Maryland 2024

[jrn19]

This thread reads like a post-mortem on a wasted season. You guys are performing an autopsy on the patient while he’s still alive, already looking at 2025. Man.

Tillman could turn this around with one decision: go uptempo. You’ve got an AA first teamer at FOGO but you take the full shot clock to get off crud shots. THAT MAKES NO SENSE EVEN IF YOUR TEAM NEEDS BETTER SHOOTERS. Make it take it. Let the boys feast.

Go up tempo how?

Look, everyone here loves Luke Wierman. He's the best FOGO in the history of the program, a pivotal part of the best team/runs in program history and one of the best teams ever. He's also clearly not the same player that he was. He's at 59% this year, the year they played fast BECAUSE they had him (2022), he won 66%. That's a drop-off.

Here's his performance in their most notable games:
Syracuse: 16-29 (55%)
Notre Dame: 12-25 (48%)
Virginia: 16-28 (57%)
Michigan: 11-27 (41%)
Penn State: 16-27 (59%)
Ohio State: 13-18 (72%)
Rutgers: 11-21 (52%)
Hopkins: 9-15 (60%)

Overall, he's at 55%. That's a good FOGO. He is absolutely helping this team stay in games they otherwise may not and giving the offense possession they desperately need. But you don't play make it, take it with a 55% FOGO. He's winning every other draw essentially. The two games you could argue they should have done something like that were OSU and Hopkins but the game was a slow pace and the fewer FOs, the less impact he has. The closest they came to actually doing what you're suggesting is the Penn State game....when he DID dominate face-offs in the 2H. But overall, he's a good FOGO who gives them possessions. To play make it, take it and dramatically increase their pace of play, he'd need to be winning >60%. He's not doing that.

Secondly, they don't have shorties who can push transition. There's no Fairman, no Puglise, heck not even really a Josh Coffman from a few years ago. Stamos appears to have some potential, but he's one guy. Kolar, Sharkey, Redd....these guys just are not great athletes. They're not dudes who run the field. Jack McDonald is not a long pole who pushes in transition the way John Geppert was.

There's no point in trying to start playing dramatically faster as if that's the solution when you A) don't have the pieces to do it and B) aren't winning faceoffs to ensure you're dominating possessions. They aren't dominating possessions. It's like 50/50.

We all watch every game this team plays. Some others who are commenting do not and just go off boxscores or the one or two games they do watch. Just GOING UPTEMPO is not the solution. Can they play faster? Sure. Should they manufacture some stuff with sub games and things like that? Yes. It would help.

If going up tempo would suddenly just fix it and make Maryland a great offense, John Tillman would do it. For crying out loud, they had THIRTY THREE goals scored by non-offensive players in 2022. Go find me the last team to do that. He's not an ideologue. He wants to win.

This is the hand they're dealt and it's not a great one. The staff is probably not pressing the right buttons either. But there is no magic fix to this and people not to stop projecting their issues with Maryland's style of play or Tillman's previous proclivities to stall - when it was smart to do so! - onto who he is as a coach. Actually analyze the situation in front of you.

[MDralphie]

Geez Season is still on as another mentioned. We absolutely have an excellent D, FOGO and a GK.
The Offense should play faster if transition presents itself. Our Shorties are absolutely good athletes. Redd was a pole for 2 years, Kolar an excellent HS football player, has been starting since a Freshman! It was ugly against Hopkins but Irlyen made a couple saves that were ridiculous. Certainly could have won it ugly. 19 turnovers cost the Hopkins game.
We are a top 10 team. This Terp team won’t be embarrassed by anyone, even if it’s ugly.
Continue with D, Logan playing better all the time, Wierman at 55-60% likes to heat up in the 4th qtr. and quit the dumb turnovers and we’re in every game.
I’ll take ugly wins

[Wheels]

This thread reads like a post-mortem on a wasted season. You guys are performing an autopsy on the patient while he’s still alive, already looking at 2025. Man.

Tillman could turn this around with one decision: go uptempo. You’ve got an AA first teamer at FOGO but you take the full shot clock to get off crud shots. THAT MAKES NO SENSE EVEN IF YOUR TEAM NEEDS BETTER SHOOTERS. Make it take it. Let the boys feast.

Go up tempo how?

Look, everyone here loves Luke Wierman. He's the best FOGO in the history of the program, a pivotal part of the best team/runs in program history and one of the best teams ever. He's also clearly not the same player that he was. He's at 59% this year, the year they played fast BECAUSE they had him (2022), he won 66%. That's a drop-off.

