By Al Featherston for theACC.com
There are places where Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez might still be considered relatively inexperienced players. The two sophomore guards essentially shared a starting backcourt spot for Maryland last season, combining to average 14.6 points and 8.5 assists for the 2007 Terps.
But relativity is a funny thing. Going into the 2007-08 season, Hayes and Vasquez rank as the second and third most experienced players on the Maryland roster.
"I tell them, 'You're experienced - whether you like it or not,'" Coach Gary Williams said.
The veteran coach - whose 19-year tenure in College Park is the third-longest coaching run in ACC history - is counting on his two "veteran" guards to anchor what is shaping up as the youngest team in the league. Williams lost three senior starters and two more senior reserves off last year's 25-9 team.
All he's got returning from that team are senior center James Gist, who started 33 of 34 games a year ago; senior big man Bambale Osby, who averaged 5.8 points as a backup in the post; and the two sophomore guards. Williams will try to fashion the rest of his rotation from a list of candidates that includes one red-shirt freshman who missed last season with an injury, two sophomore forwards who combined to play a total of 49 minutes in ACC play, and five incoming freshmen.
"Our returning players are confident and mature enough to understand that we have to get some of our new players playing time," Williams said. "The new players need to feel they are a part of things from day one. We're going to put our best team on the floor, regardless of what year you are in school."
Williams' best team will almost certainly include Hayes and Vasquez, who are both uncommonly mature players at an early age.
Greivis Vasquez
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"Vasquez has had so much experience in international ball that he plays a lot older than his years," the Maryland coach said of the Venezuelan combo guard. "And, Hayes' father was a coach, so he grew up with a profound understanding of the game. They're advanced enough that I'm asking them to carry a heavy load. I hope they can handle it."
That shouldn't be a problem. A year ago, the 6-6, 190-pound Vasquez proved to be one of the most explosive freshmen in the ACC. He just missed a triple-double when he had 13 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds at Duke. He passed out 11 assists in a victory over Clemson. He started 21 games and averaged 9.8 points a game with a total of 157 assists.
"I think Greivis can be as good as any guard in the ACC," Williams said. "He's a terrific passer and he does a great job of creating opportunities for others off dribble penetration. Plus, he can score in a variety of ways."
The 6-4 Hayes is more of a traditional point guard. He started 11 times and averaged just 4.8 points, but passed out 132 assists.
"I've been on Eric to shoot the ball when he's open," Williams said. "He's got that pass-first mentality, but he needs to be more aggressive in looking for his own shot."
While the two guards usually rotated at the point last season, they did play together enough to suggest that they should be a potent starting duo this season.
But if Williams needs any backup help in the backcourt, he'll be forced to go with an inexperienced newcomer - maybe 6-2 Adrian Bowie, a product of Montrose Christian Academy in Greenbelt, Md., who arrives with a big prep reputation.
"He's very quick with the basketball," an admiring Gist said of his new teammate.
James Gist
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The 6-8, 235-pound Gist will anchor the middle for the Terps after averaging 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds as a junior. The 6-8, 250-pound Osby brings a lot of energy and some impressive rebounding skills to the other post position, but he has not proven (he started his career at New Mexico and played a season of junior college ball before arriving at Maryland) that he can score with any consistency. That's never been a problem for 6-8, 260-pound freshman Braxton Dupree, who averaged 21 points and 16 rebounds as a senior at Baltimore's Calvert Hall.
However, Williams insists that he's not worried about the offensive production of his young team.
"We'll find ways to put the ball in the basket," the Maryland coach said. "We've never had a problem generating offense. But the reason we were so much more successful last year than in the two previous seasons was because we played better defense."
That's where some of Williams' graduation losses will hurt - both forward Ekene Ibekwe, the ACC's top shot-blocker in 2007, and swing man D.J. Strawberry, fourth in ACC steals, made the league's all-defensive team. Overall, Maryland led the league in field goal percentage defense (eighth nationally), blocked shots (fifth nationally) and 3-point FG percentage defense and ranked second in the ACC in total turnovers forced.
"Defense is going to be a huge part of our game," Gist said.
One key to Maryland's new defensive prowess could be 6-9 red-shirt freshman Jerome Burney. An injury forced the long-armed Atlanta product to sit out last season, but he averaged 10.0 blocks a game as a senior in high school. He could help fill the void left by Ibekwe's departure down low.
It will be harder for Williams to replace the defensive impact that Strawberry provided on the perimeter.
"I thought he was the best perimeter defender in the league last year," Williams said. "He could match up at any of three positions."
Bowie doesn't have Strawberry's size or long arms, but he's a quick, aggressive defender. Williams hopes that 6-7 Landon Milbourne, who played little as a freshman but impressed the Maryland coach with his work ethic, could pick up the slack. Or maybe 6-6 freshman Cliff Tucker, a very athletic Texan, can provide some of the wing defense that Williams is looking for.
The Maryland coach isn't quite sure yet just how the new pieces will fit together around his quartet of veterans. But he's comfortable with his core - especially his two old/young guards.
"I'd rather have experienced guards than frontcourt players, if I could only have one or the other," Williams said. "Any time you lose as much experience as we did, you have to be concerned. But some of [our young players] might turn out to be pretty good."
Gist, who seems to relish his role as the team's senior leader, admits that the freshmen "have no idea what it takes" to win in the ACC. But he's confident that he and his three battle-tested teammates can impart that message.
"I don't think it's much of a problem," he said. "Once the ball goes up in the air, basketball is basketball - either you can play or you can't. Our young guys are playing like upperclassmen. They want to learn and they want to win."
STRENGTHS: The combination of Gist in the middle and the two "experienced" sophomore guards gives Williams a strong foundation upon which to build. Vasquez, especially, has star potential and should be Maryland's go-to offensive guy.
CONCERNS: As a rule, older players are better defensively. Williams has got to find a way to rebuild what was one of the ACC's best defenses with a collection of young players.
NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Bowie combines strength and quickness at guard. He's not rated a great shooter, but he's always found ways to score. Plus, he made his reputation on the AAU circuit by playing tough on-the-ball defense. Although Vasquez and Hayes are established at guard, don't be surprised to see Williams use a three-guard set at times to get Bowie on the floor.
EARLY TESTS: Maryland opens the season in the CBE Classic - a tournament that could lead to two early games in Kansas City against the likes of Michigan State and/or UCLA. Illinois visits College Park for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Maryland takes on Virginia Commonwealth in the BB&T Classic in Washington's MCI Center - the Terps have lost at least one game in the BB&T event in six straight years.
