There is no way to deny it.  Terrell Stoglin was a scorer.  He wasn’t always the most complete player or team player, but at times, he was option 1, 2, and 3.  It is hard to blame him, but at times it just wasn’t the way you like to see your basketball.  Part of my homer mind liked to think that with some additional help around him he was going to play better team basketball.  If that wasn’t the case, Mark Turgeon was going to have a complete team and some options to plant him on the bench if he didn’t.   One way or the other, he was going to conform, or be on the bench.

So while the immediate future took a hit, we now shift our focus to what the Terps will have.  I think everyone really took a liking to Nick Faust’s game as the season progressed.  His jumper wasn’t a think of beauty, but he found a way to score.  He defended from day 1, played out of position with out any complaints, and really improved as the season wore on.  With Stoglin’s departure and the graduation of Sean Mosley, time at the 2 guard opened up and you have to think Faust will log the bulk of the minutes there.

Sean Mosley had anchored the 3 for the past four years.  Originally I thought Faust was going to be an excellent 3.  He could slash, score in the lane, or get all the way to the rim.  But with his move to the off guard, it looks like Jake Layman is the likely candidate at the small forward.  Layman also has the ability to get to the rim and also, hit some outside shots.  Faust is in the middle of smoothing out his shot, so I don’t know how reliable his outside shooting will become, but it appears Layman will be able to hit his shots with some regularity.  Sure he is a freshman, but if the Terps are going to threaten to get into the NCAA field, some freshman are going to have to step up, why not Layman?

Finally, on to the big men.  I am really excited about the front court.  I think an entire off season, and then an entire season is going to allow Alex Len to really get into the flow.  We saw a glimpse of what he could do at time, and at others, it was hard to believe someone so big and athletic could be such a nonfactor.  I truly believe he is going make a difference this year.  James Padgett will likely start alongside Len.  Some people have never really warmed up to Padgett.  He is not going to dominate a game, but if he improves on his defensive rebounding this season, he is going to be an integral part of the team.  He has some post moves (that usually don’t include a kickout), can hit the offensive glass, and has been around the block.  He is what he is.  Not a star, but someone who is going to help Alex Len inside.

Here is where the things start to get exciting for me.  The addition of the freshman truly is the start of the Mark Turgeon era.  I hate to get too hyped up since the players have yet play a minute, but the previews certainly leave hope for the future.  If not the immediate future, two or three years down the road.   With Shaq Cleare, Charles Mitchell, Seth Allen, and Sam Cassell Jr. in this year, and Michigan transfer Evan Smotrycz already on board for next season there appears to be some quality players and depth.  If Pe’Shon Howard can get healthy and really focus on running the team, it will make it a lot easier to ease Allen, or Cassell Jr. into a backup role.

And if the influx of youth doesn’t excite you enough, there is still that (probably small) chance that the Harrison Twins could choose to play for Maryland.  I wish I had this kind of excitement surrounding Randy Edsall and the football team, but they are at the total opposite end of the spectrum.  I am so apathetic about the team right now, I don’t really know one thing that happened during the spring season.  Hopefully as the season approaches, I will get that feeling back, but I truly don’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling about the team.  Basketball on the other hand makes me want to fast forward right through the summer, and past the football season right into that game with Kentucky.  I for one am all in for basketball right now and the future.

Pankey averaged 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds last season for the Terps.  This of course will open up more playing time the front court players like James Padgett and Alex Len.  And it will also mean more significant minutes for incoming freshman like Shaquille Cleare and Charles Mitchell.  Though I have nothing other than speculation to go on, seems like the thought is Damonte Dodd will be red-shirting, then again who knows what news is next for this team.

Though Maryland surely will survive the loss of Pankey, it is interesting that only Pe’Shon Howard is left from the 2010 recruiting class. Parker, Stoglin, Palsson, and Weijis have all moved on.  Thus the gradual transition from the Gary Williams era to the Mark Turgeon era is being expedited.

The only thing that does worry me, is that though talented, this incoming class is being throw right into the fire and will be putting in a lot of minutes.  Pankey was only going to be a Sophomore (though he did redshirt) so it isn’t like we lost a ton of experience there, but every bit would have helped.  Though talent wise this isn’t a loss that can’t be replaced, we are getting younger each week.  Maybe our goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament next season, is a little too ambitious.

Only time will tell.  Then again I can’t predict what will happen in Maryland Basketball in the next 24 hours, yet along next season.

Now some of these changes are planned, and some not so much.  Today Terrell Stoglin announced he will not be returning to Maryland for his Junior Season.  First glance, you want to say “Is he crazy? He isn’t ready for the NBA.” But as more info comes to light, it appears this wasn’t anyone’s, what you’d call a “Decision”.  Stoglin per other sources has failed a drug test and would be suspended for a year.  And this of course changes everything.

