Maryland 2024

[masondixonlax]

Unfortunately I think we are actually seeing the true talent of the players without having the likes of a Jared or Logan...the concern is that it does not appear that Erksa or Spanos have taken a step forward but have leveled off, last year they were the unknown but now other teams focus on them and they are struggling...and there really is no younger guy that has played that makes you think that there is some one waiting in the wings...the lack of grit is discouraging....at this point they might have to win the Big Ten tournament to make the tournament...and if I am Tills I am using the next 4 game to prepare for the Big Ten tournament..

Agree. I think we are fooling ourselves if the dream is Erska or Spanos will take this leap forward as did Rambo, Jared, or Logan. I'm probably alone on this but b/c of Spanos injury history i feel like he is always just lumbering and slows the flow at times. The ball sometimes will die in his stick when Maryland's offense is swinging the ball around the perimeter. I get he is trying to make a play but if the opposition puts someone on him that matches his size he fades. Reminds me at times of the middle school player who hit puberty before everyone else and dominates until everyone else catches up. Erska remains 3rd in nation with TO/per game and has shown when he is asked to do too much he forces it. Just hoping the new crop of talent coming in next year is the real deal.

[Comeonman]

#Phippseffect

[Comeonman]

#Phippseffect

[Wheels]

#Phippseffect

You all are weirdos. Phipps has been in College Park for all of 3.5 months and somehow the offense's troubles are because of him? You all are smoking some strange stuff. Whatever grudge you all have against him, can you take it back to your other forums? When you and others come in with this nonsense, you just look bitterly dumb, Maybe give it another full season?

[jrn19]

Unfortunately I think we are actually seeing the true talent of the players without having the likes of a Jared or Logan...the concern is that it does not appear that Erksa or Spanos have taken a step forward but have leveled off, last year they were the unknown but now other teams focus on them and they are struggling...and there really is no younger guy that has played that makes you think that there is some one waiting in the wings...the lack of grit is discouraging....at this point they might have to win the Big Ten tournament to make the tournament...and if I am Tills I am using the next 4 game to prepare for the Big Ten tournament..

Agree. I think we are fooling ourselves if the dream is Erska or Spanos will take this leap forward as did Rambo, Jared, or Logan. I'm probably alone on this but b/c of Spanos injury history i feel like he is always just lumbering and slows the flow at times. The ball sometimes will die in his stick when Maryland's offense is swinging the ball around the perimeter. I get he is trying to make a play but if the opposition puts someone on him that matches his size he fades. Reminds me at times of the middle school player who hit puberty before everyone else and dominates until everyone else catches up. Erska remains 3rd in nation with TO/per game and has shown when he is asked to do too much he forces it. Just hoping the new crop of talent coming in next year is the real deal.

It might not happen. It's also worth remembering for Rambo The Leap didn't happen till really his junior year, but flashes were there late sophomore year. For Bernhardt it wasn't till junior year; and frankly he kept so much in the bag till his 5th year. Logan was always productive but Logan was a different player.

However Spanos' injury history and the fact Erksa was a comparatively lower ranked recruit to Rambo and Jared (more similar to Logan but lower than him too) are things worth pointing out. Erksa is very much a one-track player right now. It's probably why he was a 4-star and not Top 15-20, 30 player in his class. Those guys have more tools.

[jrn19]

They're 11th in RPI right now. Have a Top 10 win over Cuse and an additional Top 20 win over Princeton. For better or worse, an RPI that hovers around the Top 10 is going to keep you in the ball game a long way. They absolutely, positively cannot lose to Rutgers. And really not Ohio State either. Don't want bad losses, of which they have none. Right now they're on the bubble....but there's also not really anyone behind them making a push and no one really likes particularly poised to. So as bad as it looks, if they avoid doing anything dumb, they'll likely make the tournament again.

It'll likely be on the road, tough opponent, but they'll be there. Start dropping games to RU/OSU though, yeah, all bets are off

[keno in reno]

Erksa is very much a one-track player right now. It's probably why he was a 4-star and not Top 15-20, 30 player in his class. Those guys have more tools.

He was not a top 30 player in his class because the ranking system was a dude who goes to a few tournaments and watches some youtube hype vids. There aren't 30 guys in Erksa's class now that are better than him. Just like there aren't 75 guys better than Zappitello's ranking. If those guys went to McDonogh or St. Anthony's they would have been ranked among the top of the class.

Rambo and Jared were historically great players, better than over 99% of players who ever played college lacrosse. So making the 4 star/5 star comparison to them as the 5 star standard isn't exactly a scientific formula. The argument could also be made (and backed up statistically) that Erksa has a similar tool chest those legends had in their sophomore years.

