Maryland prepares for Curry

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Terps prepare for Curry, Davidson
Stopping sharpshooting guard high on UM's agenda; The Sun's Heather A. Dinich reports from Buffalo, N.Y.


By Heather A. Dinich
Sun Reporter

March 14, 2007, 5:49 PM EDT

Buffalo, N.Y. -- It's raining outside. It's dreary. We're in Buffalo. The lone distraction for the Terps here is that somehow Duke got stuck in the same hotel.

Speaking of the Blue Devils, there was a swarm in the locker room as cameras pushed their way in the face of Gerald Henderson, who patiently answered everyone's questions about his run-in with Tyler Hansbrough.

Henderson called Hansbrough to apologize before the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

"He understood," Henderson said. "He said, 'Don't worry about it, it's part of the game.' He was cool about it."

It wasn't the way Henderson wanted to make a name for himself at Duke.

"Everybody knows me as the guy who hit Hansbrough now," he said.

Apparently it upped his reputation on campus -- there were some cute Cameron Crazies who had a sign that read: "Let us kiss that right elbow" during Duke's public shoot-around.

If anybody knows the pedigree of Davidson super-frosh Stephen Curry, it's Maryland assistant coach Michael Adams. Not only was Adams assigned to give the scouting report for this particular team, but he also played with -- and against -- Stephen's father, Dell Curry, in the NBA.

They were both in Charlotte during Adams' final two seasons, 1995 and 1996, and both earned reputations as shooters. Now it's Stephen Curry who has garnered national attention for his average of 21.2 points per game and Adams' job to figure a way to stop him.

"His son is a shooter," said Adams, who broke down game film of about six of the Wildcats' games. "It's unbelievable how much of a shooter he is like his father. He's undersized, but he has a great touch."

Adams said Dell was two years behind him in the league, but played longer than he did. The Terps will probably put their best defender -- D.J. Strawberry -- on the younger Curry.

 

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: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.
Time: 12:20 p.m. Thursday
TV, Radio: CBS, 105.7 FM,1300 AM
Line: Maryland by 7

The teams
No. 4 seed Maryland: 24-8; ACC tie for third (10-6); 21st NCAA tournament appearance.
No. 13 seed Davidson: 29-4; Southern Conference champions (17-1), 15th NCAA tournament appearance.

The frontcourts
Maryland junior James Gist and senior Ekene Ibekwe have the size and athleticism to take control and block shots, but need to stay out of early foul trouble. Rebounding will have to be a team effort, especially with all of the perimeter shots Davidson likes to take. The Wildcats' starters are junior Boris Meno, a 6-foot-8 native of Paris, France, who averages 8.1 rebounds, and Thomas Sander, a 6-8 junior from Ohio who makes 49.5 percent of his field goals. Edge: Maryland

The backcourts
Statistically, the Wildcats have one of the top combinations in the country, as Stephen Curry set the NCAA freshman record for most three-pointers in a season, and point guard Jason Richards is second nationally in assists per game (7.3). Maryland senior D.J. Strawberry's experience at point guard made him a better all-around player and ball handler, but his most important job tomorrow might be on the defensive end. Freshman standout Greivis Vasquez played a prominent role in his team's second-half surge this season, but he hasn't been as consistent as Curry. Both teams played Duke, though, and the Wildcats made just three of 19 three-point shots in a loss while the Terps swept the Blue Devils. Edge: Maryland

Benches
Both have players who could be considered sixth starters. For Maryland, it's freshman guard Eric Hayes. For Davidson, it's forward Andrew Lovedale, who has averaged 18.2 minutes. There's no way Davidson can match the Terps' height (7-foot Will Bowers) or physical play (6-8, 250-pound Bambale Osby) off the bench. Osby is shooting 55.8 percent from the field, and Hayes is making 91.2 percent of his free throws. Edge: Maryland.

Coaches
Bob McKillop has graduated all 54 of his players, but in 17 seasons he's never advanced past the first round of the NCAA tournament. Gary Williams has graduated 18 percent of his players, but won a national championship. Nobody is taking final exams today, though, just playing basketball. Williams has a 7-3 record against McKillop, including a 78-63 win over the Wildcats in 2005 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Edge: Maryland

Keys for Maryland
Maryland needs to fluster this team with its press, get the guards involved in the rebounding and play tight defense on Curry and Richards. The Terps have to stay within their offense and work the ball inside-out.