It isn’t about what is good for Terrell, and for Maryland basketball, it is an unfortunate incident that happens when you center sports programs around 18-23 year old kids.  Stoglin made some bad choices and now we are all paying for it.  Us fans are paying because our chances of making the NCAA Tournament next year just took a hit.  Terrell’s paying for it in that he isn’t ready for the NBA, and could have used another year (or more) at Maryland.   And Turgeon is paying for it in that he now has to scramble to replace the bulk of our points from the 2011-2012 season.

But if you need to grab on to some good news, this just makes the mystery of next year’s Maryland Basketball season all the more intriguing.  We are going to be a completely different team.  Now in College Basketball when you see this kind of change it means “rebuilding” and that word can accurately be used to describe our situation, but whereas “rebuilding” is usually code for “Be patient, we are going to suck for a little while”, in this case, I think the team will emerge stronger.

Now is this good news, no not at all.  This team is definitely better with Stoglin on the floor, yet at the same time, how much were he and Turgeon butting heads?  Was Terrell really a great team player?  I don’t have the answers to those questions, but these won’t be questions to be answered come this fall.  We are now one step closer to having this team be guys entirely brought on by Mark Turgeon, and that is precisely why we brought Coach Turgeon in.  He is adapt at turning programs around, and this just speeds up the process.

If it doesn’t pay immediate dividends in 2012-2013, maybe it gives some of the other guys that much more experience for the following season, when our goal goes from making the Tournament, to getting the highest possible seed.  Regardless, Stoglin isn’t coming back.  In fact he CAN’T come back.  But those who can are pretty good, and are buying into the new system.  So despite this set back, our expectations can remain high….if only Stoglin wasn’t!

If you are a Maryland walk on, and lord knows there are plenty of them, the massacre continues as the Terps continue to add more scholarship players.  Smotrycz is a 6’9″ forward from Reading Massachusetts, who came out of high school as a 4 Star Prospect.

At Michigan he averaged 7.7 points per game and 4.8 rebounds playing around 20 minutes a game.  Though he won’t be doing much this season, but I imagine will be contributing pretty regularly after this season.

Needless to say, the Terps has issues with depth this past season.  I don’t think that will be an issue for a few more years.  Anyway, welcome to Maryland Evan Smotrycz.  We wish you all the best.

And if that wasn’t motivation enough, come on….it’s Duke!

Jimmy Reed got the job done on the mound scattering 9 hits for 2 runs over 9 innings.  It was his second start of the season, after he went 8 innings in his previous outing.  Overall all Terp pitchers are getting it done this year as the team ERA is 2.67.

The Terps will host the Blue Devils for Game 2 of the series tonight as they look to take their 2nd straight ACC series.  Coming up for the Terps after the Blue Devils leave town is a game verse James Madison, then a quick trip to Towson, and the the Clemson Tigers come to town.

The Terps are now 23-13 and 6-10 in the conference.

Obviously another great get for the Terps as they continue to add size.  I don’t claim to be on the level as some recruiting experts, but the Terps adding size is good news to me!  Speaking of recruiting experts, the 2012 class is now ranked 13th in the nation.

For the upcoming season, I continue to hold out hope that these additions will propel us back into the NCAA Tournament.  I read another pre-season ranking that didn’t have the Terps in the Top 25, but had them as a team worth watching.

Of course this is all well and good, but not much matters until we tip off the 2012-13 season, so it is hard to get too excited, but you can quickly see Turgeon transforming this into his program and bringing in the players he wants.  No offense to Parker, but this past week is pretty symbolic of the transition into the new era.  Gone is Parker, in is Mitchell.

You’d have to give pretty high marks for Turgeon and Bino Ranson for this first full class.  Even if Sam Cassell Jr. does decide to go elsewhere.  The future is looking bright!

Today it was announced that Mychal Parker will transfer.  According to several sources, Parker had a meeting with Coach Turgeon and was told his playing time may be affecting by some of his incoming recruits.  You have to think that likely means Nick Faust will get some more run as a three and at shooting guard instead of running the point, and incoming freshman Jake Layman will be right there as well.  It also means Turgeon is expecting Seth Allen and/or Sam Cassell Jr. will get the point guard mintues with Pe’Shon Howard.

Parker left with a nothing but good things to say about his time at Maryland, his teammates and coaches.  I know Parker wasn’t the impact player many people thought he was going to be, but you could see him coming into his own at times last year.  He played some pretty solid defense late in the season and showed he could score, especially in the open court.  I think given the chance he could have been a solid contributor over his final two seasons.  It looks like that solid play will be at either East Carolina, Loyola, or Alabama Birmingham. We wish you nothing but the best Mychal!

