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2008 Maryland Basketball Picks & Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Maryland is a team that has enjoyed plenty of past success, but is also a program that has had it’s share of difficulty in recent years. The Terps won the national title back in 2002, and since then they’ve gotten steadily worse. It’s hard to imagine that this team has missed the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four years, but they have. Head coach Gary Williams is no doubt feeling the pressure to get his team turned around, and fast. Maryland is still a solid basketball school, but they no longer have the draw for recruits like Duke or North Carolina, which has made it even more difficult to get back on the winning track. With any luck the program can rise back to power in the conference and the national scene, but this year’s team is not a likely candidate to start them back on their way to national prominence. In fact, Maryland is +10000 to win the NCAA Tournament this year.

Frontcourt
The Terps lose two of their most important players in Bambale Osby and James Gist from down low. The two helped Maryland have a respectable defense last year and both will be sorely missed for their 2008-2009 campaign. Jerome Burney and Braxton Dupree will try to fill their shoes, but neither is very experienced and they need help in the frontcourt now, not in a year or two. Maryland lost a top prospect in the off-season in Gus Gilchrist, who was supposed to play a major role in the Terp’s play in the paint. A Virgnia Tech transfer, Gilchrist chose to head to South Florida instead to avoid missing out on any eligibility.

Backcourt
The Backcourt is where the strength of this team lies and that’s probably why Gary Williams chooses to use guard-heavy lineups in most situations. He’s doing the best with what he’s got, but I’m sure he wishes some of that talent could come from inside. The biggest name on the team and the player most likely to be Maryland’s number one option on offense is Greivis Vasquez, who has NBA ability. Vasquez thrives on driving to the hoop, but fans and NBA scouts will want to see how well he adjusts to the movement of the three point line this year. Vasquez will likely be an even bigger player in the offense this season as he gives some of the point guard duties to Eric Hayes, who is capable enough to run the offense, but isn’t much of an offensive threat and has had troubles matching up with other ACC point guards in the past. The rest of the backcourt consists of Landon Milbourne, Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker, and Sean Mosley. None of these players are a liability on the court, making Maryland a fairly deep team, but they will need one of them to step up in a big way to assist Vasquez if they are to have any chance at making the NCAA tournament this year.

Final Thoughts
The lack of talent in the frontcourt is a huge concern for the Terps, who simply lack the size and talent down low to be a real threat in the ACC. The Maryland guards are good enough, particularly Vasquez, but are far from elite when compared to the top teams in the conference. It’s very unlikely this team sees any postseason action, though the NIT is a possibility. Maybe Maryland isn’t too far gone to come back to the national stage someday, it just won’t be this year.

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