Another season of University of Maryland Terrapins basketball is fast approaching (with the opener November 13th vs. UNC Wilmington) and for the first time since the start of the ’89-’90 season, Maryland will not have Gary Williams roaming the sidelines.

As we look ahead to the beginning of the Coach Turgeon era, Terps Radio Analyst Chris Knoche has once again been kind enough to answer a few questions from Baltimore Sports and Life.

In addition to his radio gig, Knoche is also a contributing writer to Comcast Sportsnet. You can find his blog at: http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/chris_knoche

Baltimore Sports and Life: “When we last spoke in May, we ended by asking if the Terps were able to max out their effort, and provide consistent defense; if there was enough talent on the team for a Tournament appearance.

You responded by saying, “… There is enough talent for that because when you do all of those things- play defense, play hard, get quality looks and don’t beat yourselves then you will be in every single game. The other thing is that if you do those things the sum of the group will far exceed the value of its individual parts. Simply put, that’s why you coach…to see that happen.

Perhaps with those comments in-mind, my optimism for the year was steadily increasing (at-least prior to the news of Howard’s broken foot).

As the season nears, do you think Maryland can overcome Howard’s injury, and surprise?”

Knoche: “I think if they do that it will most certainly be a surprise. The depth issues that they have are hard to overcome and then you combine that with the inexperience of a number of the guys and it would seem insurmountable. That said, every year  we see teams that appear to be much greater than the sum of their parts. Perhaps that will happen here.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “If Howard is not able to be back in action early in ACC play, should he red-shirt?”

Knoche: “Wow, tough call. I was really surprised about the 10-12 week diagnosis I heard, simply because kids at this age seem to heal at warp speed. If you cut those numbers in half he would be back by Christmas and the decision is made for you. If it goes into January then Mark Turgeon and company have a decision to make.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “As of 10/31, Alex Len’s case has been under review by the NCAA Eligibility Center for 62 days. My understanding is that the delay has been partly attributed to the NCAA waiting on documentation from the Ukraine. I’m puzzled as to why those documents could not be emailed, but getting past that – there seems to be belief from Maryland that Len will be declared eligible at some point. There are sites rumoring that Len will face a 4 game suspension. If that is accurate, Len would miss the opener against UNC Wilmington, and the three games at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Len is already dealing with normal Freshman adaptation, adjusting to the US and the US game, and has not been able to practice with the Terps since Maryland Madness October 14th. Every player is different, but if Len was able to start practicing 11/21; do you have a sense as a former Coach of how long it might take to get him into the regular rotation?”

Knoche: “There are several parts to this answer. First, while I completely understand the NCAA wanting to get all the information before a decision, the kid and his family have been forthcoming from the start. As you mentioned the delay comes from his former team in the Ukraine…a group that would appear to me to have a vested interest here. The delay only serves to isolate the player from his team and his coaches and is directly in contrast with the NCAA’s mandate to serve the Student-Athlete. How quickly he is assimilated will depend on the complexity of Turgeon’s system, to a degree. It also depends on what kind of innate aptitude that Len has for the game. From what I’ve seen on talent and size alone, you have to go the extra distance to getting him involved right away.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Maryland has Alabama in the 1st round in Puerto Rico, Wichita State or Colorado on Day 2, and Purdue, Temple, Iona, and Western Michigan on the other side of the bracket.  Playing three games in three days in Puerto Rico with potentially only 7 scholarship players will be a challenge. Knowing that, would you play the initial games differently?” (Slower tempo, etc.)

Knoche: “You play how you play. This early in the season these games will be a great test for this group. They could reach a point later in the season at the ACC tournament where they would be down to a similar number and you have to deal with it. You may see them play a little more zone, for instance, but that would probably be kept to a minimum.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “During the rest of the Out of Conference schedule, the Terps will host Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten challenge, face Notre Dame in the BB&T Classic, and travel to Philadelphia for a January 21st game against Temple (potentially facing the Owls for a second time).

If MD can get two wins in Puerto Rico, and take two of three from Illinois, Notre Dame, and Temple; do you agree that the Terps would have a solid OOC resume? Of the other OOC games vs. UNC Wilmington, Florida Gulf Coast, Mount St. Mary’s, FIU, Radford, Albany, Samford, and Cornell – do you see Wilmington as the biggest threat?”

Knoche: “I’d take that out of conference resume in a heartbeat! Rather than look at this where you segment the BCS level games from the guarantee games in December, I think we might be better served to separate them according to months. November has UNCW, Puerto Rico and Illinois. Do all you can to win the games while assimilating new talent like Faust and Parker and, hopefully by December, Len. Then see where you  are when December rolls around.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Syracuse and Pittsburgh have agreed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference as the 13th and 14th schools. Whenever they begin play within the league, the ACC will again assume the position as the premier basketball conference. ACC Commissioner John Swofford has been clear in his comments that the ACC is ‘comfortable’ with 14 teams. Would you advocate to Swofford that the ACC should also add Connecticut, and a 16th? (Rutgers, other?)”

Knoche: “Scheduling becomes much, much easier with 16 teams than with  14 teams. I think the league is in position to call its own shot here and is waiting to see how things play out in a couple of different areas. For the last few years the commissioner had told Pitt and ‘Cuse that he was comfortable with 12 teams. He was simply playing his cards close to his vest. I expect at the end of the day you will see 16.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “When there were 9 schools in the ACC, each team would play a home-and-home with the other 8 universities. If the ACC were to add UConn, and Rutgers, you could have natural North and South divisions for football, which I think could also be carried over to basketball.

ACC North: BC, UConn, ‘Cuse, Pitt, Rutgers, Maryland, Virginia, VTech
ACC South: UNC, Duke, Wake, NCST, Clemson, GaTech, FSU, Miami

With hoops, I think it would be important for the conference schedule to increase. You would want to play home-and-home series against your division, and some games against the other division. While it would be unlikely for the league’s Coaches to agree to up the conference schedule from 16 to 22 games, I think that would be ideal. (2 games vs. each of your 7 divisional opponents = 14 games, + 1 game each vs. the other division.)

With those 22 games on the schedule, you could then eliminate the hardest 5 or 6 games on the OOC schedule. Do you think the league’s Coaches would ever go for that?”

Knoche: “I think the most conference games you would ever see would be 18 or so. If you have 22 conference games you have no breaks – physical or mental. I agree that further expansion sets up nicely for the a two division breakdown but there are a lot of ways you can do that.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “We are not one game into the 2011-12 season, but many Terps fans are extremely excited about the prospects for Maryland starting with ’12-’13.

2012-2013 Roster as of today:
Guards: Stoglin (Jr), Howard (Jr), Faust (Soph), Allen (Freshman)
SF: Parker (Jr), Layman (Freshman)
Bigs: Padgett (Sr), Pankey (Jr),  Len (Soph), Cleare (Freshman)

Allen will give MD another capable PG, Layman is a SF, that is a Top 50ish player in the ’12 Class, and Cleare is a Center that is a Top 40 player.

Should the Terps also add a Top PF, do you see the makings of a National Contender?”

Knoche: “I think a power forward helps to balance out the class, for sure. Most fans become enamored with what they don’t have….it’s human nature to love the next class, for instance. Even with that, I think one of the most critical parts of this team’s success in the coming years will be the development of the guys who are already here now – guys like Faust, Parker and Len. Certainly the added depth is something that we will all embrace next year.”

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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