Stay tuned for more on the basketball front.  I have a sneaking suspicion this is not going to be the last player to announce he is going elsewhere.  You can say one thing about Turgeon.  He is brutally honest, and I think people will respect that.  I would much prefer to hear it straight up then to try and fight for a spot and then be told that I wasn’t going to get the time I was thinking I would get.  You have to think things are looking up, and this is just another step in Turgeon making this his program.

So I just wanted to touch on a couple things.  First, some good news.  Can’t put much stock in this, but I did see an early pre-season ranking for Men’s Basketball which had the Terps at like #13.  The comment which followed said that this was a tad on the optimistic side and relied heavily on Len and Faust making big jumps.  But hey after this season, I would take that in a heart beat.  Of course the poll wasn’t all good news as it had NC State at like #5 and Duke at #25.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the  Blue Devils start out that low, but them being 25th sort of took some of the credibility out of the rankings!

In Football, spring practice continues.  There is some shuffling going around, and it appears Kenny Tate is now married to the LB position (A fact we all knew, but still have a hard time accepting).  If you follow Randy Edsall or UM Terps on Twitter they are sending out short You Tube videos each day with practice highlights.  So you can look for those.

On to baseball, things have gotten a little tougher for the Terps lately.  They still hvae a winning record at 18-12, but are only 3-9 in ACC play. They also lost a tough one last night to George Mason, despite out hitting Mason 14-7.  Since being swept by Wake Forest, the Terps are 7-8.

The good news is that the Terps are 9-3 at home, and are in the midst of a 10 game home-stand.  That home-stand will end with a day trip to Towson on April 18th and then it is back to CP for four more.

Tonight they face Bucknell who many moons ago had a lead off hitter with the exact same name as me!

Speaking of nepotisms, congratulations need to go out to the other half of the Turtledroppings family as Chris won the NCAA Contest…OFFICIALLY, I had already noted his win, but now it is in the books.  I will do a final standings once I get reunited with the brackets.  Unfortunately for the time being they are on my dresser 120 miles south of where I will be sitting for the next 5 or so days.

So that is a quick look at some loose ends.  Hope everyone is enjoying their spring and getting ready for the return of MLB.  I know I am excited, though as an O’s fan should probably know better by now.  Still it is good knowing 6 nights a week, I can watch my team try to knock off the much more fortunate franchises.

Of course, this time it wasn’t me.  Unfortunately I trail Chris by one measly point and we both have the same picks remaining.  So the bragging writes for 2012 goes to…as you probably guessed by now Chris.

Kind of shocking that all Championship picks are gone except for those who picked Kentucky.  But it is the truth.  Anyway, these aren’t the final stats (ok, maybe there will be one more update), but they might as well be.

Chris 85 (Kentucky)

Bob Wev 84 (Kentucky)

John F 71 (Michigan State)

LeAnne 71 (Michigan State)

Alex 65 (Syracuse)

John U 64 (Kentucky)

Kristin 62 (UNC)

Bob Wim 59 (Syracuse)

J 58 (Missouri)

Jodi 49 (Temple)

Trish 46 (Kentucky)

Laura 27 (Duke)

Chris wins it since he has a Kentucky-Kansas final and no one can catch him.  He finished with 3 of the Final Four teams, so the win is well deserved.

I am just a point behind Chris, but as mentioned above, our picks match from here on out, so I can not make up any ground.

John F can still pick up points with a Kansas win, but that will also help everyone ahead of him, so there is nothing John can do to move up beyond 3rd.

Lee had a good bracket for a long time, but now only Ohio State remains.  And she has them losing to UNC in the Final Four, so 71 points is where Lee’s bracket comes to an end.

Alex looked good for almost all of the tournament, but the Syracuse loss sunk him.  He only had one other Final Four team and no one in the final.  He finishes at 65.

John U can still make a huge move up the ranks if Ohio State makes the Final (and for what it’s worth, I think they will), but at 64 points, even if John U can make up 16 points on Chris, he will still be behind.  And they both have Kentucky as the Champ anyway.

Kristin lead for most of the way this year, but then it all feel apart.  When UNC lost today, it sealed her bracket.  She can cash in some more points from Kentucky winning one more round, but it won’t be enough.

Bob Wim also suffered when the Orange got squeezed.  I don’t know if he could have caught Alex if Syracuse won it all, but we will never know.  He can also get a few more points out of Kentucky.

J is done.  He had 1 Final Four Team in Kentucky, but no teams in the Final.  He will finish this year with 58 points.

Jodi was pretty much done when she picked Temple to win it all.  Now she really is done.  She got ZERO Final Four teams and only 2 Elite 8 Teams.

Trish is next, though she is so far out of this, she can still move up with a Kentucky National Championship.  Granted it won’t be anywhere near enough, but it could help her pride some.

Laura, Laura, Laura.  All I can do is shake my head.  She finishes with 27 points.  She had 1 Elite 8 team and no Final Four Teams.  Oh and 3 Sweet 16 teams.  That is almost as hard to do as win it all!

