Turtledroppings.com – Maryland Football And Basketball Blog

The University of Maryland Football team landed a huge fish when Stephon Diggs committed to the Terps today.  Diggs represents the first 5 Star Recruit the Terps have landed since 2007 (Bruce Campbell).  The Terps recruiting class, depending on the source was ranked 6th or 7th in the ACC and in the mid 40′s nationally.  I imagine this would bump it up at least a little.

Diggs choose Maryland over Ohio State, Florida, and Auburn.  He is ranked the #2 WR in this years class of incoming seniors and the only 5 star prospect left to commit.

Some days it’s a good day to be a Terp, some days a bad day to be a Terp.  This one is an excellent one to be a Terp.  Who would have thought we would be able to pull this kind of talent coming off a 2-10 season.  Heck had Diggs gone elsewhere, I’d still say we over achieved this year.  But this is icing on an undeserved cake!

Of course signing a 5 star kid, and having said kid play like a 5 star talent are two different things.  You could fill a canyon with stories of stars who flamed out, or never amounted to much so perhaps we should reel in our expectations, but all indications are Diggs will make an immediate impact on the Terps offense.

Now the attention of Maryland Nation switches to Danny O’Brien, we should find out early next week what his long term plans are.  You never can tell what a college kid is thinking, but you’d have to figure this one would go into the “Pro” column when deciding whether or not to remain in College Park.  If he does stay, I think expectations for the program will go through the roof, and for once Randy Edsall may begin to stick his head out of the dog house door.

Of course you cannot mention this story without bringing up Mike Locksley, this is what he was brought in to do, and boy is he ever doing it.  If he can pull in two local studs in such a short time, what can he do given an entire year?

Like I said, today is a good day to be a Terp!!

Twitter is a great thing, but sometimes it can be maddening.  If you want to hear a joke or witty observation from a friend or celebrity, it works just fine.  If you want it to be a source of news, well then you are taking some risk.  Just like yesterday when word leaked that Danny O’Brien was transferring from Maryland, all hell broke loose.  Finally it took a tweet from O’Brien himself to set the record straight, that in his words, he was still a Terp.

So that put that fire out….for now.

But let’s take a closer look at the situation.  I have always been one to believe that where there is smoke, there very well could be fire, and I think there is merit to this story.  Per the Washington Post Danny will decide his future this weekend.

Here is why I think he is staying.  First we are moving away from the spread offense and back to a system more like what we saw his Freshman year.  How many interceptions did O’Brien throw this past season that were completely uncharacteristic?  Well those stem from not totally grasping the new system, moving back towards what Mike Locksley wants to do will benefit him.

Another reason I think he is staying is that word on the street was that he hosted Stefon Diggs this past weekend.  That doesn’t really make much sense for anyone involved if Danny was indeed heading out the door.  So hopefully this is just a rumor, and it will quickly be put to bed.  After all, if you were the type of person who enjoyed starting rumors (or wanted a certain 5 Star Athlete to pick OSU over Maryland….just saying), wouldn’t this sound believable?

And finally, Danny O’Brien seems happy to be in College Park and has been working with Under Armour up in Baltimore.

OK, that’s the good news.  The bad news is Edsall didn’t really show a lot of faith in O’Brien after his early struggles.  To go from ACC Rookie of the Year to the bench has to hurt.  Another reason is that Danny will soon be graduating which may allow him to go the Russell Wilson route.

Also Danny will be limited this spring as he recovers from his broken arm.  As a new offense is put in place, there will be somewhat of a learning curve.  With a healthy CJ Brown, and a not yet healthy O’Brien, perhaps Danny feels he will fall behind in the competition for the starting job.  Why lose another year of eligibility in a situation where he has to win back what was once his to begin with?

Whatever does end up happening, QB’s transfer all the time, and wouldn’t one expect either CJ Brown or Danny O’Brien to leave this spring?  They can’t both play QB, and I am sure both think they are worthy of starting in College Football, so even if O’Brien does stay, then that probably means we will lose CJ Brown.   So if the unthinkable does happen, we all shouldn’t be shocked.

