just three post players -- none of them with vast experience -- this winter.

he does appear to have some real talent to go with the height. He recently competed in the FIBA U-18 Championship, averaging 16.0 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He led the event in offensive rebounds and blocks, was 4th in points per game, and came in second with 6 double-doubles at the event. And lest you think this is comparable to Haukur Palsson dropping 27 on the Faroe Islands, Len was playing in Division A against the stalwarts of European basketball, like Lithuania, Russia, and France.

He averaged more points and rebounds per game than Latvian Davis Bertans, who was drafted by the Pacers in this year's NBA Draft. His numbers were only slightly behind Jonas Valanciunas, who was the 5th pick in the draft: Valanciunas's 19 and 13 are pretty close to Len's 16 and 11.

http://www.testudotimes.com/

[Wizardspride]

Olexiy Len

One of the most interesting players in the whole tournament in my eyes was the Ukrainian Center Olexiy Len. The 2m10 tall player is currently really skinny, he reminds me a bit of a young Tibor Pleiss in terms of body structure, but what a presence and talent. Len, who only turned 17 in June was the player that put the most impressive stats on the board with 6 doubles-doubles and several crazy shot block parties (8 vs. Slovenia, 9 vs. Germany or 7 vs. Sweden). Additionally, next to his great length, Len is really athletic and can run the court like a forward. He can play really above the rim but he still needs to learn to get a better feeling for the game.

Len recognizes already pretty well how to play his defender. When being defended by a smaller player, he posts him up, when being taken by a bigger slower guy, he plays him face-to-face. As he is able to score out of both situations with either putting the ball on the floor or going for the jump shoot or jump hook depending on the situation, it is not impossible to see him develop into a PF in the future. He has an interesting shooting touch but needs to work on his mechanics in order to become more regular, especially from the free-throw line. His shooting mechanics look nice and fluid but they are not stable enough yet.

Athletically, Len is really off the charts for a European player. He can play above the rim and uses this on both ends of the court. He came up with several incredible dunks or catches high in the air that he finished with the alley-oop dunk out of nowhere. Defensively, he is a constant threat for anyone approaching the basket as he has excellent timing and feel for the big block shot. On the rebound situations, he grabs the ball really high with two hands and holds it high in order to finish it immediately on the offensive end. He is present on every rebound with his long arms and if he can not grab it, he can at least put the other players in trouble.
With the right practice and playing minutes on the next level, Len can really develop into a very interesting player in the future. As we heard, several bigger European teams are chasing him but it looks like it is not so easy to bring him to a more developed structure than he currently is. Len can play another year on the U18 level and the fact that the Ukraine remained in Division A is a positive thing. Watching his development on the highest European level over the year into next summer will be a major task for all scouts.

Stats: 16.0ppg (47.9% 2FGs – 57.1% FTs), 11.4rpg, 4.3bpg

[Ruzious]

He's 7'2 now? I recall him being talked about a couple months ago, and the heights people mentioned were 6'10 and 6'11. He better be ready to start as a frosh, cuz the Terps were talking about playing guards at PF - not a good sign. Those are some impressive stats for the under 18 tournament. Maybe we won't have to write off this season for the Terps, afterall. Kudos to Turgeon for following up on the players Gary Williams was heavily recruiting. Alex Len was one of them.

[MF23]

Jesus it took me butt long to find this video. Luckily I'm outside the box and I found this. He's number 14.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTSBW8cFOo8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8J0WLyNv9Y[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rj4LBsS0FI[/youtube]

[Wizardspride]

http://www.zagsblog.com/2011/08/29/mary ... ck-in-len/

Maryland announced Monday that Olexiy “Alex” Len has enrolled at the university and will be a member of the Terrapins’ squad for 2011-12.

One coach who requested anonymity called the 7-foot-1, 225-pound center from Antratsit, Ukraine a “lottery pick.”

“Best recruit in America,” the coach said. “Maryland got a lottery pick.”

[Ruzious]

Some of the things that stick to me out about Alex Len in the games posted by MF23:

- He's built just like the Terps' other foreign center - Berend Weijs - except he's a good 3 inches taller than the 6'10 200ish lb Weijs, and he's probably 3 years younger, so he could add some significant weight to that frame.

- Like Weijs, he runs very well for a big and is a good athlete.

- He's got great soft hands for a big guy - that's a huge plus.

- Whether or not he's strong enough to hang in the ACC is going to determine his effectiveness at MD.

- Loves the jump hook. He'll need to vary his moves more. On the perimeter, he's got very good form on his jumper out to 20 feet. His release is very slow right now.

- Overall, I'm amazed this guy hasn't gotten more publicity with regard to recruiting. He's over 7' tall and has bit-time potential - depending on how strong he can get.

[Wizardspride]

- Overall, I'm amazed this guy hasn't gotten more publicity with regard to recruiting. He's over 7' tall and has bit-time potential - depending on how strong he can get.

From another message board:

From what I’ve heard there are several NBA scouts that have been drooling about Alex and have been talking to college coaches about him. Nobody ever thought he could or would come play in the US for college, thats why you never heard him mentioned as a recruit

.

[Ruzious]

- Overall, I'm amazed this guy hasn't gotten more publicity with regard to recruiting. He's over 7' tall and has bit-time potential - depending on how strong he can get.

