Iowa @ #8 Maryland - 2/23/22

[HuskyMJ]

Neighbors was the Washington coach when she originally committed there, so he eventually did get her, it was just a very circuitous route.

Yes, but wasn't Neighbors already at Arkansas when she left Maryland? So even that option she punted on once. Point is, these players make decisions when they are still kids, and maybe as they get older, what they want changes. Short of some allegation of poor behavior from the coach, like this Detroit Mercy women's basketball's top 3 scorers enter transfer portal amid coach controversy, I don't think you can just blame the coach. Its a two way street, just like assistant and head coaches can leave for new jobs and no one bats an eye, players can do the same.

 

[cancontent]

That's a poor way of looking at it though since the mentality of a team is very different when you have a huge lead and are cruising compared to if youre in a tight game.

For example, one could say that Georgetown (1-13) could've been competitive if they didn't let things get out of hand the first half since they basically played #1 UCONN dead even in the 2nd.

That's fair, but at the same time could we not argue that Maryland's mentality should not have changed even though they had a large lead? It's bitten many teams in the end this season.

Totally agree. And “letting things get out of hand” isn’t as simple as it sounds. Maryland outscored Iowa by 20 in Q1.

"Letting things get out of hand" may not be the best phrasing but that's how I saw it. Iowa has had a habit of letting teams build double digit leads only to come back and win the game.

 

[sweetspot]

I don’t understand how y’all (speaking broadly to the Boneyard) think UConn, NC State, and South Carolina are national championship contenders but Maryland is not. Notre Dame got close to back-to-back titles with equivalent defense and probably less offense than the Terps have now.

I think that's being kind to the Maryland defense. Per the Massey ratings:

2018 Notre Dame: 2nd on offense, 43rd on defense
2019 Notre Dame: 1st on offense, 30th on defense
2021 Maryland: 1st on offense, 98th defense

UM was 14th on defense last year and Miller and Reese have elite potential there, but they've got a looong way to go. The full court pressure isn't a great fit with Bibby and Benzan.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yes, but wasn't Neighbors already at Arkansas when she left Maryland? So even that option she punted on once. Point is, these players make decisions when they are still kids, and maybe as they get older, what they want changes. Short of some allegation of poor behavior from the coach, like this Detroit Mercy women's basketball's top 3 scorers enter transfer portal amid coach controversy, I don't think you can just blame the coach. Its a two way street, just like assistant and head coaches can leave for new jobs and no one bats an eye, players can do the same.

Yes, her Fr. season at Maryland was Neighbors' last at Washington. I'm not really reading anything into it, just kind of an oddity that her 3rd school she ended up with the same coach she initially committed to.

 

[Sched234]

I think that's being kind to the Maryland defense. Per the Massey ratings:

2018 Notre Dame: 2nd on offense, 43rd on defense
2019 Notre Dame: 1st on offense, 30th on defense
2021 Maryland: 1st on offense, 98th defense

UM was 14th on defense last year and Miller and Reese have elite potential there, but they've got a looong way to go. The full court pressure isn't a great fit with Bibby and Benzan.

Wow—didn’t realize the disparity was that severe. Thanks for sharing the advanced stats. After hearing MMG complain about her defense for seasons on end, I had it in my mind that ND was a sub-100-level defense. Not the case it seems.

Surprised to see the Terps’ defense so much worse this year. I guess Charles and Austin contributed more there than I realized. Mikesell certainly didn’t.

Ratings aren’t everything, but this does make me wonder if Maryland can stop the other title contenders.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Surprised to see the Terps’ defense so much worse this year. I guess Charles and Austin contributed more there than I realized. Mikesell certainly didn’t.

Ratings aren’t everything, but this does make me wonder if Maryland can stop the other title contenders.

Also Blair Watson was a great defensive player. She was second in DPOY in the Big 10. Stephanie Jones also was really good on that side of the ball. Benzan and Bibby are not good individual defenders. Also Reese has been out just about the whole year. The lack of depth don't help them on the defensive end either. In the Indiana and MSU games, they had big leads and lost them in the 4th quarter because they were pooped. With Reese returning and the arrival of Alaysia Styles, the depth is a little better now.

 

[darkstar1]

I mean, she did just score a cool 29 points in a half.
Benzan is unreal for MD at the moment. 8-9 from three.

But it was against Maryland.

 

[WBBSUperFan]

Why would it? Transfers are the new normal, they happen everywhere and the transfer numbers increase each year nationally. If a player wants to be closer to home, or play in a different scheme or style, or want more minutes, why would that affect how people see the coach? And I assume every team that has transfers also has players who stay at their school because they love it. Its different when there is accusation of improper behavior or treatment like you see at some schools.

Take Destiny Slocum, she left Maryland for Oregon State. She left Oregon State for Arkansas. She actually originally committed to Washington before changing her choice to Maryland. So do we blame Washington coach for not keeping her committed, Maryland coach since she left, Oregon State coach since she left? Arkansas coach probably can't lose her because she'll graduate and go pro. But what if she went to Arkansas freshman year, maybe she would have been drawn to Washington after a year or two.