In fact, I will even go out on a limb and say we will be all right.  I am an O’Brien fan, but I think there is a lot of potential in CJ Brown.  I think we can move forward with either of them, but all that being said, losing O’Brien means more than losing his services, it is a drastic blow to the program and another strike against Randy Edsall, which Randy can’t really afford.  It would also in my mind take us out of the Stefon Diggs conversation, and would bum out everyone who bought the #5 Pride Jersey.

So here’s to hoping he stays.  It isn’t the end of the world if he goes, but it sure makes the world seem like a better place if he doesn’t.

I hate to say anything positive about Duke here, but all things aside, watching Duke put away a game is a thing of beauty.  They do everything right, make all the key foul shots and once a team is dead, they stay dead.  Maryland does none of that.

Missing the front end of one and one’s seems to be our signature move down the stretch this year.  Though we got away with it last night in Clemson, this is a terrible trend.  Maybe it is our youth, maybe it’s our bad luck, but whatever it is, missing those shots are a good way to punch your ticket to the NIT (if even as we learned last year!).

Which brings us to the importance of last night’s win.  Sean Mosley got his 1,000 point of course (Congratulations to him) but the Clemson win keeps our NCAA hopes on life support.  Look, we aren’t going to the Tournament, to think otherwise is little over optimistic, but if you are one of those types who can’t give up on that dream yet, the Clemson game was a must.  Obviously it was our first true road win of the season (Couldn’t quite beat Ground Hog’s Day).  But the way I see things, there are 12 teams in the ACC, and we need to finish in the top 6 to even have a prayer.  Clemson on the road is not a “Signature” win, but it helps in the standings.

Last night’s win puts the Terps in 7^th in the Conference, behind Miami who is 6^th.  Had we not won, the Tarps would be in 8^th, 3-6 in the conference and pretty much dead man walking for the post season.

Now to reach the tournament, Maryland does need at least one win to hang it’s hat on, and luckily, there are plenty of chances to do just that.  With Duke, UVA twice, and UNC again, the opportunities are going to be out there, however, only one of those games will be in Comcast, and even if we do win one, that by no means gets us in, but it does keep the bubble talk going for a little longer, and realistically, I think that is the most we can ask for in 2011-2012.

But as sad as missing the Big Dance is, to be 4-5 in conference is actually quite a bit better than I anticipated from this team, which means it could be as early as next season that we can again get back into the Dance Mix.  I’m optimistic, and seeing the Terps hold on last night was great, even if the youth and inexperience was painfully obvious.

With Saturdays loss to UNC, Maryland falls to 3-5 in the ACC, which also happens to be the halfway point of the ACC season.  I think if you polled any of us prior to the start of the season, most of us would be happy with a 3-5 record.  I think there was a real possibility that this could have been a season where the Terps only win 3 conference games.  And I guess technically it still could be a three win season.  However, watching them compete this past week, I really feel like they are on the verge of winning a game they aren’t expected to win soon.

Before we look forward lets look at the three wins first.  All three came at home against teams that are currently all at the bottom of the conference with 2 wins a piece.  So, you could say Maryland is fortunate that they have won the game they did.  They were certainly there best chances at wins so far, and they took advantage of the situations.

Two of the losses were at home, to the conferences elite (Duke and UNC).  After the Alabama game, I was really worried those two games could be really ugly losses.  However, the Terps were right there in those games.    A stop here, a made shot there, a rebound here, and a couple less turnovers or made free throws and those games may have gone to the good guys.  Still, no shame in the effort in either of those games.  Then we have the three road loses.  Again, nothing to complain about so far.  Sure it would have been great to win any of those, especially the double OT killer at Miami, but they were in those games until late.

