Terrapins Host First Public Scrimmage
10/20/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 20, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland men's basketball team held its first public scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Comcast Center. Head coach Gary Williams interchanged players between the red and black squads throughout the 40-minute intrasquad game. The scrimmage consisted of four 10-minute periods and the two teams combined to score 134 points and shoot 43 percent (51-of-118) from the field.
Freshman Adrian Bowie opened the scoring off the opening tip. Teammate James Gist directed the opening tap to Bambale Osby who found Bowie driving down the left wing for a layup. Bowie finished with 14 points and three assists.
The Terps used the scrimmage to execute against full-court and half-court pressure. Senior James Gist led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman Braxton Dupree recorded a team-high 11 rebounds and added nine points, while fellow freshman Shane Walker scored 12 points, hauled in nine rebounds and blocked four shots.
Sophomore Greivis Vasquez turned in a strong all-around effort throughout the scrimmage. Vasquez recorded 12 points, 13 assists and two steals. Bambale Osby scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Terps will host a second scrimmage for Maryland students and staff on Wednesday, October 24 at 4:00 p.m. Maryland plays its first exhibition contest of the season on November 7, when the Terrapins take on Concordia at 8:00 p.m.
Head Coach Gary Williams
On his impression of the scrimmage ...
"It's good. You get a chance to get a tape of 40 minutes; that's a big thing and we get to study it a little bit. We're pretty athletic. I think we have really good quickness, especially with our big people. We're playing hard. I don't spend a lot of time getting these guys to play at the level necessary to play. Obviously, this time of year, you're sloppy. After six practices, there are some things you have to work on. You're really looking to see where you are in terms of emotion and in terms of getting ready everyday for practice. I think we have done a good job of that so far."
On the difference he saw today from practices ...
"A couple of our young guys like Braxton (Dupree), Shane (Walker), and Dino (Gregory) are competing well against Bambale Osby and James Gist. I wanted to see that today in a game with some more people in here. They handled that pretty well."
On senior James Gist ...
"He's worked on his game over the past couple of years. He can play small forward now. He's gone from a five to a four and now he can play the three also. He's a good enough shooter from around 18 feet or so that they will have to cover him. I am pretty comfortable playing him at the three when he's needed there because we do have some depth at the five position."
Senior James Gist
On his impression of the scrimmage ...
"I thought it went really well. We got a good look at how the team looks right now. The first week of practice is out of the way. We still have more things to work on like transition defense but I think we are coming together right now."
On his chemistry with Greivis Vasquez ...
"We have great chemistry. That's one of the most important things especially when they have the ball most of the game. With Greivis and Eric (Hayes), I just now if I try to get open they are going ot give me the ball. I think they are really going to help us out this year."
On the freshman ...
"They work hard and they are willing to learn. They don't have any egos. Everybody is ready to come in and win and play Maryland basketball."
Sophomore Greivis Vasquez
Overall impressions of the scrimmage...
"I thought we did a pretty good job. We need to keep working on our defense. That's the big key for us. We need to play defense no matter what. We know everybody can score on the team. Any time you get a chance to play a real game, it's good. It was fun but at the same time I want to get better."
On the freshmen ...
"They were impressive today. They played hard. I'm really proud of them. Hopefully they will keep playing like that in practice. That's the idea, to get better every time. I like the young guys a lot."
