Yes, Kevin Love is Ready to Go

I've been saying this around for some time now, so I decided to consolidate with a post.

Kevin Love is ready for the NBA. Now all of you know.

Wait ... You're asking why? Well he should marinate another year in college, he won't be a good pro, he's not athletic, he's white, blah blah blah, etc. I've heard these lines of reasoning plenty of times each.

Here's the deal: The kid is good. Pac-10 Player of the Year award-good. First team All America-good. This past season, he had spectacular averages: 17.5 points per game, 10.6 rebounds per game, 1.44 blocks per game and even hit about one three per game. How many freshmen average a double-double that aren't named Michael Beasley or Kevin Durant? And unlike those guys, he was the best player on a team that made it to a Final Four. Plus, although his outlet passing is already much-ballyhoed, you can't discount that it's a marketable skill that no one else has. Plus, who else can make full-court shots like it's their job?

Right now, ESPN has him as a lottery pick, and I believe this is a fair evaluation based on Love's success in college and his array of post moves and ways to score. The draft profile right now basically says the same stuff that most people are saying (good, but can't jump, not big enough, etc.).

Look, just say Kevin Love isn't going to be a good pro. So what? What more reason does he have to stay in college? Win a championship? I can't blame the guy for turning down a "college education" for lottery-pick money. These days, you have to protect your body like its an investment - you can't afford to get injured.

In addition, Love had an incredible season. Incredible seasons are followed by raised expectations. Why should Love subject himself to increased scrutiny by people trying to poke holes in his game? What if he already has hit his ceiling and doesn't improve? Let's not forget just how special a guy like Tyler Hansbrough is, who vastly improved statistically by staying another year (He should go, too - you don't do better than Player of the Year).

What if he hits a sophomore slump? Does he go the way of Josh McRoberts and drop stock like it's goin' out of style? It's not good business. If you have a good season, go and get paid! How can anyone hate on that?

Kevin Love is one of those guys that will work hard on his game and always try hard to make it in the league. In terms of attitude and maturity, you can't ask for much more of a young man, especially when there are so many Pacmans running around. The adjustment will definitely be hard, but another season in college probably has more risk than reward.

So smile, Mr. Love, when you get that paycheck. Smile when you sign that shoe deal. Don't hide it - it feels good. Even if you don't turn out in the NBA, either way, you're gonna get to spend that money.

It didn't take four years of college to make that no-brainer.

Photo Credit: AP

On the Rise...

Terps are on the rise everywhere. It's true - the press is starting to scramble for information and stories about Gary Williams' team that's ripping up the ACC.

As many sites now recognize (I saw this over at East Coast Bias), Greivis Vasquez earned top spot last week in the country according to ESPN.com's Andy Katz, and James Gist was cited by The Sporting News as last week's best. Very cool stuff.

But I think the star article today is one I read in The Diamondback this morning by Daniel Kobrin. He makes the claim that Greivis Vasquez is the best player in college basketball, which I couldn't possibly agree with, but I follow his logic. Please read it so you can follow my logic from here on out.

Kobrin masterfully sums up my feelings about Greivis and how the fans treat him. He's never gotten the respect from his home crowd that he richly deserves. When he does well, Terp fans gloss over it. When he makes mistakes, everyone screams to bench him. I try to defend him and change the mass perspective whenever I get the chance.

While I definitely think that racial undertones are involved in this issue, I also believe that the Maryland faithful desperately want Eric Hayes to be the next Steve Blake because they perceive the two to be similar players. Hayes is solid, but he's no Steve Blake, and I doubt he'll go on to follow Blake in the NBA as a starting point guard.

I think the tide is finally starting to turn: ESPN recognizes his contributions, as does The Sun. College basketball is an emotional game - we can't pretend that every player should be a quiet, dignified guy who doesn't ham it up or celebrate after a good play, however inappropriate. Yes, Greivis is emotional, but so are Terps fans, and no Terp fan likes to be told to hold back their emotions (however inappropriate). He has faults, but so does every player. I encourage fans to embrace the player Greivis is, because he's pretty damn good at what he does.