So looking forward there is one glaring problem with the remaining schedule.  Five of the remaining games are on the road.  At Clemson, at Duke, at UVA, at Georgia Tech, at UNC all pose a problem for a team that has yet to win a true road game.  Looking realistically at that list, you should think about Clemson and Georgia Tech as games they could win.   Sure they could win a lot of games, but looking at the list, those are ones you would be most confident about.

At home they get Boston College, Miami, and Virginia.  You could say I would be upset if we lost to BC.  I think they should be able to give Miami a run for their money, and at home against UVA you would think the Terps could have a chance if Comcast is rocking.

So in all the road to getting to .500 is going to be tough.  I think we would all consider .500 a success this season.  That being said games aren’t played on paper.  The team has been knocking on the door of getting a big win.  Somewhere along the line it is going to click for 40 minutes and it might be that game we all remember in Turgeon’s first season.  For now we will have to enjoy that win over a rapidly improving Notre Dame team as the best win of the season.  Still, I think we all want the team to play really well and get a big win for Turgeon.  You can tell he is starting to like the way the team is fighting.  Now if the could only box out for the man, he might be very happy.

Another game where Maryland hung with one of the big boys in the ACC.   Another game where they wilted down the stretch.  This game was there for the taking but a stretch of turnovers, questionable fouls, and some defensive laps set the scene for UNC to erase a 9 point second half deficit.  Though all those points helped lead to the loss, the bottom line was Maryland’s interior defense struggled against a deeper UNC front line.

Even with Alex Len playing his best ACC game, Maryland had a hard time keeping Carolina off the glass.  Despite picking up his 4th foul with about 12 minutes left in the game, Tyler Zeller was still able to score 22 points and John Henson added 17.  In his part  Len looked very comfortable out there today.  He finished with 12 points, 9 boards and 4 blocks.  There were several other balls he kept alive and altered several other shots on defense.  If he can build on this outing, he will be back in the starting lineup, or should be anyway.

I usually hate to point to the refs when Maryland loses, but that was probably the worst officiated Maryland game of the year so far. Not all of the calls when against Maryland, but it appeared when they did, they weren’t those ones where you say well you can see why he called.  The fourth foul on Alex Len was a block attempt where he made no contact with Henson.  Mosley was fighting for an offensive rebound, and clearly Barnes was over the back.  There were some questionable moving picks.  I really believe Nick Faust had that a clean steal late in the game when they were pressing.  One of Mosley’s fouls was on a block where the only contact was with the ball.  It was a very choppy game both ways.

For the most part Nick Faust played a really solid game.  He did pull up on a 1 on 4 early, but for the most part he was very effective driving the lane.  He did loose to in the paint late in the game, but overall he had a solid game.  He is slowly looking more comfortable out there.  He needs to really work on a pull up jumper in the paint though.

I think Terrell Stoglin played a more team oriented game until it was desperation time.  He seems to have lost his touch from behind the arc the last few games, but he did a great job getting to the basket against UNC’s huge front line and scoring or getting to the line.  He still gets beat on defense, but he is looking to get his teammates involved more.  It really seemed he lost a little bit of his confidence when he threw the ball away to James Padgett who was going to the scorers table to check in.  From that point on his jumpers were all short and I don’t believe he hit anything outside of the lane.

The only player who really struggled was PeShon Howard.  He didn’t seem comfortable running the team and was a bit of a liability defensively.  I was kind of hoping the half court offense would be running a little smoother with his return, but it hasn’t really happened yet.  They still wind up having to dump the ball off to Stoglin and hope he can create on his own a little too often.

If this was a season with high expectations it would be a maddening season.  However, I have done a pretty good job of keeping that in mind.  I am trying to focus on the big picture.   And you really can see things coming together.  They have just been running out of gas late in games, because it takes such an effort to stay in games.  They gave a tremendous effort today.  They hustled.  They dove for balls.  They didn’t get pushed around to often.  It was going to take a perfect game to win.  In the end they missed some shots, had some killer turnovers, and didn’t get a few rebounds that haunted them.  Still, I walk away and I am not overly disappointed.

