No Joy this Holiday Season in Gary-land

The Maryland men's basketball team is certainly doing it's part to preserve parity in college basketball. The program has hit a definite low point with losses to Ohio University (not The Ohio State University) and American University in the last two games. The Terps had not lost to AU since the 1926-27 season. Eighty years of dominance was lost in one afternoon of uninspired, poorly coached play. Gary Williams won a national title in 2002 with a veteran team of over achievers led by the brilliant play of Juan Dixon. Williams however has failed to capitalize on that success in subsequent recruiting classes. Williams seems to prefer the type of player that will be around for 4 years. The problem with that line of thinking is that Gary does a poor job of player development. James Gist is arguably the Terps most talented player, yet he has not shown the development one would expect over the past four years. How does a senior score only 3 points against AU?

It's not that troubling to think of James Gist as the Terps most talented player. What is troubling is that Gist is not that talented a player...so if he is your best player you need to recruit, recruit, recruit. The Baltimore/Washington metro area produces some of the best high school players in the nation every year. Very few if any of these players choose to attend Maryland. And those that do can't seem to get on the court. UM Freshman Dino Gregory was one of the top forwards in the Baltimore area last season. He averages 7.3 minutes per game. Gary Williams has to make a decision...either recruit the type of player that can be successful in your system or change the system. Go after the local blue chip players who may only stay in school one or two years. Williams has Sean Mosley (Baltimore St. Francis HS) , the 13th ranked shooting guard in the nation (Rivals.com) coming in next year. He lost Terrence Jennings (ranked 15th in the country by Rivals.com) , a 6-10 forward from Massachusetts who had previously orally committed to Maryland. Jennings has chosen to attend Louisville instead. Who can blame him? If I had a choice of playing for Rick Pitino or Gary Williams I'd choose Pitino 10 out of 10 times.

Of the top 150 high school players listed on Rivals.com who haven't committed to a university, only Teeng Akol (114th) includes Maryland on his list of schools under consideration. Akol is described as a raw player with potential. Not exactly what is needed in College Park. Maybe Gary should walk down the hall to Brenda Frese's office and get some tips on recruiting. Frese won a national title in 2006 and followed that with two very nice recruiting classes. It may not be fair to compare men and women college basketball since most women play 4 years, but it is fair to expect the same recruiting success following a national title.

Just as past performance is not indicative of future results in the stock market, so it is with college basketball. The Maryland men's basketball program has fallen out of the national spotlight in recent years. It is going to take a major infusion of talent to turn things around. Are the right people in place to get the job done? Only time will tell, but the natives of Gary-land are getting restless, so Williams had better turn this around sooner rather than later.

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Wizards Lack a Closer

In baseball most good teams have a pitcher who comes in at the end of games and shuts down the opposition...the Closer. On TV Kyra Sedgwick portrays a cop who always solves the case...she is the Closer for the homicide department. The Wizards are missing their Closer, Gilbert Arenas a.k.a agent zero. Arenas' closing ability is not that of a defensive stopper. Arenas is the Wizards offensive Closer...the player that can create his own shot, get a better shot for a teammate at the end of close games, or get to the foul line and score points while the clock is not running.

The Wizards lack of a Closer has never been more evident than in the past two games. The 'zards were either tied or ahead in the last five minutes of the 4th quarter. But their inability to execute the late game offense combined with key defensive breakdowns have led to the current two-game losing streak. Anybody that says the Wizards are a better team without Arenas is sadly mistaken. Yes, the ball movement on offense has been better without Arenas. However, this is the way the team must play because it's missing a guy that can drop 30, 40 or 50 points on any given night. Hopefully Arenas can see that he doesn't need to be a 30 ppg player in order for the team to be successful. Hopefully Arenas' teammates realize how his presence on the court can make the game easier for them.

Eddie Jordan has certainly done a remarkable job keeping the ship afloat considering that two of his top sailors (Arenas & Daniels) are injured. And let's not forget about the loss of Etan Thomas and the fact that Oleksiy Pecherov has yet to take the court. Brendan Haywood has raised his level of play but given his history one can't help but wonder will it last. I'd really like to see what the Wizards would look like with a full roster of healthy players. Unfortunately this may never happen. A number of questions will have to be answered in the off season...will Arenas opt out of his contract? Will the team re-sign Antawn Jamison and if so at what cost? Will Etan Thomas ever play again? Will Eddie Jordan be back if the Wizards don't go deep into the playoffs?

The questions that need to be answered now are...who is going to consistently step up and help CB & AJ score the ball while Arenas is out? Can a jump shooting team like the 'zards ever be better than a .500 team? What happens if Caron or Antawn get injured? and Who is going to be the Closer?

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Suns Set on Wizards

The Phoenix Suns rolled into D.C. on Friday and made it real hot in the phone booth. Statistically this game was close for three quarters. Unfortunately for the Wizards basketball is a four quarter game. The Suns turned a 5 point halftime lead into 24 point lead at the end of the third quarter. If you are a true basketball fan, you have to enjoy watching the Suns. Their ball movement on offense is a thing of beauty. Phoenix scored 50 field goals and recorded 42 assists, with Steve Nash handing out 19 alone. I'm no math wiz, but it doesn't take one to figure out that all but eight of the 50 goals scored by the Suns were assisted. That is awesome team basketball!!

This is one loss that the 'zards can not feel too bad about. They shot 47% from the field, 80% from the foul line, played the Suns even on the boards, scored 107 points and still lost the game. Sometimes the other team just plays better...not that the Wizards played their best. But they played well enough to beat most teams Friday night. The Suns however, are a cut above most NBA teams.

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Same Old Song

Some people will blame Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills on the emotional condition of the team following the untimely death of Sean Taylor. Others will blame coach Joe for calling successive time-outs (garnering an unsporting conduct penalty of 15 yards) thereby giving the Bills kicker what amounted to a chip shot field goal. If only it were so simple. These were factors. This game, however, was lost when the burgundy and gold had to settle for three field goals in the red zone in the first half. This game was lost when the 'skin's offense failed to get a first down in the last two minutes of the game. This game was lost when the 'skins' defense failed to make a stop in the last minute of the game. This game was lost the same way so many others have. Poor execution. Questionable play calling. Poor game management. Poor decision making. One can only hope that this season isn't lost.

The players talked about winning for Sean before the game. Afterward they sang a familiar tune. "We didn't finish". I'm as tired of that song as I am the "Superman". Stop making excuses. Stop making mistakes. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Start scoring touchdowns. Start executing the plays. Then maybe you will start winning football games. Otherwise you will be singing that same old woulda, coulda shoulda song the next 4 games and watching the playoffs on tv just like me.

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