Here's his performance in their most notable games:
Syracuse: 16-29 (55%)
Notre Dame: 12-25 (48%)
Virginia: 16-28 (57%)
Michigan: 11-27 (41%)
Penn State: 16-27 (59%)
Ohio State: 13-18 (72%)
Rutgers: 11-21 (52%)
Hopkins: 9-15 (60%)

Overall, he's at 55%. That's a good FOGO. He is absolutely helping this team stay in games they otherwise may not and giving the offense possession they desperately need. But you don't play make it, take it with a 55% FOGO. He's winning every other draw essentially. The two games you could argue they should have done something like that were OSU and Hopkins but the game was a slow pace and the fewer FOs, the less impact he has. The closest they came to actually doing what you're suggesting is the Penn State game....when he DID dominate face-offs in the 2H. But overall, he's a good FOGO who gives them possessions. To play make it, take it and dramatically increase their pace of play, he'd need to be winning >60%. He's not doing that.

Secondly, they don't have shorties who can push transition. There's no Fairman, no Puglise, heck not even really a Josh Coffman from a few years ago. Stamos appears to have some potential, but he's one guy. Kolar, Sharkey, Redd....these guys just are not great athletes. They're not dudes who run the field. Jack McDonald is not a long pole who pushes in transition the way John Geppert was.

There's no point in trying to start playing dramatically faster as if that's the solution when you A) don't have the pieces to do it and B) aren't winning faceoffs to ensure you're dominating possessions. They aren't dominating possessions. It's like 50/50.

We all watch every game this team plays. Some others who are commenting do not and just go off boxscores or the one or two games they do watch. Just GOING UPTEMPO is not the solution. Can they play faster? Sure. Should they manufacture some stuff with sub games and things like that? Yes. It would help.

If going up tempo would suddenly just fix it and make Maryland a great offense, John Tillman would do it. For crying out loud, they had THIRTY THREE goals scored by non-offensive players in 2022. Go find me the last team to do that. He's not an ideologue. He wants to win.

This is the hand they're dealt and it's not a great one. The staff is probably not pressing the right buttons either. But there is no magic fix to this and people not to stop projecting their issues with Maryland's style of play or Tillman's previous proclivities to stall - when it was smart to do so! - onto who he is as a coach. Actually analyze the situation in front of you.

Imagine if a guy like Marinier from OSU was on this team. Everything would look very different on offense. Spacing would be better. Dodging lanes would open up. Maltz would have more space in the middle.

Turnovers are probably just as responsible for the slower pace as anything else. You noted the PSU game, which was one of their cleaner games. Guessing that turnovers also make them more hesitant to do much in early offense.

[Essexfenwick]

Don’t have a dodger that can break down defenses. Drop passes when moving the ball. Force passes into traffic. Makes for lots of offensive possessions with low quality or no shots. The coaches are maxing out what this group can do. If they won last week it would have been a season of epic coaching accomplishment winning the conference.

[JerrysWorld]

This thread reads like a post-mortem on a wasted season. You guys are performing an autopsy on the patient while he’s still alive, already looking at 2025. Man.

Tillman could turn this around with one decision: go uptempo. You’ve got an AA first teamer at FOGO but you take the full shot clock to get off crud shots. THAT MAKES NO SENSE EVEN IF YOUR TEAM NEEDS BETTER SHOOTERS. Make it take it. Let the boys feast.

Go up tempo how?

Look, everyone here loves Luke Wierman. He's the best FOGO in the history of the program, a pivotal part of the best team/runs in program history and one of the best teams ever. He's also clearly not the same player that he was. He's at 59% this year, the year they played fast BECAUSE they had him (2022), he won 66%. That's a drop-off.

Here's his performance in their most notable games:
Syracuse: 16-29 (55%)
Notre Dame: 12-25 (48%)
Virginia: 16-28 (57%)
Michigan: 11-27 (41%)
Penn State: 16-27 (59%)
Ohio State: 13-18 (72%)
Rutgers: 11-21 (52%)
Hopkins: 9-15 (60%)

Overall, he's at 55%. That's a good FOGO. He is absolutely helping this team stay in games they otherwise may not and giving the offense possession they desperately need. But you don't play make it, take it with a 55% FOGO. He's winning every other draw essentially. The two games you could argue they should have done something like that were OSU and Hopkins but the game was a slow pace and the fewer FOs, the less impact he has. The closest they came to actually doing what you're suggesting is the Penn State game....when he DID dominate face-offs in the 2H. But overall, he's a good FOGO who gives them possessions. To play make it, take it and dramatically increase their pace of play, he'd need to be winning >60%. He's not doing that.

