Holy Rollover IIThe BCs may be shameless, but we're not dishonest. So, for the record, we "borrowed" the title of this post -- Holy Rollover -- from a loyal reader, Marcie, who used that term in a comment to our last post. It made us laugh.
We also laughed at her reference to the Terps' exhibition/early season opponents from the "WWJD conference." We thought that was pretty funny too . . . also pretty accurate: Messiah, Holy Family, Loyola, Georgetown. So we shamelessly "borrowed" that as well. Thanks, Marcie! If one of our (heretofore nonexistent) sponsors ever decides to invest in BasketCases Bobbleheads, you can be sure you'll get a limited edition set.
As for this evening's game, the Terps hosted the D-II Holy Family Tigers in their second (and final) exhibition at Comcast. The Tigers, ranked #18 in the preseason Division II poll, pulled out to an early lead over the #10/11 D-I Terps, scoring the first 1-point of the game. But the home team fought back, putting together a run of its own . . . 27 unanswered points. It wasn't until 10:23 remaining in the first half that Holy Family managed to score its first field goal of the game. Final score: Maryland 94-36. No disrespect intended, but this one really was a Holy Rollover, Batman. The Tigers did their best, but were obviously overmatched.
Alyssa Thomas led all scorers with 23 points . . . in only 19 minutes of play. Four other Terps scored in double figures: Bones Mosley (16), Alicia DeVaughn (14), Tianna Hawkins (12) and Laurin Mincy (10). Alicia and Tianna both notched double-doubles: Alicia grabbed a game-high 14 boards and Tianna added 11. The BCs also want to give a shout out to Essence Townsend, who blocked 3 shots, scored 6 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time. Essence looks a good deal more comfortable out on the court than she did a year ago.
For the second game in a row, the Terps were without the services of Lynetta Kizer, who remains on indefinite suspension. Netta was in warm-ups on the bench . . . cheering, encouraging her teammates, conversing with the coaching staff. In other words, she wasn't playing, but she was very much engaged. Kim Rodgers also got the night off, but not due to any suspension. Unofficially, the word was her knees could benefit from a little rest before the regular season begins. And that will be happening very soon, indeed.
Tonight's game concluded the games-that-don't-count portion of Maryland's schedule. From here on out, each W or L will become part of the team's record that determines where Maryland will be ranked when the NCAA committee meets in March of next year to fill out their all-important bracket for the Big Dance. Though ACC play is still a couple of months away, every game and every opponent -- whether they come from the Big East, Big Ten, Atlantic 10, Colonial or even the WWJD conference -- will have an impact on the outcome of Maryland's season. In other words, every opponent must be taken seriously and none of them should be "rollovers."
First up in the real season is Loyola, whose players and coaches will travel all the way from Baltimore to face the Terps Friday night (7 PM) at Comcast. Time to get this season started!
Go Terps . . . Beat the Greyhounds!
posted by BasketCases @ 10:25 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
BC's--any word on when our all star kizer will be back playing?
After the Messiah game, the Diamondback reported that "Frese offered no timetable for Kizer's return to the lineup and doubted her availability for the team's regular-season opener against Loyola on Nov. 11."
As far as we know, there's been no further word on Lynetta's status since then.
-- BC
I certainly hope there is a very good reason for the suspension. College coaches don't seem to realize how much these suspensions can affect the player's future. Players like Lindsey Harding and Pleinette Pierson are still trying to overcome the damage to their reputations done by college suspensions for what were apparently relatively minor transgressions, just because their coaches didn't feel like making their reasons public. Seems an awfully steep price to pay for mistakes made as someone in their late teens/early twenties.
Dear Anon at 2:20 PM:
1. After observing Coach B for nine years, we are quite confident that she would not have suspended Lynetta without having a very good reason for doing so. To even suggest otherwise is actually insulting to Coach B in our opinion.
2. While we are not privy to all the details regarding the two examples you gave regarding other suspended players, in at least one of those cases, it is our understanding that the circumstances leading to the suspension could not in any way, shape, or form be considered an “apparently minor transgression.” Furthermore, we find your assertion that those two players are "still trying to overcome the damage to their reputations" completely mindboggling. Harding was honored by Duke and had her jersey retired. In any event, the two players you cited are now both stars in the WNBA.
3. With respect to the suggestion that coaches should make their reasons for disciplinary actions public (which is rather ironic given your concern about damage to reputations), we should all keep in mind that we are talking about STUDENT-athletes here. We live in a world in which people seem to think they have the right to know everything about everyone else, all the time . . . that no one has any right to privacy. Also, apart from general privacy concerns, while we know of no bar to a student’s disclosing the reason for a suspension, depending on that reason, a school may well be prohibited by law from making that reason public.
In sum, we strongly disagree with your comment.
--BC
Coach B hasn't made a habit of indefinitely suspending kids in her 9 years at Maryland. Moreover, I think it speaks to her ethics and integrity that she would suspend a player like Netta, i.e., a player that is sorely missed. Just my two cents, but I don't think it's fair to malign the coach when (a) there's no evidence of a pattern of behavior and (b) none of us know the reason for the suspension(s).
I just want to see her on the court!! Don't blame coach B at all. Obviously Coach B would rather see Kizer on the court also. Just stinks for everyone and I hope it ends very soon. It really changes the outlook for the season if she isn't playing.
Not requiring student-athletes to be responsible for their behavior would "stink" even more.
The thing I really liked about this game was when the score was 1-0 one of the Holy Family trainers took a picture of the score board. That was great.
Post a Comment
<< Home