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September 1st, 2006
By Joel
Welser
Broadcast Basketball
Maryland
Terrapins
Overall Rank:
#70
Conference
Rank: #9 ACC
2005-06:
19-13, 8-8, 6th
2005-06
postseason: NIT
 Even
with a talented squad in 2005-2006,
Maryland ended the season with a disappointing 8-8 record in
the conference. With a talented group of seniors gone,
expectations have gone down even further for a team that hasn’t
made the NCAA Tournament in two years.
Who’s Out:
Nik
Caner-Medley led the squad with 15.3 points and fellow departing
senior Chris McCray wasn’t far behind with 15.2 points per
game. Travis Garrison earned ten starts during his final year
in College Park, averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Sterling Ledbetter was relegated to backup point guard duties
during his senior campaign, but was still a decent contributor
off the bench.
Who’s In:
The
frontcourt needs some depth and Jerome Burney and Bambale Osby
will look to fill that role. Unfortunately, those two are the
least heralded of Maryland’s five man class. Burney is a long
6-9 power forward who will help out on the glass as a freshman.
Osby played at New Mexico as a freshman before heading to Paris
Junior College in Texas. Osby didn’t see many minutes at New
Mexico and that isn’t expected to change at Maryland. Greivis
Vasquez and Landon Milbourne will battle for minutes on the
wings. Vasquez is a hardworking, tough and versatile player.
He’ll need to get stronger and work on his shooting consistency,
but Vasquez can help out the Terps at multiple positions as a
freshman. Milbourne is a monster on the offensive glass. He
has nice range on his shot, but needs to work on his inside game
if Coach Gary Williams wants the 6-7 forward to play under the
basket. Eric Hayes is a technically sound point guard. He’s a
smart floor leader, a solid shooter and the future of the
Maryland backcourt appears to be in his hands.
Who to Watch:
James
Gist, Ekene Ibekwe and Will Bowers return to the frontcourt.
Gist, who started 21 games last year, is a long and lean forward
with good athletic skills. Given the opportunity for more
minutes, Gist is expected to improve on last year’s 8.4 points
per game. Ibekwe will have to be the leader in the paint.
After averaging 11.1 points and a team high 6.6 boards as a
junior, the 6-9 forward returned to college to continue to work
on his game. Bowers, at 7-1 and 262 pounds, is a great option
off the bench. He is imposing on the defensive end and has a
nice shooting touch.
Final
Projection:
The backcourt
has a couple solid players in point guard D.J. Strawberry and
shooting guard Mike Jones. Strawberry averaged 10.3 points and
4.0 assists per game, while Jones proved that he could be the
go-to scorer late in the season. There is plenty of talent at
Maryland, but there was more last year. If the Terps can play
to their potential, they should be in the NCAA Tournament. If
this season turns out to be more like last year, it will be
three years in a row with a trip to the NIT.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
NIT
Projected
Starting Five:
D.J. Strawberry,
Senior, Guard, 10.3 points per game
Mike Jones,
Senior, Guard, 10.5 points per game
Greivis Vasquez,
Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
James Gist,
Junior, Forward, 8.4 points per game
Ekene Ibekwe,
Senior, Forward, 11.1 points per game
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