Rebuilding effort in College Park
Memo to the Maryland Terrapins - if you want to make your case that you should have been included in the NCAA tournament, it might help to win a game or two in the NIT.
Instead, the Terps got bounced by Manhattan 87-84 over the weekend in the first round of the NIT in a game that the Jaspers controlled throughout.
For an indication as to why ...
"It was a matter of coming out and being ready," Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry said. "They came out and jumped on us early, and when a team like that has confidence and has good guard play, we're going to be in trouble for the rest of the night.
"We really didn't have our heads into it, and we made silly plays the entire game. It was a frustrating game. We had lay-ups that we should have made. It was frustrating because we're a better team than that, and we definitely should have beat them. They just outplayed us today," Strawberry said.
"Everybody wants to play in the NCAA tournament. Playing in the NIT was not one of our goals, but at the same time, we wanted to win. This team just wanted it a little more than we did," backcourtmate Mike Jones said.
"They were knocking down key shots, and they were a little more aggressive than we were. It's basically little things we're going to have to change for next year to get our team to where we want to be," Jones said.
Actually, Mike, it's going to be big things that you're going to have to change for next year to get the Maryland program - only four years removed from its first and only national title - back to where it was.
Coach Gary Williams sounded the warning signs to that effect after the Manhattan debacle.
"We have to earn the right to be a good team. We have several returning players that got a lot of experience as sophomores and juniors, and we have four new players coming in that want to get things done. Hopefully that becomes infectious. We have the opportunity to be a good basketball team next year, but we have to start working towards that in April," Williams said.
The attitude-adjustment part of that effort might need to get going sooner rather than later.
- Chris Graham