Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Watching BU play Duke on Monday night has really gotten me excited about the beginning of the college basketball season; particularly this year's Maryland team. Coming off a mediocre '04/'05 year, the Terps seemed poised to do some damage in the ACC this season. Bringing back some great talent, the Terps are led, in my opinion, by 2-guard Chris McCray. Named the ACC's most underrated player by the Sporting News in 2005, McCray returns for his senior year with hopes of going deep into the NCAA Tournament. His great defense and timely shooting provide a great base for the rest of the team to build off of. In the Terps' final preseason game, McCray went 4-5 from 3-point range. He has improved every year at UMD and this season should not be any different. The other senior in the starting lineup is Nik Caner-Medley; he's the top returning scorer and has done a good job over the past two years at the 3 spot. DJ Strawberry will be at the point after missing almost all of last season with an injury. He's a great defensive player and is careful with the ball, something that's needed in ACC play. Down low I really like Ikene Ibekwe and James Gist. Neither has much size but they're both extremely athletic and should bring down a ton of rebounds. Gist scored 17 and had 10 rebounds in the final preseason game. The frontcourt will be helped off the bench by Travis Garrison who been disappointing thus far in his Maryland career, but hopefully this year he can step up and produce off the bench. My favorite player on the team is Mike Jones, who is ready for his breakout season. One of the best shooters in the ACC, Jones will be called on to score in the clutch. The '05/'06 season should be an exciting one for the Terps, tipping off on the 18th against Fairleigh Dickinson in the Maui Invitational.
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