The only certainty in the NCAA now days is uncertainty, and the new look ACC (for now!) is starting to take shape.

In football, the Syracuse Orange…..really, the Orange, we can’t say Orangemen anymore?  Isn’t it a complement to have a team named after you?  Oh well, that isn’t for this post.  So the Orange will be joining the Atlantic Division in Football, while the Pitt Panthers (no disrespect to large black jungle cats intended) join the Coastal.  This means year in and year out the Terps (no offense to aquatic turtles) will face Clemson, FSU, NC State, Syracuse, Boston College, and Wake Forest.

As for getting Syracuse in Football, I’m fine with that.  I’m not all that familiar with how their program has been recently, but the fact that I don’t know probably means they haven’t been taking the world by storm.  Not that our team has  played all that great recently, but I still view this for the foreseeable future as a winnable game  year in and year out.  Then again, there is probably some blogger in Upstate New York saying the same thing about us right now.

On the round ball side of things, Maryland will no longer be playing Duke twice a year, which is fine with me.  Rivalry be damned, give me some wins, and let’s get the focus away from the only one game a year matters at Comcast mentality.  They all do!  Pairing up with the Terps is going to be Pitt which, isn’t exactly Towson.  So we will still have our work cut out for us (why couldn’t we play BC twice?!?!).

The other twice a year match ups will be Duke-UNC (a no brainer), Clemson-GT, FSU-Miami, BC-Syracuse, NC State-Wake, and UVA-VT.  In addition to the rivalry, each team will face 4 other opponents twice a year. So the idea is to play each team, other than Pitt, 4 times in 3 years.

Of course this is all great, and it is nice to know what is going to happen, but the BIG QUESTION (I use caps for emphasis here) is WHEN is this going to happen, as of now, we still do not have a date for Pitt and Syracuse to join the ACC.  That will be the next step, but at least when they do, we now know what the Conference will look like.

Oh and on a final note, all teams will be in the ACC Tournament, that format still needs to be worked out, but with no date for Pitt and Syracuse to join, I guess that hasn’t been that high of a priority.

I have so many mixed feelings about last nights game. Twice I had written the game off as loss. And yet there at the end of regulation and the first overtime Maryland had the basketball with the chance to win.

First let’s start with Mark Turgeon’s ejection. I think the second one came very quickly. He must have said the magic words to get the boot. So following the two techs, the Terps found them down 16. Yet they slapped on the press, hit some shots, and found themselves with a chance to win. I think they showed a lot on how much they were going to battle for their coach. I think they are growing up and maybe this could be turning point.

Now onto the game. Stoglin had trouble getting into the lane as he tired and fell in love with the three. In fact he shot 20 threes, hitting only 6 of them. I don’t like that. I know he was forced into taking some because they were behind, but in overtime he kind of forgot about getting inside the arc. Still he got 33 points and heated up when the team needed him.

I think you have to give a little credit to Mychal Parker. The Terps are starting to find a way to use his athleticism. In transition, he can be a force in the open floor. He still needs to get more involved I the half court offense, but he is becoming a useful piece of the puzzle.

My disappointment in the game was when Maryland had a tremendous size advantage and tried to force the ball into Alex Len a few times and made really bad passes. He was effective at times, but I don’t feel they really took advantage of Miami’s lack of size.

This game was truly one that could have been a win. However, my expectations were low this year, and it allowed me to look at the big picture. I think some players are starting to fit into their roles nicely. I hope we saw Len begin to get back on track. I think there is a really good foundation being built for the future. I hope it all comes together Saturday against Carolina! It has to happen soon right?

Here are the list of officially signed Terps from the UMTerps website.  It looks like there are a few stragglers out there.  Let’s just hope everyone who committed signs.   And keep your fingers crossed maybe we can get a surprise signing as well.  For those who made it official, welcome aboard, and we look forward to seeing you in uniform.

