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moonpie23
08-06-2009, 05:20 PM
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/



who are those nine devils in Idaho...

Bluedog
08-06-2009, 05:35 PM
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/



who are those nine devils in Idaho...

Actually, only 4 devils in Idaho. ;) 9 total votes, but 4 for Duke.

miramar
08-06-2009, 05:47 PM
Wow, did they have to put up a photo of screaming Sweaty? I'm on vacation from that sort of thing...

SilkyJ
08-06-2009, 06:11 PM
I'm pretty surprised we are one of the 4 options. I guess that speaks to the power of the program, or maybe to the question marks surrounding the other teams, but I don't see us as being amongst that top tier of teams that people are looking at to make a run.

gw67
08-07-2009, 08:16 AM
The assessments by ESPN and their experts of the Terps were fair although Bilas is much more on the mark than either Gottlieb or Lunardi, IMO. I expect some improvement in their play this year and a record of 9-7 in league play.

I especially liked the evaluations of Vasquez by Gary Williams ("Greivis looks better in a 5-on-5 game than in a workout because he is such a good passer") and Bilas ("Nobody competes harder or shows more emotion than Williams, and Vasquez is similar. He is a very good passer and he has a knack for getting by his man and getting into the lane."). Vasquez rivals Brad Davis as the best passer I've seen in ACC play since the early 60's. He should be a strong candidate for 1st team All ACC this year.

gw67

ACCBBallFan
08-07-2009, 08:22 AM
The assessments by ESPN and their experts of the Terps were fair although Bilas is much more on the mark than either Gottlieb or Lunardi, IMO. I expect some improvement in their play this year and a record of 9-7 in league play.

I especially liked the evaluations of Vasquez by Gary Williams ("Greivis looks better in a 5-on-5 game than in a workout because he is such a good passer") and Bilas ("Nobody competes harder or shows more emotion than Williams, and Vasquez is similar. He is a very good passer and he has a knack for getting by his man and getting into the lane."). Vasquez rivals Brad Davis as the best passer I've seen in ACC play since the early 60's. He should be a strong candidate for 1st team All ACC this year.

gw67
I agree gw67.

Too many people judge just by one oin one and NBA potential that favors that style, versus team oreitned college style.

DukeDevilDeb
08-07-2009, 09:41 AM
Actually, only 4 devils in Idaho. ;) 9 total votes, but 4 for Duke.

And look... two states (New Hampshire and South Dakota) that are actually Duke blue! Wish we could be anything but other (which, I suspect, reflects votes by a few million Tar Heels...).

CDu
08-07-2009, 11:43 AM
I especially liked the evaluations of Vasquez by Gary Williams ("Greivis looks better in a 5-on-5 game than in a workout because he is such a good passer") and Bilas ("Nobody competes harder or shows more emotion than Williams, and Vasquez is similar. He is a very good passer and he has a knack for getting by his man and getting into the lane."). Vasquez rivals Brad Davis as the best passer I've seen in ACC play since the early 60's. He should be a strong candidate for 1st team All ACC this year.

I agree with this assessment. However, I would add the caveat that, while Vazquez is a phenomenal passer/playmaker, he also is very prone to making bad decisions. A lot of that is due to the fact that he had to carry that offense, but some of it is just bad judgment on his part. But Vazquez does so much for that team, and he really carried what was a pretty talent-starved roster to a not-awful result last year.

I also think that Vazquez has some similarities to Julius Hodge as a scorer. Neither is a terrific perimeter shooter, and neither is very explosive athletically. But both players seem to have a good feel for getting to the basket and making off-balance shots. They both also seem adept at using their size (not so much bulk but height) to their advantage. And both were way better college players than pros.

gw67
08-07-2009, 12:54 PM
I agree with this assessment. However, I would add the caveat that, while Vazquez is a phenomenal passer/playmaker, he also is very prone to making bad decisions. A lot of that is due to the fact that he had to carry that offense, but some of it is just bad judgment on his part. But Vazquez does so much for that team, and he really carried what was a pretty talent-starved roster to a not-awful result last year.

I also think that Vazquez has some similarities to Julius Hodge as a scorer. Neither is a terrific perimeter shooter, and neither is very explosive athletically. But both players seem to have a good feel for getting to the basket and making off-balance shots. They both also seem adept at using their size (not so much bulk but height) to their advantage. And both were way better college players than pros.

I agree with both comments. Vasquez has two weaknesses, IMO. He is prone to making poor decisions with the basketball although he improved significantly in this area last year raising his a/to to 1.80. The top playmakers in the ACC over the years have an a/to on the sunny side of 2.00. His other weakness is shooting, particularly, long range shooting. In addition, he sometimes seems to take on too great of the burden for scoring. Personally, I don't consider that a negative given the talent level on the Maryland team.

These weaknesses are overcome by strengths in passing, ballhandling, rebounding, foul shooting, defense and a strong competitive attitude. A very good college player who is probably not a good fit for the 24-second game.

gw67

jesus_hurley
08-07-2009, 01:05 PM
he also is very prone to making bad decisions.

He's also prone to running his mouth too much...