So there you have it.  This year goes by without TD.com giving out a prize in either Football or Basketball.  Maybe we will save that money and put it into the prize pool for next year.  Then again, maybe we’ll just keep it.  Or maybe we should ban ourselves from participating to make things more fair!

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the pool and the updates.  Now it is back to focusing on Maryland Sports.

Oh and I would like to Congratulate the Lady Terps on securing their Elite 8 spot today.  Very exciting.  Congratulations, now let’s go on to the Final Four.

Here are the updated standings.  The biggest news is our leader, is now in a 4 way tie for 2nd place, and Lee has finally claimed the top spot in the contest…for now.  After tonight’s games end, I will include everyone’s championship pick, and also point out those who are mathematically eliminated, but for now we have point total’s followed by Final Four teams each person has left.

Lee* 51 (2)

Alex 45 (3)

Chris 45 (3)

Kristin* 45 (3)

Bob* 45 (3)

Jodi 43 (1)

Bob Wim 41 (3)

John F* 39 (3)

J 38 (2)

John U* 36 (3)

Trish 33 (1)

Laura 27 (1)

College Material

Lee has grabbed the lead, but that lead could be fleeting.  She lost her National Championship Team in Michigan State and is down to half of her Final Four.  Much like the British Victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill, sure they drove the Americans from the field, but at what cost……but at what cost??

Alex keeps circling the top spot, just waiting to pounce, like some sort of buzzard following a wounded animal.  Side note I bought a RC plane and flew it for the first time last night.  It crashed so many times (because of April not me) that vultures started circling over head thinking it was some sort of dying creature.  That obviously won’t be going on my resume when I apply for a job at TWA.  Anyway, Alex is married to Syracuse at this point, and though they looked vulnerable against Wisconsin, they survived, and that is the name of the game in March.  No such thing as style points.

Chris after a slow start has finally come back into the thick of things.  He picked up much needed points in the Syracuse and Ohio State wins, but lost a Final Four team when Michigan State bowed out.  That could haunt him, then again, who isn’t that going to haunt, so maybe it will have absolutely no effect at all.  Regardless, I love Chris’s chances, especially with UK as his champion.

Kristin has a bad day losing Wisconsin and Michigan State.  Though since she had Missouri coming out of the West, having Michigan State lose is probably more help at this point as a Spartan Final Four appearance would have given additional points to those following her.  Though she has lost the lead, like Alex she is now married to UNC.  If UNC goes deep, so will Kristin.

Bob spent last night cheering for Syracuse, not realizing he actually needed Wisconsin to win..whoops!  Anyway, my west is closed for Business with the Michigan State loss, and I’m hoping Kentucky can get deep.  My Final Four of Ohio State would also help me a great deal.

Jodi won’t go away yet, but trust me, she will.  She can get one more win out of Kentucky and Syracuse, and then it is all over.  Not a bad effort, and had she picked a more realistic final than UNLV-Temple she could have had a bigger say in this thing.

Bob Wim is still right in the thick of this, but he also has a bracket that may be cancelled out by someone in front of him.  So after this round we will have to see how realistic his chance is.  Still with 3 Final Four teams left, there is certainly nothing to hang his head about.

John F has been a wild card all tournament long.  Plenty of points left, but none of those potential points ever seem to translate into actual points.  John lost his Champ in Michigan State, but can still squeeze some more points out of his 3 remaining Final Four teams.  Look for him to make a run up the standings, but one that will ultimately fall short.

GED Material

J got a little bit of life when Michigan State went down, as he had Missouri going all the way, but without actually doing the math it is pretty apparent he is eliminated.  No Final Teams left and his remaining two Final Four teams are UK and UNC. He isn’t exactly going out on a limb with those two, meaning whatever points he can still get, so are most of the people ahead of him.

John U could still be alive as he has 3 Final Four teams left and both of his Finalist left, the only question will be, what do the people in front of him have.   He is behind the 8 ball as is, and any points he earns could go to his rivals as well.  We will know more about John’s fate in the next update.

Trish can squeeze a few more points out of Kentucky and NC State.  That isn’t going to cut it.  The good news is that if Kentucky wins it all, she will pass many people who don’t have UK, so if your goal is to avoid last place, that goal is alive and well.

Speaking of last place.  Like a three legged horse in the Kentucky Derby, Laura is limping to the finish line.  She can get 8 more points from Florida and then we put silver dollars on the eyes of her bracket, as in the distance a band plays Taps.  Thanks for trying Laura.  Lesson here being, that you get what you deserve when you pick Duke to win the National Championship.

So there we have it.  The fogginess of the pool will be much clearer tomorrow, and pretty much Caribbean clear come Monday.  Let’s just hope you find yourself still on land, and not walking the plank.