Secondly, they don't have shorties who can push transition. There's no Fairman, no Puglise, heck not even really a Josh Coffman from a few years ago. Stamos appears to have some potential, but he's one guy. Kolar, Sharkey, Redd....these guys just are not great athletes. They're not dudes who run the field. Jack McDonald is not a long pole who pushes in transition the way John Geppert was.

There's no point in trying to start playing dramatically faster as if that's the solution when you A) don't have the pieces to do it and B) aren't winning faceoffs to ensure you're dominating possessions. They aren't dominating possessions. It's like 50/50.

We all watch every game this team plays. Some others who are commenting do not and just go off boxscores or the one or two games they do watch. Just GOING UPTEMPO is not the solution. Can they play faster? Sure. Should they manufacture some stuff with sub games and things like that? Yes. It would help.

If going up tempo would suddenly just fix it and make Maryland a great offense, John Tillman would do it. For crying out loud, they had THIRTY THREE goals scored by non-offensive players in 2022. Go find me the last team to do that. He's not an ideologue. He wants to win.

This is the hand they're dealt and it's not a great one. The staff is probably not pressing the right buttons either. But there is no magic fix to this and people not to stop projecting their issues with Maryland's style of play or Tillman's previous proclivities to stall - when it was smart to do so! - onto who he is as a coach. Actually analyze the situation in front of you.

This is another post with really good perspective. I worry that when they do or have tried early offense, and it doesnt work, they are left with even less time on the shot clock. This group 6 on 6 cannot generate shots quickly because of that lack of dodgers.

I do wish we would be more aggressive when we do get the odd man transition situations. The D guys seem very tentative here.

[Finster]

This thread reads like a post-mortem on a wasted season. You guys are performing an autopsy on the patient while he’s still alive, already looking at 2025. Man.

Tillman could turn this around with one decision: go uptempo. You’ve got an AA first teamer at FOGO but you take the full shot clock to get off crud shots. THAT MAKES NO SENSE EVEN IF YOUR TEAM NEEDS BETTER SHOOTERS. Make it take it. Let the boys feast.

Go up tempo how?

Look, everyone here loves Luke Wierman. He's the best FOGO in the history of the program, a pivotal part of the best team/runs in program history and one of the best teams ever. He's also clearly not the same player that he was. He's at 59% this year, the year they played fast BECAUSE they had him (2022), he won 66%. That's a drop-off.

Here's his performance in their most notable games:
Syracuse: 16-29 (55%)
Notre Dame: 12-25 (48%)
Virginia: 16-28 (57%)
Michigan: 11-27 (41%)
Penn State: 16-27 (59%)
Ohio State: 13-18 (72%)
Rutgers: 11-21 (52%)
Hopkins: 9-15 (60%)

Overall, he's at 55%. That's a good FOGO. He is absolutely helping this team stay in games they otherwise may not and giving the offense possession they desperately need. But you don't play make it, take it with a 55% FOGO. He's winning every other draw essentially. The two games you could argue they should have done something like that were OSU and Hopkins but the game was a slow pace and the fewer FOs, the less impact he has. The closest they came to actually doing what you're suggesting is the Penn State game....when he DID dominate face-offs in the 2H. But overall, he's a good FOGO who gives them possessions. To play make it, take it and dramatically increase their pace of play, he'd need to be winning >60%. He's not doing that.

Secondly, they don't have shorties who can push transition. There's no Fairman, no Puglise, heck not even really a Josh Coffman from a few years ago. Stamos appears to have some potential, but he's one guy. Kolar, Sharkey, Redd....these guys just are not great athletes. They're not dudes who run the field. Jack McDonald is not a long pole who pushes in transition the way John Geppert was.

There's no point in trying to start playing dramatically faster as if that's the solution when you A) don't have the pieces to do it and B) aren't winning faceoffs to ensure you're dominating possessions. They aren't dominating possessions. It's like 50/50.

We all watch every game this team plays. Some others who are commenting do not and just go off boxscores or the one or two games they do watch. Just GOING UPTEMPO is not the solution. Can they play faster? Sure. Should they manufacture some stuff with sub games and things like that? Yes. It would help.

If going up tempo would suddenly just fix it and make Maryland a great offense, John Tillman would do it. For crying out loud, they had THIRTY THREE goals scored by non-offensive players in 2022. Go find me the last team to do that. He's not an ideologue. He wants to win.

