Redhawk

Seattle U (0-0) @ Maryland Terrapins (0-0, 0-0 ACC)

Comcast Center (College Park, MD)

Monday November 8, 2010 5:00 pm

RADIO: 710 ESPN Seattle

Series- First Meeting

Last Meeting- n/a

Scouting Maryland:

Gary Williams arrived to College Park in 1989 and turned a scandal ridden struggling program into a national power. The 5th winningest active coach sports an impressive 428-233 mark at the school where he was once a standout point guard. In his tenor at Maryland the program has earned 14 NCAA tournament appearances including 11 straight from 1993-2004, three ACC titles, seven trips to the Sweet Sixteen, two to the Elite Eight, twice in the Final Four and a National Championship in 2002. Maryland has danced two years in a row, but their season ended in the second round last year succumbing to Michigan State 85-83. It is ironic that Maryland's season ended in the state of Washington (Spokane Arena) and will play a team from the same state to begin this year.

This version of the Terrapins will look dramatically different than the one that shared the ACC crown with Duke a year ago. Greivis Vasquez has taken his considerable talents to the NBA as a first round pick of Memphis. The ACC player of the year led Maryland with 19.6 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists. The emotional leader was a four-year player and leaves Maryland as the second leading scorer in the history of the program. His backcourt mate, Eric Hayes, will be severely missed as well. Hayes chipped in 11 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. Landon Milbourne and his 12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds are gone as well.

Forward Jordan Williams and guard Sean Mosley are pillars for Maryland this year. However, for a return to the NCAA Tournament 3 senior starters who have combined for 4 career starts must successfully transition from role players to heavy lifters. They will also need contributions from some combination of the 5 freshman that come off the bench. Nothing will change how Maryland plays the game. They are highly physical on defense and will press and trap which leads to turnovers and easy buckets. Traditionally Williams recruits players who are gritty and the tough as nails attitude his players usually bring fits in perfectly with their system.

The Ones to Watch:

Sean Mosley- 6'4 210 JR G- 10 ppg 5 rbd

The hard-nosed Baltimore native plays with the intensity that Gary Williams demands as he looks to shoulder the gaping leadership cavern left behind by Vasquez. He is a very good passer and rebounder for his position and his shot continues to improve. He burst out of the gates last season by hitting opponents for double-figures 10 of his first 11 games. However, his season ended in disappointed as he only managed 10 points total in his final 3 of the season- two NCAA Tournament games and a loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC tourney.

Jordan Williams- 6'10 260 SO F- 9.6 ppg 8.6 rbds

Williams boasts serious NBA potential and is one of the best post-players Seattle U will have to deal with all season. Thanks to an explosive backcourt he was not asked to score much last season. The scoring load will shift to his shoulders this year. He is improving in the post and will be difficult for any SU defender to deal with one-on-one. He is impressive defensively and is an outstanding rebounder.

Keys to the Game:

1- A Great Start- Despite heavy losses Maryland is an ACC team that oozes talent. Seattle U can not afford to fall behind this team early.
2- Newcomer Impact- No choice here. Several newcomers must play well in their SU debut.
3- Defense- Seattle U needs to force turnovers against a team that lost two influential 4-year backcourt players. .

Numbers to Know:

-In the Gary Williams era Maryland is 148-7 vs non-conference foes at Home.
-Seattle U has never played Maryland and is 1-1 all-time versus current members of the ACC. SU defeated Boston College in the 1952-53 season 99-86 and lost to Wake Forest 85-67 in the 1977-78 campaign.

That task is extremely tall for Seattle U. Maryland is a powerful ACC team and they rarely lose non-conference games at home. It is the first game of the year though and anything can happen! Tune in 15 minutes before tip on 710 ESPN Seattle and the live blog will be cooking at seattleufan.com.