She committed to Washington when Neighbors was still the coach at Washington. She didn't like the fit at Maryland and when she left she considered going to Arkansas to play for Neighbors then, but he told her no because he hadn't yet established the program enough for her talent level.

 

[WBBSUperFan]

Yes, but wasn't Neighbors already at Arkansas when she left Maryland? So even that option she punted on once. Point is, these players make decisions when they are still kids, and maybe as they get older, what they want changes. Short of some allegation of poor behavior from the coach, like this Detroit Mercy women's basketball's top 3 scorers enter transfer portal amid coach controversy, I don't think you can just blame the coach. Its a two way street, just like assistant and head coaches can leave for new jobs and no one bats an eye, players can do the same.

Neighbors told her not to come to Arkansas when she left Maryland because he hadn't yet established the caliber of a program she should be playing in. He and her both talked about it during and interview earlier in the season.

 

[Dillon77]

Neighbors was the Washington coach when she originally committed there, so he eventually did get her, it was just a very circuitous route.

What goes round, comes round? ?

 

[bballnut90]

That's fair, but at the same time could we not argue that Maryland's mentality should not have changed even though they had a large lead? It's bitten many teams in the end this season.

To me that seems like a minute thing to harp on considering Iowa never truly threatened Maryland. Good offensive teams go on runs, and Maryland responded well when Iowa did. The closest the margin got was 14. Maryland called a 30 second timeout and 2 minutes after Maryland pushed the lead back to 23. I understand being critical of Maryland for giving up 92 points, but I dont understand criticizing them for not extending their lead beyond 20 going against a team that should make the NCAAs. Just my opinion.

 

[nwhoopfan]

She committed to Washington when Neighbors was still the coach at Washington. She didn't like the fit at Maryland and when she left she considered going to Arkansas to play for Neighbors then, but he told her no because he hadn't yet established the program enough for her talent level.

Huh? He had no problems taking Dungee and Ramirez as transfers right away.

 

[cancontent]

To me that seems like a minute thing to harp on considering Iowa never truly threatened Maryland. Good offensive teams go on runs, and Maryland responded well when Iowa did. The closest the margin got was 14. Maryland called a 30 second timeout and 2 minutes after Maryland pushed the lead back to 23. I understand being critical of Maryland for giving up 92 points, but I dont understand criticizing them for not extending their lead beyond 20 going against a team that should make the NCAAs. Just my opinion.

My response was not in reference to the actual point differential. It was in response to the comment that teams ease up when they have a large lead. In my circles, I've heard the adage about not letting up even when you have a large lead.

Where some believe it's okay to ease up, others don't. There also have been several games this season where large leads have evaporated, so how is it harping when it's a fact? We have different perspectives is how I see it.

And Iowa, granted not in this case, isn't a team that can be allowed to stick around from some of the games I've seen this season. It worked out here, but had the first quarter gone differently who knows?

 

[nwhoopfan]

My response was not in reference to the actual point differential. It was in response to the comment that teams ease up when they have a large lead. In my circles, I've heard the adage about not letting up even when you have a large lead.

Where some believe it's okay to ease up, others don't. There also have been several games this season where large leads have evaporated, so how is it harping when it's a fact? We have different perspectives is how I see it.

And Iowa, granted not in this case, isn't a team that can be allowed to stick around from some of the games I've seen this season. It worked out here, but had the first quarter gone differently who knows?

I'm a paranoid sports fan. No lead is ever big enough until the game is over for me. Still haunted by a few men's Tourney games where my team blew a big lead and lost.

Iowa has been coming back from early deficits all year, right? Sometimes large deficits.

 

[cancontent]

I'm a paranoid sports fan. No lead is ever big enough until the game is over for me. Still haunted by a few men's Tourney games where my team blew a big lead and lost.

Iowa has been coming back from early deficits all year, right? Sometimes large deficits.

Yes they have. I'm in agreement about never trusting the score until a game is completely done.

Their annual in-state rivalry sticks out where they had a huge run in the 4th and beat Iowa State on a buzzer beater. I know there are a couple other come from behind wins, but which teams escapes me right now. They also came close to beating Michigan State this year after falling behind by 15+ points.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Okay, I just saw a clip w/ all of Clark's made 3's. Most of them were from 25 to 30 feet. Exactly how far is the defense supposed to extend? If you guard a player basically at midcourt, that opens up a bunch of the floor for cutters and driving lanes. If a player has that kind of range, it presents major problems.

 

[cancontent]

Okay, I just saw a clip w/ all of Clark's made 3's. Most of them were from 25 to 30 feet. Exactly how far is the defense supposed to extend? If you guard a player basically at midcourt, that opens up a bunch of the floor for cutters and driving lanes. If a player has that kind of range, it presents major problems.

If you find the answer to that, bottle it up and sell it to the highest bidders. ?