Bottom line
Maryland is a bigger, stronger team that seems genuine in its seriousness about proving its loss to Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament was not reflective of where its postseason is headed. The Terps proved they were capable of something special this season when they knocked off No. 1 seed North Carolina during the regular season, and a team from the Southern Conference shouldn't be the one to send them home early -- again.

Prediction: Maryland 82, Davidson 70
This is a team Maryland is capable of beating, but it should be a tight game because of the talent in Davidson's backcourt.

[Heather A. Dinich]

 

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Maryland all business day before tourney
Terps insist loss to Miami taught them to stay grounded
By Heather A. Dinich
Sun Reporter
Originally published March 14, 2007, 5:47 PM EDT
Buffalo, N.Y. // Maryland point guard Greivis Vasquez seemed subdued as he sat in the Terps' locker room today at HSBC Arena, his usually flamboyant personality stifled by a conscious effort to focus on one of the biggest games of his fledgling career.

"I'm saving my energy for tomorrow," he said. "I wish I was excited and all that, but I just want to take it more serious. I'm still going to have fun, but it's about winning. It's about winning."




After an unexpected loss to Miami in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament ended Maryland's seven-game winning streak, Vasquez and his teammates insist they have learned a valuable lesson heading into tomorrow's 12:20 p.m. tip-off against Davidson (29-4) in the first round of the NCAA tournament -- stay grounded.

Most within the program agree the players got swept up in the momentum of a turnaround that catapulted the Terps into the NCAA tournament for the first time in three seasons and put them in a position to earn a top four seed. Although the players all but swore they wouldn't lose to Miami -- the worst team in the ACC -- again, they underperformed and fell far below the expectations heaped upon a group suddenly tabbed as one of the hottest teams in the country.

"We didn't have the focus we've gotta have here," said junior forward James Gist. "We used the Miami game as a building block. I think that might have been the best thing that could have happened. We were on a seven-game winning streak and I think we would've came in here big-headed if we would have kept winning. That kind of leveled us out and made us realize we need to keep our focus."

No. 4 seeded Maryland is in a bracket in the Midwest Region where a matchup with defending national champion Florida isn't unfathomable. Davidson, which earned the No. 13 seed and an automatic bid for winning the Southern Conference tournament, isn't a given, though. Maryland freshman guard Eric Hayes said there is a sudden sense of urgency.

"We know now that if we lose our season is over," he said. "I think we're definitely taking it a lot more serious."

Only four players on Maryland's roster -- seniors Mike Jones, Ekene Ibekwe, D.J. Strawberry and reserve forward Will Bowers -- were on the team in 2004 when the Terps last appeared in the NCAA tournament.

Strawberry and Gist planned a players-only meeting in the team hotel last night to make sure "everyone is on the same page and everybody wants the same thing."

They're going to have to be. Maryland can't afford to overlook this small school from Davidson, N.C. The Wildcats are a strong three-point shooting team that has won a school-record 29 games, including 25 of its past 26. The Wildcats are on a 13-game winning streak due in large part to the play of its undersized backcourt.

Freshman guard Stephen Curry ranks 10th nationally with a scoring average of 21.2 points per game, and junior point guard Jason Richards is second nationally in assists per game (7.3) and total assists (242).

"They're a good team, or else they wouldn't be here," Jones said.

After spending the past two postseasons in the National Invitation Tournament, Maryland accomplished its goal of returning to the NCAA tournament, but most agree they're still not satisfied.

"I think it's step one of many steps," reserve forward Dave Neal said. "Yeah, we're happy to be here but it would be even better if we came in and made a statement. We obviously want to go as far as we can."

Maryland coach Gary Williams said the team has practiced well since the loss to Miami and brought the proper demeanor to Buffalo.

"I think this is the NCAA tournament; I'd be surprised if there was a team around here who wasn't very business-like," he said. "We're fortunate we have some veteran players that have been to the tournament before and they know what it's about. Hopefully they can get that through to the younger guys."