From another message board:

From what I’ve heard there are several NBA scouts that have been drooling about Alex and have been talking to college coaches about him. Nobody ever thought he could or would come play in the US for college, thats why you never heard him mentioned as a recruit

.

Cool - thanks for that info. No wonder. Wow, all of a sudden MD has hope for next season. With probably no NBA season, we need the Terps!

[Wizardspride]

Maryland Back in Contention with DeMatha Forward Jerami Grant

"I just got off the phone with his father, Harvey, and they want to make a decision here in the next week to 10 days," DeMatha coach Mike Jones told SNY.tv. "He doesn't want it to go past the first week of September.

Jones said Rutgers, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Oklahoma are in the mix, with Texas having "just" been removed.

Frankly, I'd be delighted with a Grant commitment. He's the best local player in the class, which should help keep the "Keep Maryland talent at home" people happy. He's also at a position of need at the 3, a spot where Maryland doesn't really have too many other options - Amile Jefferson and Jake Layman are the only other two, and they're both tough lands.

Most importantly, he's plain good. He was on TV shortly after he cut his list, and he looked impressive playing for Team Takeover against Shaquille Cleare's Houston Defenders. His big flaw has been his inability to consistently involve himself in the offense, but he looked like he answered that, getting to the line something like 10 times in the first quarter. When he's on, he can dominate a game. He has a mid-range game, solid handle, great length, and is very athletic. He may not be Amile Jefferson, but he has great potential with the ability to make an impact right away.

No matter what happens, I guess we'll find out soon.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm getting happy!

As a long-time Terp fan, this guy is possibly the best news since ... probably the championship in 2002.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLdhyxc8L9w&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

In that clip what is very obvious is this kid loves the bank shot off the glass from the corner, just like Tim Duncan. One thing he has that you can't coach is SIZE. This kid is ginormous. He's also a fluid athlete for a kid his size. On the negative side, right now you can tell he's a perimeter big. He seems to love the face up jumper, like Pecherov did with the Wizards. However, this kid seems to be a well-rounded, technically sound player. He knows he's a big man and has worked on his moves around the basket. Love the half hook and he's got nice handles on the spin move. He also knows how to drive the baseline and get to the rack.

The next video makes me VERY HAPPY. Kid is a sick shooter, potentially, from NCAA 3-pt range. Not what you like in a big man per se, but he's a tough cover. What's going to put him over the top IMO is his dribble drive off of a pump fake. At 1:50 he shows he can score all kinds of ways from the base line. This kid is sort of an anti-Javale McGee. He's very technically sound but not an over-the-rim big. I like his shooting at around the 4:50 mark as well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdWrR_mkqg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

What I would LOVE to see is this kid not do like Nikola Tskitishvili. I hope "Alex" Len stays in school for a while and puts the Terps on the map. He's got a little Pau Gasol morphed with Tim Duncan to his game, POTENTIALLY.

The guy looks like an NBA player to me. Mark Tugeon, Bino Ranson and the rest of the UMCP staff are getting off to an impressive start under the circumstances. If they get Harvey Grant's boy, Jerai, and either of the bigs (McGary, Lawson, Carter) I think the Terps are BACK!

[Ruzious]

Jerami Grant is the brother of Clemson's Jerai Grant, son of Harvey, and nephew of Horace. Jerai showed a lot of improvement last season - getting more PT with Booker gone to Washington. He's a great jump out of the gym athlete - but with tweener size and so-so skills. I don't much aboot Jerami.

The drills videos of Alex Len were nice, but those kind of videos will fool ya - speaking as someone who's been fooled by them in the past. Anyone can look good going 1 on 1 against nobody. It's the game footage that MF23 posted that shows his game and strengths & weakenesses.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

BTW, Ruz, I do agree with you on his release. It is slow (and a tad too low IMO).

I also agree with you, totally, that it all boils down to how strong he can get as to how effective Alex Len will become in the ACC and beyond (because he will play professionally at some level).

[Wizardspride]

Jerami Grant is the brother of Clemson's Jerai Grant, son of Harvey, and nephew of Horace. Jerai showed a lot of improvement last season - getting more PT with Booker gone to Washington. He's a great jump out of the gym athlete - but with tweener size and so-so skills. I don't much aboot Jerami.

Jerami is extremely athletic.

He's considered the most talented of the three "Grant boys".


I want him bad. Real bad.

[Wizardspride]

Per Terrapin Times: Jerami Grant has narrowed it down to two schools.

Rutgers and MD.

He's supposed to be visiting campus this weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed.

[Wizardspride]

Mitch Mcgary is expected to make his decision by the end of the month.

[Ruzious]

Mitch Mcgary is expected to make his decision by the end of the month.

Geebus, get him and they have an NBA sized front line with him, Shaq, and Len. MD will live Lefty's fantasy of being the UCLA of the East!

Seeing MM with the blood all over him after he broke the backboard brought memories of the time Tyler Handsbrough got his face bloodied. MM kinda reminds me of TH - except he's taller and has more range on his jumper.

[Wizardspride]

Mitch Mcgary is expected to make his decision by the end of the month.

Geebus, get him and they have an NBA sized front line with him, Shaq, and Len. MD will live Lefty's fantasy of being the UCLA of the East!

Seeing MM with the blood all over him after he broke the backboard brought memories of the time Tyler Handsbrough got his face bloodied. MM kinda reminds me of TH - except he's taller and has more range on his jumper.

Yep.

Imagine a more athletic version of Tyler.