This is the hand they're dealt and it's not a great one. The staff is probably not pressing the right buttons either. But there is no magic fix to this and people not to stop projecting their issues with Maryland's style of play or Tillman's previous proclivities to stall - when it was smart to do so! - onto who he is as a coach. Actually analyze the situation in front of you.

This is another post with really good perspective. I worry that when they do or have tried early offense, and it doesnt work, they are left with even less time on the shot clock. This group 6 on 6 cannot generate shots quickly because of that lack of dodgers.

I do wish we would be more aggressive when we do get the odd man transition situations. The D guys seem very tentative here.

jrn and others, appreciate the replies. I do realize that Weirman's numbers are down relative to past years, but he's still outperforming the competitors. I just think I'd allow the boys to go faster. Might not work, but who knows, maybe it would be better than what they are getting now?

I have seen Maryland in person this year, notably versus Richmond. One thing that blew my mind and others while watching MD, and maybe it was limited to just that game, is Maryland had absolutely zero ride. The MD offensive middies, on every turnover I can recall, sprinted to the sidelines with no attention to any dropped pass by Richmond as they cleared; the incoming Terp LSM middies's coming in from the box ran to their goalie end. The MD attack half-heartedly waved at Richmond LSM's and close middies as they rushed with the ball to the other end. As a result, Maryland ceded the entire middle of the field. It was, putting it mildly, bizarre to see. MD wanted to play 6 on 6 defense, which I guess I can understand, but it makes for a painful game both to watch and play in, I guess mostly if you were a Terps fan, because there was little doubt which team had the better lineup.

[Bmk2222]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

[keno in reno]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

Both teams get in. None of the lower at-large teams have as many good wins as these guys. It's the benefit of playing brutal schedules and winning plenty of them

[wgdsr]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

Both teams get in. None of the lower at-large teams have as many good wins as these guys. It's the benefit of playing brutal schedules and winning plenty of them

are we sure? nd, jhu, duke, syracuse, psu, cornell, and denver all seem like they could have cases in front of one of the 2, if it came to that.

[JerrysWorld]

Duke, ND, Cuse, Virginia
Hop or PSU, MD
Cornell or Yale
Georgetown

That is the bubble (if MD doesn’t win Big10). Just hope no upsets in conference tourneys.

[jrn19]

The last team in is Georgetown. If there’s a bid steal from the B1G or Ivy, they’re the one getting booted, unless of course they win their AQ. After that, the second to last team in is Yale. Maryland and UVA both have better resumes than Yale.

Cornell or PSU is probably third to last. PSU might jump in front of Maryland if they beat them in the B1G SF. Maryland and Cornell would be very similar.

Either way, it would take multiple bid steals + Georgetown winning the Big East to even get to a point where there’s a conversation about this happening. They’re going to get in.

[AreaLax]

Ajax Zappitello named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and first team honors

Eric Spanos and faceoff specialist Luke Wierman each earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors.

[coda]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

Both teams get in. None of the lower at-large teams have as many good wins as these guys. It's the benefit of playing brutal schedules and winning plenty of them

I am not sure about that. Assuming Virginia loses out they have one big win in Maryland. Maryland has Cuse and PSU. It’s not like UVa has a plethora of big wins. Depending on Maryland’s finish, it’s quite possible they have 0 top 10 wins

[keno in reno]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

Both teams get in. None of the lower at-large teams have as many good wins as these guys. It's the benefit of playing brutal schedules and winning plenty of them

I am not sure about that. Assuming Virginia loses out they have one big win in Maryland. Maryland has Cuse and PSU. It’s not like UVa has a plethora of big wins. Depending on Maryland’s finish, it’s quite possible they have 0 top 10 wins

I don't think its MD vs VA. It's those 2 against the others. Maybe VA's wins dont quit stand up to Gtown, Yale, Cornell etc. but man their schedule is 100x more difficult.

[wgdsr]

Do the Terps make the tournament if we lose our next game?

Which makes me ask does UVA get in with possibly dropping their last 5?

Both teams get in. None of the lower at-large teams have as many good wins as these guys. It's the benefit of playing brutal schedules and winning plenty of them

I am not sure about that. Assuming Virginia loses out they have one big win in Maryland. Maryland has Cuse and PSU. It’s not like UVa has a plethora of big wins. Depending on Maryland’s finish, it’s quite possible they have 0 top 10 wins

no one has any idea how this will flush out with the committee, or conference tournaments. right now, i see 5 teams in (unless denver loses to marquette/1st round or duke can't put unc to bed). the rest is up for grabs.

