No, this isn't a post about a big Bernie Sanders/ Babara Mikulski throwdown. the University of Maryland played the University of Vermont Wednesday night in basketball, and I'm just getting around to writing about it.
Much to my surprise, the game was on tv. Of course, that was the day I had my tenure interview, plus two classes and office hours, so I dozed off for a good chunk of the second half. Happily, the game was well in hand by that point, with Maryland coating to an 81-63 win. Commentary both detached and deranged is available on the Internet.
My thoughts are after the jump:
There was a lot of fairly typical bad stuff on display. Ekene Ibekwe and James Gist have stopped even pretending that they might one day box somebody out, so Vermont averaged about five shots per possession. Maryland's guards displayed the usual mix of stellar play and colossally bad judgement, and somehow, none of their big men have the foggiest idea of how to play the back spot in the 1-2-1-1 zone press. What do they do in practice, anyway?
On the bright side, Greivis Vasquez looked pretty good. He's got a good shooting stroke, solid ballhandling, and he hustled like crazy. D.J. Strawberry continues to play well, though he could stand to do less bitching to the refs.
The big positive, in my mind, was the play of transfer Bambale Osby, who tops off a big, solid frame with an impressive 'do, and actually played like a big man, in stark contrast to Ibekwe, Gist, and the glacially slow Will Bowers. Osby showed off some nice post moves, and had a couple of unbelievable outlet passes.
(Yes, I played center in high school, which is why I judge players on the quality of their outlet passes...)
Granted, Vermont is not a good simulation of ACC competition, but if Osby can make a solid contribution in the post, that would be a huge boost for the Terps.
Anyway, the important thing is that basketball season has arrived. Calloo, callay, etc. March can't be far behind...