2009-10 Maryland Basketball Predictions

Written October 28, 2009 by Rock Henderson

Maryland will look to put the fear of the turtle back into teams with the squad they will put onto the court this season. Head coach Gary Williams has faced his fair share of critics that past few seasons after expectations shot through the roof when the Terps brought home a national championship this decade. A 21-14 year does not exactly get people off your backs, but a late season run into the NCAA tournament that ended with a second round exit earned Williams a contract extension. Maryland was extremely young last season so most of the team returns for the 2009-2010 run. Led by G Greivis Vasquez, Williams is optimistic that this might be the year that Maryland returns to national prominence. Current NCAA odds to win the tournament this year list the Terps at +10000 odds.

So who did the Terps lose? Only one player that saw considerable playing time. Senior Dave Neal gave the Terps leadership and also 8.5 ppg. With so many players returning, the recruiting class was small but the Terps think they have two players that can help in the front court right away. Jordan Williams is a 6-9 250 big man that seems to have the body to withstand the rigors of a long D-1 schedule. The highly touted recruit has the ability to run the floor for a big man and could be a factor come March. Four star recruit James Padgett joins Williams to add depth to a Maryland bench that hasn’t been deep in the recent past. These two will need to adapt to the college game quickly if the Terps want to make some noise in the always tough ACC.

Greivis Vasquez is one of the more flamboyant players in America. The lanky guard is a big talker on the court, but his play usually backs it up. He averaged over 17 ppg and grabbed 5 rpg along with 5 dimes per game to show why he is mentioned as one of the best all around guards in the country. Maryland benefited from Vasquez deciding to return for his Senior year and will need to find a second scorer to keep opposing defenses from keying on their potential All-American. The answer to that could be swingman senior Landon Milbourne, who was second on the Terps in scoring a year go averaging just over 11 ppg. If not Milbourne, look for senior Eric Hayes to step into that role. Hayes does most of his damage from the outside, but does have a nice handle and can create his own shot which is something coaches are always looking for. Rounding out the group that will see the majority of the minutes for the Terps this season are guards Adian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and their best defender in Sean Mosley. Get started with a huge 10% unlimited deposit bonus at Bodog that you can use for all of your NCAA basketball betting this season.

The ACC has no clear cut favorite for the first time in awhile as normal front runners North Carolina and Duke both have some question marks that need to be addressed. Maryland is not without their fair share of questions also, but if their young guys can develop quickly underneath they should be at or near the top of the conference. A second round exit in the tournament last year was seen as somewhat of a success after the early season debacle the Terps went through last year, but making a run in the Big Dance should be one of the main goals for this team.

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