Terps Host Northwood In Exhibition Game
11/7/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland men's basketball team plays host to Northwood University in the Terrapins' lone exhbition game of the 2008-09 season on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game can be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network beginning at 1 p.m. and will be available on the Internet at www.accselect.com.
The matchup features a pair of head coaches who have each won NCAA Division I titles in their career. Maryland head coach Gary Williams, entering his 20th season directing the basketball program at his alma mater, will match up against Rollie Massimino, who will be in his fourth season as head coach of the Seahawks. Massimino directed Villanova to the 1985 NCAA title in one of the most storied upsets ever.
Massimino came to the West Palm Beach, Fla., campus in September 2005 to begin the basketball program and has been wildly successful. Northwood is 50-16 in its first two seasons in the sport, having appeared in the NAIA National Tournament each time. The school's first year of basketball was 2006-07.
Williiams has another connection with the Northwood staff. Seahawks assistant coach Dennis Hopson played for Williams at Ohio State, with Hopson's senior year coinciding with Williams' first season in Columbus. Hopson, the third pick of the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Draft in 1987, played on an NBA championship team in Chicago in 1991.
Maryland has three starters returning from a year ago - juniors Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne - and has nine freshmen and sophomores on its 13-man roster. Forward Dave Neal is the lone senior on this year's edition of the Terrapin basketball squad.
The New Year
Maryland's 2008-09 season will feature a deep, talented backcourt and an improving, young front line. That group will face a schedule that has 11 opponents that appeared in thepostseason a year ago, with a possible 12th in the Terps' half of the bracket at the Old Spice Classic.
The schedule includes an ACC/Big 10 Challenge matchup with Michigan and a return appearance in Washington, D.C.'s Verizon Center for the BB&T Classic, where the Terps will face George Washington.
The Terps have a seven-game homestand between December 12 and January 10, with the final game in that stretch being a Comcast Center matchup with Georgia Tech that serves as the Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Tri-Captains
Maryland will have three captains repesenting the team in a leadership role in 2008-09. Senior Dave Neal will accept the role, along with juniors Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne.
Gary Williams' 20th Season
Head coach Gary Williams reaches another in a career filled with milestones when he coaches his alma mater for the 20th season in 2008-09.
He is the 7th-winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball with an overall record of 604-343 (.638). He ranks second among active ACC coaches with 397 wins at Maryland (3rd overall) and also ranks second among active league coaches with 165 ACC victories. Williams is the Terps' all-time winningest coach.
Milestones, Streaks, etc.
Home Sweet Home
Maryland has been a dominant home team over the years.
Vasquez Shines
Junior guard Greivis Vasquez enjoyed a stellar sophomore season for the Terrapins, drawing national attention for his exciting, passionate play:
More From Milbourne
After playing in just 16 of 34 games as a freshman, Landon Milbourne was one of the most improved players in the ACC as a sophomore:
Hayes Continues Strong Play
Junior guard Eric Hayes built on an impressive freshman season and continued his development for the Terrapins a year ago:
Quotes - Head Coach Gary Williams
On playing Northwood in Saturday's home exhibition game:
"Northwood played Villanova, and it was 26-21 at halftime before Villanova took over in the second half. They're big. It's good if we want to get tested because we're not a real tall team. I think we can be pretty physical with our size, but we're not a real tall team. It's a good [opportunity] to play someone like that."
On the status of Sean Mosley's ankle injury:
"If he can go 100 percent [in practice Friday], then he'll play. If he can't, we'll hold him out because we'll have six days before we play Bucknell, so there's no sense in making it worse. He's fine - he's been running straight for the last couple days. It comes down to whether he can make cuts or not... If it were a regular-season game, I think he definitely could play."
On finally having an opportunity to challenge an outside opponent:
"It's great to play against outside people. It really is different. You really find out about your conditioning because you get your adrenaline going and after the first couple of minutes everyone is dying on both teams. It takes about half a minute to get your wind back, and then you find out if you're in pretty good shape. That's probably as important as anything you do against outside competition."
On how he approaches an exhibition game:
"We're going to try to do some things that we wouldn't try to do in a regular-season game in terms of combinations. We're not necessarily going to play according to the situation, but rather we're going to try to get some people in and try to work on some things that we need to work on against somebody else."
On preseason performance of his team's frontcourt:
"Braxton (Dupree) has probably earned the right to start, but (Jerome) Burney has come on in the last several days, and he's playing a little better. Dino (Gregory) has been a very good rebounder in practice so far. That's why [Saturday's exhibition game] is good for him. We have also practiced with Landon (Milbourne) at the four."
