What a terrific night to be a terps fan. Before I get to the game itself, I must say how heartening it was to see the support the team had tonight. The number of fans cheering on the terps was in the the hundreds. The first indication of how many people were turning out was during dinner before the game. Besides our party (which numbered 10), there were three other tables of four at the restaurant where people were decked out in Maryland apparel. Later, when walking into Welsh-Ryan Arena, we saw a lot of red among fans entering the building. During the national anthem, we fully understood the size of the turnout when the crowd yelled "O", reminiscent of Orioles games. And when our fans broke into the "Let's Go Maryland" chant, we all felt right at home.
As for the game, on offense, the team looked as good as I've seen them play this year. Exceptional ball movement resulted in uncontested shots. Players moved without the ball, there was good spacing, passes were crisp and on target, and the guys took high percentage shots for the most part. On a couple of occasions in each half, we ran a top of the circle weave like the old Celtics used to run. Melo and Rasheed played very well. It doesn't get any better than going up by 20 in the first twenty.....and on the road no less.
On defense, I thought we were also very focused. Fought through screens all game and kept Northwestern's players out of their comfort zones. Kept forcing them further out and NW's 3 - point shooting was very poor. We held them to 10% on 2 -20 shots. We blocked a total of 9 shots with Jake having two of them. Also had 9 steals..
As for negatives, there were a few, but minor. First, despite our height advantage, we don't bang the boards very well. Either offensive or defensive, but I thought we were better on the defensive end. Just seemed a little passive even though I believe final stats would show that we held a slight advantage. I saw Diamond Stone back off a couple of times in the lane rather than challenge a shot. However, he may only be following the coaches' instructions in order to avoid foul trouble. My biggest question mark is in trying to assess Damonte Dodd's contribution. He didn't play that much -- perhaps 9 - 10 minutes, but he seemed invisible on the floor except for picking up four fouls. Watching him in person, I don't see him as a rim protector, a shot intimidator, or someone who sets effective high or low screens. He doesn't have soft hands, and he doesn't seem to be instinctive in terms of anticipating where he should be on the floor. The other guys don't involve him in the offense very much, so I don't see where his contribution is going to come from.
Summary -- I thought this was our best game considering the opposition. Living in the Chicago area, I've seen Northwestern play a number of times this year. They didn't play very well on Saturday, but that was due to how well the terps played them. We shut them down, early and often, and took the crowd out of the game. You know sometimes when you watch Maryland play and are nervous wondering if the terps will either hang on or mount a comeback? Well, this WAS NOT one of those games. Once we got the big lead, I never felt like we were under any risk of either letting them back in the game or blowing it. When the Wildcats would put some baskets together, the terps always had a response. Each time the crowd would begin to get energized.....and Chris Collins was waving his arms frantically trying to get them riled up, a Maryland basket (often a 3 pointer), took the air out of the building.
Probably spoke to a couple of dozen terps fans either before, during (at half time) or after. What I found interesting is that of the total, one couple was from Racine and everyone else lived in the Chicago area. Didn't meet a single individual who made the trip from the Baltimore - Washington area.
All in all, a great night in Evanston. My grandsons were on cloud 9 after the win. I couldn't have given myself a better birthday present on January 2. That being said, it's hard to believe that I'm celebrating a golden anniversary of sorts. 50 years ago....I was on break after having just completed my first (freshman) semester at Maryland. Where have all the years gone?
As for the game, on offense, the team looked as good as I've seen them play this year. Exceptional ball movement resulted in uncontested shots. Players moved without the ball, there was good spacing, passes were crisp and on target, and the guys took high percentage shots for the most part. On a couple of occasions in each half, we ran a top of the circle weave like the old Celtics used to run. Melo and Rasheed played very well. It doesn't get any better than going up by 20 in the first twenty.....and on the road no less.
On defense, I thought we were also very focused. Fought through screens all game and kept Northwestern's players out of their comfort zones. Kept forcing them further out and NW's 3 - point shooting was very poor. We held them to 10% on 2 -20 shots. We blocked a total of 9 shots with Jake having two of them. Also had 9 steals..
As for negatives, there were a few, but minor. First, despite our height advantage, we don't bang the boards very well. Either offensive or defensive, but I thought we were better on the defensive end. Just seemed a little passive even though I believe final stats would show that we held a slight advantage. I saw Diamond Stone back off a couple of times in the lane rather than challenge a shot. However, he may only be following the coaches' instructions in order to avoid foul trouble. My biggest question mark is in trying to assess Damonte Dodd's contribution. He didn't play that much -- perhaps 9 - 10 minutes, but he seemed invisible on the floor except for picking up four fouls. Watching him in person, I don't see him as a rim protector, a shot intimidator, or someone who sets effective high or low screens. He doesn't have soft hands, and he doesn't seem to be instinctive in terms of anticipating where he should be on the floor. The other guys don't involve him in the offense very much, so I don't see where his contribution is going to come from.
Summary -- I thought this was our best game considering the opposition. Living in the Chicago area, I've seen Northwestern play a number of times this year. They didn't play very well on Saturday, but that was due to how well the terps played them. We shut them down, early and often, and took the crowd out of the game. You know sometimes when you watch Maryland play and are nervous wondering if the terps will either hang on or mount a comeback? Well, this WAS NOT one of those games. Once we got the big lead, I never felt like we were under any risk of either letting them back in the game or blowing it. When the Wildcats would put some baskets together, the terps always had a response. Each time the crowd would begin to get energized.....and Chris Collins was waving his arms frantically trying to get them riled up, a Maryland basket (often a 3 pointer), took the air out of the building.
Probably spoke to a couple of dozen terps fans either before, during (at half time) or after. What I found interesting is that of the total, one couple was from Racine and everyone else lived in the Chicago area. Didn't meet a single individual who made the trip from the Baltimore - Washington area.
All in all, a great night in Evanston. My grandsons were on cloud 9 after the win. I couldn't have given myself a better birthday present on January 2. That being said, it's hard to believe that I'm celebrating a golden anniversary of sorts. 50 years ago....I was on break after having just completed my first (freshman) semester at Maryland. Where have all the years gone?