Tonight as most are well aware is the Duke game, part II. I'm feeling vaguely optimistic about our chances tonight - Maryland plays Duke in Cameron better than any team in the country, and we were only at the start of our upswing when we first played them. I feel confident with all our starters at this point, but we'll need three things:

KEYS TO THE GAME:

- Bench has to contribute (Someone besides Dave Neal, please.)
- Perimeter defense has to lock down on their shooters.
- We need to make threes.

I think this is very doable, and really I feel like if we can accomplish two out of three, I think Maryland has a really good shot at winning this matchup.

See you on the flip side and Go Terps!

BTDub, Michael Beasley is the Player of the Year

Every now and then, I catch an announcer or some list on the web anointing either Kevin Love or Tyler Hansbrough as THE Player of the Year. No. That's just completely wrong.

Michael Beasley of Kansas State is Player of the Year - clear as day. Not only is he leading the race, he's running ahead like Secretariat.

It seemed to me that last year, Kevin Durant was the consensus POY. Why? Not because Texas was the best NCAA team, as Rivals.com's Andrew Skwara says, but because of his numbers and how otherworldly they were. The guy was the only player both in the top-10 in scoring and rebounding. Add that to a couple big-game performances, Durant basically had the award wrapped up by February.

Now here's the confusing part: Beasley is doing it again this year, but he still seems to be flying under the radar.

I suppose any player that goes to Kansas State is bound to fly under the radar, but Beasley is single-handedly making that team relevant. He averages a ridiculous 25.2 ppg and 12.3 rpg. The rest of the starters average only 40.2 ppg and 15.1 rpg. B-Easy also leads the team in steals and blocked shots. How else do you explain that Kansas State is now ranked No. 18 and beat then-No. 2 Kansas under a first year coach when last year, they choked on a 23-12 record and an NIT berth under Bob Huggins?

Also, about the "otherworldly" stats? Yeah, Beasley got those, too. Remember those averages in the paragraph above? Well they're good for No. 4 on the scoring list and No. 1 in rebounds per game in the whole country. You can't say that about Hansbrough, and you definitely can't say that about Love.

Some people say it's not all about stats, and that it's about team success. Ok, first of all, stats are a huge part about how a player impacts the game. But sure, UNC and UCLA are among the best teams in the nation. But you know what? They were among the best before Hanbrough and Love even got there. UNC won the championship the year before Hansbrough came to town and Roy Williams recruits tons of talent every single year. Beasley isn't surrounded by the likes of Lawson and Ellington. Same thing goes for Love - UCLA has been a two-time Final Four contender, and the credit goes to Ben Howland. He doesn't always have the biggest or most athletic players, but he finds ways to win, especially on defense.

Not that Psycho T and K-Love aren't good players, I've said as much before. But if they all played together in some kind of Collegiate All-Star game (that I'm making up but I wish could happen), I don't think you could have any doubt about who was the best player on the floor. Beasley has post game, he has really good shooting range (43% 3FG) and rebounds like no other - literally. Love and Hansbrough are very good post players and that's about it. They aren't really athletic and they can be outplayed by forwards and centers with better athletic ability (i.e., James Gist against UNC). Their NBA game is surrounded by question marks (way to stay in school, Tyler), while it's almost certain that Beasley will be a star. He has the body to ball in the pros (which Durant still doesn't really have), and, in the words of a friend of mine, "he can do just about anything he wants with a basketball."

This is just a public service announcement really, for the people that only pay attention to the top-5 teams. Just because someone is on a good team doesn't make them the best player in the country. Michael Beasley has shown that he's the only player in college basketball worthy of this distinction.



Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated, MichaelBeasley.org

Shame, Shame

I think I'm a reasonable person. I don' t think I praise or condemn rashly. So trust me: I have sufficient reason to be ashamed of the men's basketball team today.

In case you haven't heard, the Terps lost 61-55 last night to the Ohio University Bobcats.

See, some of you may think that I meant to say Ohio State, but no, I didn't. I'm talking about THE Ohio University, one of the more competitive teams in the MAC conference. They went 19-13 last year. They've already lost to Holy Cross, one of our future opponents.

