Maui
Invitational
Chaminade Game Recap
By Bob W.
Overall:
Do we even get to count this game as a “W”? That isn’t a hypothetical question, that is an honest to God inquiry. Just yesterday we were challenging Gonzaga for National Dominance, now less than 24 hours later we are playing a Div II in the losers bracket. I really don’t know what to make of this team. But every day my expectations get a little lower. Maui has yet to convince me otherwise. Anyway back to Chaminade. They are a small school located in Honolulu with about 1,000 students I believe. They play in the Maui invitational every year and sometimes even put a little scare into teams. Well they scared the crap out of us!
First Half:
The winter never looked longer, or colder than in the first half of the Maryland- Chaminade game. All I could picture was a horrible, horrible basketball season being played by a team that I really didn’t love. I remember the pre-2002 teams, sure they weren’t champs but you knew every night they would battle and leave it on the floor. Like Keith Booth’s senior season, not much talent, but you knew they were trying and every now and then they would shock someone (remember the UNC comeback!). Anyway those memories were replaced by anger, bitterness, and helplessness in the first half. By the time the horn sounded, the Terps were trailing 46-44. You could almost see people across the country starting to root for the unthinkable so that they could laugh at our misfortune.
Second Half:
As it turned out this was a tail of two halves. The Terps were ready in the second half. I am not sure what Gary said at halftime but it sure did work. The Terps held the Silver Swords to 20% shooting in the second half, while shooting 60% themselves. They also shot solid from the foul line in the second half going 10-12. While Chaminade made only 10-22. As bad and disheartening as the first half was, the second half was equally shocking in how well they improved in 20 minutes. Maybe it was the game time, (but hey we wouldn’t be playing at 8:30AM if we beat Gonzaga), or maybe it was being a college kid on a free trip to Hawaii, but after a slow start the Terps were able to salvage a win. And who knows, with a win over Arkansas today (Remember 40 minutes of hell?) we could leave Hawaii 2-1, and I would certainly be happy with that.
Report Card (with Random B-ball quote)
Accountant: You bet $1,000 on the Washington Generals?
Krusty the Clown: I thought they were due…….awwww….they’re using a latter for God’s sake!!
Travis Garrison: B
The Good: 5-8 from the field, 3-4 at the line, 7 boards, 13 points and 1 foul.
The Bad: 0 blocks.
Nik Caner Medley: B
The Good: 6-8 from the field, 1-1 from 3, 3-4 from the foul line, 8 boards, 0 fouls, 16 points, and a block
The Bad: Sure he shows up for the Chaminade game, but what about when it matters???
Ekene Ibekwe: B-
The Good: 4-4 from the foul line, 8 boards and 12 points.
The Bad: 4-10 from the field, 0-1 from 3 point land (it’s the attempt that worries me, not the miss).
Chris McCray: A-
The Good: 8-8 from the foul line, 17 points, 1 block, and 3 steals.
The Bad: 4-8 from the field. But the foul shooting more than made up for it!
DJ Strawberry: B
The Good: Showed fire when everyone else was down, 6 boards, 4 steals.
The Bad: 3-8 from the floor, 4 fouls.
Sterling Ledbetter: B
The Good: 1-1 from 3, and 3 assists in 11 minutes.
The Bad: Only played for 11.
James Gist: A
The Good: I love this kid. 8-15, 16 points, 3 blocks.
The Bad: Only 3 boards though in 24 minutes.
Mike Jones: B
The Good: 5 assists keeps his grade up.
The Bad: 2-8 from the field.
Will Bowers: C
The Good: 2-2 from the charity line.
The Bad: More fouls than points, 1 board for the big man.
Gini Chukura: C
The Good: Got 4 minutes of PT Baby.
The Bad: 1 board and 1 shot (which missed)
Dave Neil: D
The Good: Didn’t miss a shot all day (0-0) and had 2 rebounds in 6 minutes.
The Bad: . 2 fouls in 6 minutes plus a Turn Over.
Parrish Brown: B
The Good: 1-2 from 3 point land, plus a steal.
The Bad: Only played for 8 minutes.