Maryland Men’s Basketball

Obviously, that’s not how it works today. This would require a change. I think the contract could be voided in my imagined scenario by a coach leaving or a buy out.
 
I agree they should have something like 2 year commitments, but the NCAA still likes to pretend this is amateur athletics. I’m not a lawyer and it’s been two weeks since I last stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, but I’m guessing there will be a lot of legal hurdles to tying a kids to money for two years. A legal challenge is why we have the NIL. I was also reading yesterday how a legal challenge is what changed the transfer rules allowing a player to transfer every year and spend it at a different school without sitting out a year. Whatever happens with this, I think we all want a cleaner system than what we see now.
 
The days of pretending college football and basketball are amateur needs to end. I used to joke that the players were athlete-students versus student-athletes ten years ago and I bristled at the idea that they were being asked to play for free when so many were drowning in student debt and most of them got a free ride (at least.) but now the NCAA's are all but a minor league. They just aren't officially associated with their respective pro leagues.
 
Not to derail this thread, but something really cool happened to me today. I was working at the golf shop, and in came one of my boyhood idols. My mom grew up in Ann Arbor, and whenever we were up there, when we would drive by the newly built Crisler Center, my grandfather would always say, “That’s the house that Cazzie built.” Cazzie Russell played golf at our course today.

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Well I guess I can't blame Buzz Williams. He literally had to build an entire roster from scratch. But dear lord is this team unwatchable. The can't even shoot in a shoot around according to the announcer. Yet another Maryland team that can't shoot, seems like this has been the case for 15 of the last 20 seasons.

God all the local teams SUCK now even worse than before.
 
Yeah, unwatchable is the right word. It was really difficult to watch when you can’t score, not to mention when you can’t get guys open to score. It reminded me of 2 years ago. Since it is a new roster, I have no idea who is supposed to be the one coloring, but last night, no one could put the ball in the basketball until they dug a hole so deep they couldn’t recover.
 
Was always going to be a long season. Getting a coaching change so late in the cycle, and then having to build an entirely new squad, Buzz was behind the 8 ball.

Mills is supposed to be the guy to push this program, one of the highest rated recruits that have come to CP, but color me unimpressed after two games. I’ll be surprised if he ends up as anything more than a solid squad member. The big get will be if Oladotun chooses Terps. Already have a highly rated ‘26 class, and if Baba comes, it will be the #2 rated class in the country.

This year though, lacking in size and quickness…a deadly combination if you also can’t shoot. Prepare for a long season, and cross your fingers for Baba Oladotun to become a Terp.
 
Kel Varnsen said:
Yeah, unwatchable is the right word. It was really difficult to watch when you can’t score, not to mention when you can’t get guys open to score. It reminded me of 2 years ago. Since it is a new roster, I have no idea who is supposed to be the one coloring, but last night, no one could put the ball in the basketball until they dug a hole so deep they couldn’t recover.
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That team 2 years ago was the worst shooting team I have ever seen. This one may top that. Payne is the only player they have, I was under the impression that Adams was a good signing but he is nothing. They do have a good class coming in with more potentially, for now. But I have to believe a horrible season in front of empty seats and perhaps boos may influence that.
 
Darrell Green Fan said:
That team 2 years ago was the worst shooting team I have ever seen. This one may top that. Payne is the only player they have, I was under the impression that Adams was a good signing but he is nothing. They do have a good class coming in with more potentially, for now. But I have to believe a horrible season in front of empty seats and perhaps boos may influence that.
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Doesn’t really work that way anymore. These top level kids in HS reckon they will play 1 or 2 years max, then move on to the NBA. They are looking for a place that will give them 3 things: immediate starting/playing time, good exposure, and cash money.

NIL has changed the landscape. Maryland is in a big, basketball crazy city, and plays in the B1G. That is plenty for the exposure part of the equation. If Maryland ponies up the money, and promises to build the team around them, kids will come. Buzz is a decent coach (not great, imo), but is a good person, and knows how to sell his product. He will pull talent, as long as he stays in College Park.

I’m not ready to dump on this team just yet. They had a horrible shooting game against G’town, but shot relatively well against Coppin St. I like what I’ve seen from Mills, and Adams will get better. Coit, Payne, and Rice are solid ballers. Saunders can play, and is a decent spot up 3 shooter. Terps biggest problem is they are not very big, and outside of Payne, don’t have many plus athletes.

This team ain’t making the dance in March, but if they gel, they could pull off the random upset here and there, and end up around .500, which should be enough for an NIT bid. Cross your fingers, and hope Baba picks Maryland, and next year will b far better. We should now soon, as he’s cut his list down to 4, and Maryland and Arkansas are supposed to be the front runners. He’s also said he plans to announce before the early signing period opens, which happens Wednesday. 🤞
 
I really hope Payne can heal up. I can't imagine he will be back anytime before January. That was a brutal injury.