[keno in reno]

Dang, it's almost May and the Terps are deep down page 2 of the message board. Time to fire it back up. I can't recall a regular season where they didn't have a bye week. Some hopeful thoughts for a magical May run...

I expect (actually just hope) that this week off allowed them to fix and improve on some of the offensive woes. Tillman's done it like 11 years out of 12, so I don't see why they wouldn't take a step up now in tournament time. You got 2 former 30-goal scorers, one of whom was a key part of a historically great offense, with 10 and 5 right now. That's baffling, but also offers hope that a tweak somewhere in the scheme could open the floodgates (alright that's hyperbole with this squad, but at least score a couple more goals).

Maybe Spanos decides to take over the offense, which would lead to open shooters everywhere. Opponents have figured out how and when to slide to him, but somebody's wide open. #41 can completely change this offense if he uses his size and speed to attack the goal instead of just pass it off to x.

Hopefully they create a better situation for #10 to capitalize on his dodging advantages and minimize his passing issues. Also hopefully, it clicks for Stobaugh and he gets some opportunities to unleash his cannon, which is a huge need for this offense right now. Finally, maybe some younger guys can get a chance to help out in positions that are not producing right now (and there are several). Does it kill this offense to give Dubick some real chances to show his skills? In the 2 plays I recall he got in, he scored a goal (yes, garbage time) and got a great turnover on a ride.

Exciting time for Terp lax fans. This team is somewhat similar to 2019, but that one was awful on defense. Got smoked by PSU and dominated by JHU twice. Not a good team. But then played a near-perfect game against UVA until it wasn't. All the problems showed up in the last 10 minutes, but they still should have gone to the final 4; and that team had no business going to the final 4.

[Wheels]

I can't imagine that Tills and Phipps won't make some changes. Don't know if those will be schematic, personnel, or both. Without consistent outside shooting and defenses collapsing off-ball into the paint, they're going to have to figure out some way to get things up top moving. Opportunities are there.

Gotta think that we'll see Erksa and Malever move around to take advantage of their speed/change of direction. That will probably also scramble some of the defensive match ups. Part of me wonders if they should just tell Murphy to take 10 shots because he's probably the only one at this point who can stretch a defense. A lot of things change if some outside shots can fall. I feel like I'm watching the Maryland basketball team from this past season.

Is Penn State going to help us out here like they did on Easter? Run their FOGO off the field (like they did last season, too) to give us transition opportunities? Penn State is also pretty generous with the ball. They turn it over a lot. Last time we played, we had our season low in turnovers. Penn State also doesn't ride at all. For whatever reason, Penn State seems to play a style that helps the Terps. Below average FOGO play, turn the ball over, don't ride...can you think of a better way to help the Terps?

[MDralphie]

IMO, it’s the traditional Terps that will allow them to move on….D,#52,#30…..Transition goals by somebody, anybody…and keep turnovers to 12 or less and we can win the Big.

[sportsfan]

Agree that we win need to continue to rely on D, Logan and Luke tomorrow night. They are the strength of the team this year. Will be interesting to see what adjustments Tillman makes on offense after the 5 goal performance against Hopkins. Feel like he will want to throw Penn State a couple curve balls. Agree on transition goals for anyone who can step up and get it done. Hope we start off stronger than last time we played Penn State. Feeling optimistic about this one.

[keno in reno]

Agree that we win need to continue to rely on D, Logan and Luke tomorrow night. They are the strength of the team this year. Will be interesting to see what adjustments Tillman makes on offense after the 5 goal performance against Hopkins. Feel like he will want to throw Penn State a couple curve balls. Agree on transition goals for anyone who can step up and get it done. Hope we start off stronger than last time we played Penn State. Feeling optimistic about this one.

The relative lack of transition goals is puzzling. Just from the defensive side of transition, Alviti led the entire country in LSM goals 2 years ago, and he had 14 total before MD. Stamos is a proven threat, and McDonald has great speed and a cannon shot. Pugliese had more goals (10) in '22 than all the defensive guys have so far (9 by my count). I get that the '22 team gave defenses a million different ways to die in transition, but I'd take a 12 yard open pole shot 7 seconds into the shot clock over a desperation heave 72 seconds later.

Hope to see a revitalized (actually there's no re-) offense after their first off week this season.