That should give you a little perspective on how bad this loss really is.

A lot of Maryland students were studying for finals, but I attended the game and watched it in its entirety. It was awful. I can't remember seeing so many dropped passes, mishandled rebounds and bounce-out shots. It was a horrible game ... and it wasn't even close. Ohio, at its greatest margin, led by 17 points.

First of all, what a poorly scheduled game! The athletics department actually thought it was a good idea to schedule a late game on the day before finals began? Way to go: The players had finals on their minds and the students scanned and left. And guess what? I can't blame them.

However, that was no excuse for the crummy game I watched last night. Maryland was outrebounded by 10 and allowed opposing player, Leon Williams, to grab 15 boards. Yikes.

But Maryland's biggest problem is we can't shoot. That's a problem that's hard to fix. Ohio crowded the middle and left some room for outside shots, and Maryland only hit 7 out of 23 attempts from 3-point range. Yes, you read that correctly. We took 23 shots from beyond the arc.

I'm not going to call out individual players because:

a) You guys can check out the stats for yourself

b) Everyone made some bad mistakes

c) All of them are at this point sufficiently humiliated

I did hear crowd members booing the Maryland players and heckling them at the end of the game and I didn't really think that was necessary. The way I see it, if you want to act like you're a loyal fan, you have to sit through the bad times. It's hard to watch, especially when the Terps lose like that, but you can't talk trash about the players one game and act like their the greatest thing that ever happened the next. Plus, as I mentioned before, the players are their own harshest critics. Why pile on?

It's a bad spot to be in. The rest of the conference is already moving ahead and the Terps are getting left behind. Realistically, they must win most of their conference games to get out of this hole. I don't want to look too far ahead, but it's sad to see that the NCAA tournament hopes are already fading away.

Time to get a little mad about MARYLAND

Alrighty, the football season isn't scrapped, but it's waning. And let's be real for a second - Maryland is a basketball school. Gary Williams may be half the man Friedgen is (who isn't?), but he definitely has something the Fridge doesn't: A ring.

As I mentioned a few days ago, thus far, Maryland is out of the top 25 (not terribly surprising) and has garnered only one vote in the coaches' poll (mildly surprising). Is this really a bad team?

When I look at Maryland, I see a team with a potential conference superstar (Gist). I see two guards with experience that can take turns at the point and both were in the top-10 ACC in assists last year(Vasquez and Hayes). Gary Williams has said that the only reason Landon Milbourne didn't play last year is because D.J. Strawberry was the player ahead of him and Gary wanted him in all game. I see a deep bench, starting with Boom Osby and Jerome Burney and going into our freshmen, many of whom should contribute right away (Dupree, Tucker, etc.). Plus, we have the MVP of last year's Capital Classic coming here in the spring semester who could also potentially give an extra shot in the arm to our post game, should we need it.

The concern is defense. We lost Strawberry and Ibekwe, our two best defensive players last year. But... I think overall, we should be OK. Gist was the fourth-leading shot blocker in the ACC last year. A lot of are big men are defensive players that need to develop scoring around the basket (another area of concern, should be addressed by Dupree). Also, Greivis led the team in steals in conference play last year with 21, and Hayes managed to grab 13 as well. Add in Milbourne, who reminds me of Strawberry anyway. Ok. Problem addressed.

But these guys are young. Are two seniors and two sophomores enough to lead this team? I'm going to say yes. Everyone knows how intensely competitive Greivis is. Gist gets better every year: FG%, 3-pt shots, FT%, blocks, steals, even assists! Check the bottom. Everyone who is starting really deserves to start. We're deep. Now we have NCAA experience. The guys got a taste last year, I'm sure they're eager to get back.

Terp fans, really get excited, you're gonna like this season.

Go Terps!!!




Extra note: BIG SCOOP

I was walking to late night at SoCo diner and I ran into Marissa Coleman and Crystal Langhorne. I noticed that Langhorne has a brace on her left foot. To my knowledge, no one has reported that Langhorne has an injury, but if she does, and it costs her court time, the Terps are down an All-American and a key player from the 2006 national championship squad. In other words: That ain't good.