[fsclax]

The very, very vast number of Maryland passes are received by a player who is 1) more than 5 yards outside the hash marks; 2) more than 15 yards above GLE; or 3) more than 5 yards below GLE. When that happens the on-ball defender has plenty of time to be in position and the off-ball defenders can be in place to slide/fill/rotate. There is very little defensive confusion. We've seen very few bad defensive approaches (close outs, breakdowns, whatever they're called these days) against the Terps. I understand that the 2022 team had more talent but go back and watch films to see how compact they got. Very often all six offensive players were inside the hash marks, with at least 5 above GLE. There was way more "catch and shoot" than we're seeing today, where nearly all passes go to someone who then dodges, and almost everyone agrees that we're not great dodgers. There is no reason that today's players can't be just as talented moving off-ball as those from 2022. I'm in the camp that believes that we've got lots of talent. But this offense is so spread out, and so predictable, that there is little happening to get the defense off balance. Take a few minutes and watch some of the 2022 team and you'll be amazed at the amount of catch and shoot that happened in the hole. The current team moves the ball very well but it's too often pointless.

[Bmk2222]

On the bright side, the Ladies actually have a legitimate shot at Memorial Day weekend…..

[youthathletics]

Was thinking last evening, Historically, TIlls was a benefactor of the Transfer Portal and worked it rather heavily. It appears he knew his O was a work in progress, leaning heavily on defensive minded portal players. Interestingly enough, Vermont heavy from Bernhardt.

Nick Alviti, LSM, Vermont (Gr.)
Jackson Canfield, D, Vermont (Gr.)
Griffin King, M, Brown (Gr.)
Colin Sharkey, DM, Vermont (Gr.)

[jrn19]

Erksa is very much a one-track player right now. It's probably why he was a 4-star and not Top 15-20, 30 player in his class. Those guys have more tools.

He was not a top 30 player in his class because the ranking system was a dude who goes to a few tournaments and watches some youtube hype vids. There aren't 30 guys in Erksa's class now that are better than him. Just like there aren't 75 guys better than Zappitello's ranking. If those guys went to McDonogh or St. Anthony's they would have been ranked among the top of the class.

Rambo and Jared were historically great players, better than over 99% of players who ever played college lacrosse. So making the 4 star/5 star comparison to them as the 5 star standard isn't exactly a scientific formula. The argument could also be made (and backed up statistically) that Erksa has a similar tool chest those legends had in their sophomore years.

The ranking system is the dude who goes to the tournaments asks the coaches who are at the tournaments who the best players are and ranks them that way. That’s really what it is. The top ranked players are who the coaches think the best players are.

[Abr2016]

I played for Phipps at Navy, he was the best coach I ever had. The Gtown guys I know feel the same way. They won 4 total games the prior 2 years before he got there, and that was with Bucaro and Carraway. I think some people are bitter that he left Navy after the fall. But those that really know him, totally understand and were happy he could go back to his alma mater.

[JerrysWorld]

Was thinking last evening, Historically, TIlls was a benefactor of the Transfer Portal and worked it rather heavily. It appears he knew his O was a work in progress, leaning heavily on defensive minded portal players. Interestingly enough, Vermont heavy from Bernhardt.

Nick Alviti, LSM, Vermont (Gr.)
Jackson Canfield, D, Vermont (Gr.)
Griffin King, M, Brown (Gr.)
Colin Sharkey, DM, Vermont (Gr.)

This is an interesting point. 5th year guys really do make a difference. Just look at Michigan - Pederson, Roberts, Rhonda from Princeton were big difference makers in the game yesterday. The kid Tiernan from Lehigh had 5 Goals. When MD had their historic team in 2022 - Khan, Donville, and the other Nova D guy were instrumental. Just doesn't seem like MD is getting that from those guys you mentioned. I wonder why they haven't given King from Brown any run.

Have watched most of the Terps game and it seems pretty clear to me how Coach Tillman wants to play. He definitely wants to play slow since he believes he has an elite FO guy and an elite defense. Just win the possession battle and grind out wins. Much like the Loyola and Princeton game. But when you get crushed at the X, fail 6 clears, and aren't playing well on defense, this is what you will get.

The offense gets a blamed a little more than it should in my opinion. They really lack the talent of past Terps team. Struggle getting leverage off the dodge, and have really only 1 stretch shooter in Murphy. I saw the efficiency stats from the game and the offense was close to 40% (I believe). That is pretty good, and they are still a top 20 offense by the metrics. Goal totals are just never high because possessions are so long and slow - not really ideal to watch. I wish they would up the tempo in transition, but that starts with the rope unit and they dont have anyone like Pugliese, or even Trader, to jump start it.

Not sure what the solution is, but if Coach Tillman believes so strongly in the defense and FO game, not sure why they get a pass. With 2 teamer AA on the back end in Zappitello and McNaney, I think they can be better. The Michigan FO guy dominated yesterday. The Brown game was bizarre on defense. Luckily the offense almost went 50%. I just feel that if those are the backbones of the team, that is where a realistic improvement needs to start for a turnaround.

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield? I saw him coming out of the box at times. Jrn makes some really good points about this team and seems pretty level headed about what MD is. 2021 and 2022 just spoiled everyone (I think those teams only had 1 loss total. Last years team had 6). It is a long season and I have a feeling you win at PSU, and everything changes.

[HopFan16]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

[masondixonlax]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

+1

[JerrysWorld]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

True. That’s good perspective.

