Will Turtles Wear Dancing Shoes?
In mid-February after beating Duke for the second time this year (third straight overall), the Terps were a pair of wins away from becoming a lock for this year’s NCAA tournament. But they dropped their last five of six games, leaving their fate in the hands of the NCAA tournament committee. They will find out tomorrow night if they will be invited to a 12th straight NCAA tournament appearance or if they will be playing in the “other” tournament, the NIT (which I like to call the Non-Invited Tournament).
After studying this team all year long, I think I have these Terps figured out. In their 16-12 season full of struggles, there were a lot of possible reasons why they faltered towards the end of the year. Everything from egos to lack of intensity, the Maryland Terrapins were once contenders but have now revealed themselves as pretenders. For starters, there are a few various egos on the team. The worst one comes from the same guy who is supposed to be the team leader, point guard John Gilchrist.
Gilchrist is the obvious one, filling his head and others around him that he is ready for the NBA. What is funny to me is that yes, he has some talent and could be a decent NBA point guard one day, but he’s not ready to perform on the NBA level yet. He is too streaky of a point guard and has a problem with authority. And how can he expect to win in the NBA, when he has a tough time winning at an NBA arena in college?
If you look at the results, “his Terps” are 2-5 in the last three years at the MCI Center, an NBA arena. He needs to realize that he’s no Steve Blake or Juan Dixon. Sure, they were his mentors and he learned everything from them, but he’s not at their level yet.
Another reason why these Terrapins struggled mightily was because they played to the level of their opponents. These turtles are a coach’s nightmare. They came out against the Dukes, the Georgia Techs, and the UNCs. But they decided to leave their games at home when they played a Clemson, a Miami, or even an NC State (when they were struggling). In the ACC, you have to come out every night with the same intensity and treat all teams the same way despite the standings and record. I guess they didn’t get the memo.
They were so consistent in being inconsistent. They beat Duke in their last three games (and not taking away anything from Clemson) they lose to the lowly Tigers three in a row. Now they wait for Selection Sunday, and Gary Williams is sweating more than he does on the sidelines. Hopefully the towel boy is by his side armed and ready.
He’s aiming for his 12th season in a row to reach the NCAA tournament, and it’s going to be tough for him to accomplish that feat. What I don’t get is his team was ranked in the top 10 to start the year. His team was in the same position last year of being on the bubble, but they swept the ACC tournament against Wake Forest, NC State and Duke. (And in this year’s tourney, they exit in the first round less than 20 miles from their campus.) The John Gilchrist of last year was much better and more of a team leader than the John Gilchrist we have seen as of late. Is the team chemistry that bad, that it totally surpasses their exceptional level of talent?
As for the first round loss, I know the Terps came out early and ready to play. And I know Gilchrist went down early on in the game, where if you would look on the bench he would show pain, physically and emotionally. (Which is a good sign of a leader.) And I know they were also without James Gist (who attended the same high school as I did), who has been a difference maker of late as a freshman. VT fans might remember his 18 points last week.
When it’s all said and done, the Terps will be counting down along with us fans waiting anxiously. In years past they would anticipate on what seed they would get. This year they’ll stress about even making the tournament.
I think the Terps have done enough to get in, despite the late season struggles. I know they are hoping the committee looks at the victories over Duke, Memphis, Georgia Tech and Temple. I know they are hoping the committee looks at their strength of schedule. I know they are hoping the committee looks at how Terps faithful travels and the popularity of the school over the years.
But in all honesty, if I’m Gary Williams and I don’t want to see another roller coaster of a season for next year, I would start collecting money to pay the Clemsons and Miamis to wear Duke jerseys whenever they faced Maryland. Maybe in that case, the Terps would come out to play.