Signing Day Log (confirmed NLIs)

• P.J. Gallo (7:01 a.m.)
• Alvin Hill (7:02 a.m.)
• Nick Brigham (7:10 a.m.)
• Stefan Houston (7:19 a.m.)
• Malcolm Culmer (7:24 a.m.)
• Kenneth Goins (7:28 a.m.)
• Joe Riddle (7:32 a.m.)
• Wes Brown (7:44 a.m.)
• Brock Dean (7:50 a.m.)
• Perry Hills (7:54 a.m.)
• Anthony Nixon (7:55 a.m.)
• Shawn Petty (7:57 a.m.)
• Caleb Rowe (8:23 a.m.)
• Mike Madaras (8:32 a.m.)
• Albert Reid (8:41 a.m.)
• Avery Thompson (8:45 a.m.)
• Amba Etta-Tawo (8:47 a.m.)
• Roman Braglio (8:50 a.m.)

The Terps are taking their talents to South Beach tonight.  Man that will never get old.  Technically they are going to Coral Gables, but any chance to use LeBron’s line I want to take advantage.  Tonight at 8:00 the Mark Turgeon led Terps will attempt to do something a Gary Williams led Terp team never did.  Win in Miami.  That’s right, Maryland was 0-5 in Miami against the Canes.  It would also be Turgeon’s first win on the road at Maryland.  Could be a historic night!

The Canes are led by guards Malcom Scott (13.2) and Durand Scott (12.6). However their front court is a load.  Reggie Johnson is listed at 6’10″ and 284 pounds, while Kenny Kadji is listed at 6’11″ and 251.   They are big and are capable of blocking a lot of shots.  The way our bigs tend to play a little below the rim I suspect to they will have their share tonight.  Johnson worries me a bit.  He is much stronger, but not as skilled as Plumlee and could cause a problem for the duo of Ashton Pankey and Alex Len.

I certainly think this game is winnable.  I also think Miami has a nice mix of inside and outside players.  None are stars, but all of them are solid, and on a given night can get hot and carry the team.  I would like the to think the Terps are still improving and are ready to take the next step and win one of these close games that seem to slip away late.  Turgeon has said how far they come, and how much he truly enjoys coaching the team.   They are starting to do what he asks on a more consistent basis, and I think anyone that watches can see that.  So hopefully tonight, they can pull off a win and get back over .500 in the conference.

Check back in the afternoon today.  I will try and update the football signing day news if I have a chance.

It is hard to be too optimistic after the disaster that was the 2011 Maryland Football season.  Enter DC Recruiting specialist Mike Locksley, and maybe, just maybe there is a sliver of hope us Maryland fans could be pleasantly surprised.  I guess the worst case scenario is that the 23 players who “committed” actually sign tomorrow.   The best case scenario is that Locksley swoops in and nabs an player who has yet to make a commitment, or “steals” one from a certain school up north with a new coach.

Personally, I think Locksley got involved too late this season to truly have a positive effect on this class.  Next year is another story, but I think the combination of the 2-10 record and Locks coming on board just a month ago aren’t really going to help us this year.   That being said there is still some top talent that at least have the Terps listed.  The biggest get would be WR Stephon Diggs from Olny/ Good Council.  I would put this at about a 1% chance of happening, but…   The bad news is he never took an official visit, and just a couple of days ago went to USC.  So I guess the hopes of him wanting to stay close to home is about our only hope.

Ronald Darby is a Penn State commit that did take an official visit to Maryland.  The CB from Oxon Hill could find his way to Maryland if he wasn’t enamored with all the drama at Penn State.  Again the odds of this is very low, but you just never know.  Stranger things have happened on signing day.  Usually they happen to Maryland, not in our favor.

So don’t forget to keep an eye on all the signing day craziness.  I have a pretty busy day tomorrow, but maybe I will be able to update where the Terps stand at lunch time.

One final football note.  I would like to point out that Gary Crowton did indeed find his next job.  He is on his way to Canada and will be the OC for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  We will always have fond memories of Coach Crowton from that Miami game.  And that is all!