[Finster]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

True. That’s good perspective.

Some good news for Maryland is your top 3 scorers are underclassmen; the bad news is your next 6 highest scorers are seniors.

Looking at year to date statistics, Maryland does not have a true high point scorer. Erksa is your highest at 27 total points. The closest competitor to MD's position here is ND with the Kavs at 30 and 29 (Denver to some extent to). Most others have a few high point (40 or more) scorers or close to 40 in fewer games.

For ND, ND's defense and goalie are so far outplaying MD. MD giving up an average of 10.875 goals a game; ND giving up an average of 8.33 goals a game. But ND's offense is averaging 17 goals a game; MD's 11.625 (admittedly against a much stronger slate of opponents than ND).

I wonder if Tillman might consider scheduling a Cleveland State/Marquette type 1-2 openers next year, at least to give his squad some room to figure out its optimal lines?

My nits with John are grinding Weirman to a pulp over a season (and not giving the next year's starter some reps in tough games, thereby hurting next year) and giving up on the ride. Is there an online statistics base which can show what % clearing teams have against Maryland?

[JerrysWorld]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

True. That’s good perspective.

Some good news for Maryland is your top 3 scorers are underclassmen; the bad news is your next 6 highest scorers are seniors.

Looking at year to date statistics, Maryland does not have a true high point scorer. Erksa is your highest at 27 total points. The closest competitor to MD's position here is ND with the Kavs at 30 and 29. Most others have a few high point (40 or more) scorers.

For ND, ND's defense and goalie are so far outplaying MD. MD giving up an average of 10.875 goals a game; ND giving up an average of 8.33 goals a game. But ND's offense is averaging 17 goals a game; MD's 11.625 (admittedly against a much stronger slate of opponents than ND).

I wonder if Tillman might consider scheduling a Cleveland State/Marquette type 1-2 openers next year, at least to give his squad some room to figure out its optimal lines?

My nits with John are grinding Weirman to a pulp over a season (and not giving the next year's starter some reps in tough games, thereby hurting next year) and giving up on the ride. Is there an online statistics base which can show what % clearing teams have against Maryland?

I really agree with this. With all these new faces, even dating back to last year, would have been nice to have a few easy ones. Much like Duke, UVA, Cuse, etc. all have. Might have helped form some confidence for a group who is trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations of 21/22.

[Finster]

Malever has been a little bit of a disappointment to me - maybe he is still recovering from the ACL, but he doesn't seem to be giving much. Maybe try him at midfield?

The expectations for him this year were ridiculous. He had a catastrophic knee injury. More often than not, players are never the same after that — especially their first year back. Think fans should consider it a win that, even though it's not at an elite level, he is producing, and hasn't suffered any setbacks. If that remains the case, he will likely have more pep in his step next year. Anyone who has suffered a knee injury knows that while technically you can be back on the playing field in ~9 months, it's really more like an 18-24 month recovery. Sometimes an indefinite one. And his was not a garden variety ACL tear either. My understanding is it was multiple ligaments + broken leg.

True. That’s good perspective.

Some good news for Maryland is your top 3 scorers are underclassmen; the bad news is your next 6 highest scorers are seniors.

Looking at year to date statistics, Maryland does not have a true high point scorer. Erksa is your highest at 27 total points. The closest competitor to MD's position here is ND with the Kavs at 30 and 29. Most others have a few high point (40 or more) scorers.

For ND, ND's defense and goalie are so far outplaying MD. MD giving up an average of 10.875 goals a game; ND giving up an average of 8.33 goals a game. But ND's offense is averaging 17 goals a game; MD's 11.625 (admittedly against a much stronger slate of opponents than ND).

I wonder if Tillman might consider scheduling a Cleveland State/Marquette type 1-2 openers next year, at least to give his squad some room to figure out its optimal lines?

My nits with John are grinding Weirman to a pulp over a season (and not giving the next year's starter some reps in tough games, thereby hurting next year) and giving up on the ride. Is there an online statistics base which can show what % clearing teams have against Maryland?

I really agree with this. With all these new faces, even dating back to last year, would have been nice to have a few easy ones. Much like Duke, UVA, Cuse, etc. all have. Might have helped form some confidence for a group who is trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations of 21/22.

UVA had a fairly tough schedule to begin the season, but they did add some 'easier' games mid-season (RMU, Albany, Drexel). And before any of you slay me for saying those are 'easy', I said 'easier', not easy. All D1 teams have some meat on the bone.

Maryland though schedules zero easier opponents (same with Hopkins and a few others). I just think that some coaches like John should think through that issue a bit more, unless you are returning the prohibitive D1 favorite. Every team needs some breathing room to figure out optimal lines, and optimal plays, and that is really tough to do if you are fighting for your life every game.

[youthathletics]

My nits with John are grinding Weirman to a pulp over a season (and not giving the next year's starter some reps in tough games, thereby hurting next year) and giving up on the ride. Is there an online statistics base which can show what % clearing teams have against Maryland?

I seem to recall the same w/Raffa, playing with a destroyed shoulder.