Team rallied and beat Marquette on the road, that is worth something. Adams had a good game. This year I just want to see some development. A tournament appearance would be a miracle.
 
Some news leaking that Payne’s injury is pretty serious, and he will be out for the season. Massive blow to the Terps, and to a young man that has the body and athleticism to make some serious money playing basketball professionally. I truly feel for the lad.

The team now has to pick up the pieces, and make the best of what will be a rugged season. Anything close to .500 ball this year should be seen as a major accomplishment. An NIT bid would be amazing. Hopefully Adams can develop into a solid player, but the big thing is Wednesday, when Baba chooses his school. All fingers crossed!!
 
Oladotun would be huge. With him and House, this program would immediately vault back into relevance.

Someone on Reddit said Payne was spotted last night at the women's game without crutches and not limping. Not sure he will be out for the year.
 
Would be great if Payne can return, without being gone too long. His size, enthusiasm, and athleticism is irreplaceable on this roster.

I’ve been searching around (now that I’ve retired to the coast, I don’t have the access I once had), but haven’t seen any updates on his condition. Have to wait for the MRI to be certain.
 
It’s official, Baba is coming to College Park!

I think that moves Maryland’s class of ‘26 up to 2nd in the country! Way to go Buzz!
 
Payne played tonight against UNLV and played well. Good to see him healthy. The team struggled the first half with turnovers, but started to hit shots those final 10 minutes. I think this team can end up being a good shooting team. Rice and Coit are above average and Adams can end up being good. UNLV is not a very good team, but it was a nice road win (technically neutral site but the game was in Vegas).
 
Great that Payne’s injury was not serious, because it looked bad at the time.

Couldn’t stay up for the game last night, but any win for this team is a good one. Be great if they can finish around .500, with a few good wins. If they could make any postseason tournament, it would give the program some momentum going into the next year, when they have probably the best freshman class Maryland has had since McMillan, Elmore, and Lucas.
 
I don't have the apps many of these games are shown on. It would have been nice to record a game starting at midnight to see it the next morning but no dice. So I really haven't seen a lot of them, just the games on TV. Simply amazing that Payne was not hurt worse by the description of the event.

Now next season, yeah boy I'm pretty excited. I need this, all my teams absolutely suck.
 
This week was a good view of who MD is going to be this year. They played a good game against UNLV. They fought and won and we can be happy about that game. But playing against Gonzaga and Alabama who are both Final Four contenders, they were overmatched in every sense of the word. I don’t think even if MD played well, they could have beaten Gonzaga. They were lights out and just shot really well. I didn’t see the Alabama game as it was on so late, but it seemed to be the same thing. Alabama played really well, MD did not and it added up to a blow out.

What concerns me is that the B1G looks loaded this year. Michigan looks like the best team in the country right now. Purdue still number 1 and they beat Alabama earlier this year. Michigan St is undefeated and just beat a really good UNC team. USC won the Maui Invitational. Illinois, Indiana, and UCLA are all ranked. Plus a few other teams are currently undefeated. MD is going to have to play really well to get on the NCAA bubble. Buzz is a good coach and can get these guys playing better, but how much better will be the question. The bar is really high right now with the conference being so loaded.
 
Kel Varnsen said:
This week was a good view of who MD is going to be this year. They played a good game against UNLV. They fought and won and we can be happy about that game. But playing against Gonzaga and Alabama who are both Final Four contenders, they were overmatched in every sense of the word. I don’t think even if MD played well, they could have beaten Gonzaga. They were lights out and just shot really well. I didn’t see the Alabama game as it was on so late, but it seemed to be the same thing. Alabama played really well, MD did not and it added up to a blow out.

What concerns me is that the B1G looks loaded this year. Michigan looks like the best team in the country right now. Purdue still number 1 and they beat Alabama earlier this year. Michigan St is undefeated and just beat a really good UNC team. USC won the Maui Invitational. Illinois, Indiana, and UCLA are all ranked. Plus a few other teams are currently undefeated. MD is going to have to play really well to get on the NCAA bubble. Buzz is a good coach and can get these guys playing better, but how much better will be the question. The bar is really high right now with the conference being so loaded.
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I can't believe how much grief on got on a Maryland board after I saw them in one of the warm up games and pronounce that this team sucks. It does suck to have to take a year off but next year should be different.

Know what sucks about college sports today? Even in a lost season there is always a reason to watch. We could monitor the progress of a highly regarded freshman or whatever. Now I can't even do that, no guarantee that freshman will be here next season.
 
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