Ambulance Chasers

The seas are getting rough out there for the Terp’s ship. We are taking on water at the moment. In the hour of our discontent, we are now fodder for the Washington Post, ESPN, WFAN (660 AM) in New York City and many others.

The only knock I have is the Washington Post. They could not find us with a map and a garmin GPS when things were going OK, have one little all-out disaster and suddenly you are news. What a bunch of ambulance chasers.

Enough complaining, on with the news… BTW, we have a little trouble with the fonts down the page, we apologize in advance.

Jin Soo Kim Out for the Year?

The silliness surrounding the basketball team has reached a new level. Here is the story:

Jin Soo was late for an exam. 5 minutes. The class was a second language, probably English. He took the exam, got a 70%. Upon further review (this is not the NFL) the professor decided to give him a 0 (zero) on the exam.

He is now be suspended for the second semester.

The athletic department is not getting involved as this is a student affairs issue. Thanks for the support. That leads into our Notes section below.

Notes on Terps Basketball

Thanks to ESPN for background information on this one

The tension between Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams and the school’s athletic department is evident, and judging from Williams’ comments made Tuesday night, might be escalating.

The catalyst is Williams’ recruiting, which he discussed in a news conference Monday morning. He was talking about next season’s incoming class, then was asked about two high-profile recruits he lost in 2008, Gus Gilchrist and Tyree Evans.

Gilchrist, a 6-foot-10 forward, transferred to South Florida during the summer. Evans, a 6-3 guard, ended up at Kent State.

Williams told reporters: “It wasn’t my fault that they’re not here. That was somebody else’s call.” The associate athletic director responded, as Debbie Yow is busy with family responsibilities following the death of her sister, Kay Yow.

This story ties neatly into yesterday’s story on the Freedom Blitz blog about ex-recruit Bobby Maze.

The heat on the program has only intensified as the Terps dropped another game that they lead by a wide margin last night hosting Boston College.

The next chance for redemption is Saturday as the Terps host the Miami Hurricanes. It is interesting (or ironic) that the Hurricane game, some two weeks ago, accelerated this trip to basketball hell.

Here is our top 12 list (from the mobile office in Atlantic City, NJ) on Gary and Maryland:

1. Gary brought this program back from the abyss.

2. Gary won a national championship along with Billy Hahn, Jimmy Patsos, Dave Dickerson, Matt Kovarik. This group of assistant coaches were excellent.

3. Gary bleeds red and white. He is a life long Terp.

4. Gary is a very good coach, he is still recognized as the best tactical coach in the conference.

5. Gary is solely responsible for the basketball program, with some input from the Athletic Director.

6. The basketball program has been in decline for about 5 years.

7. Gary‘s weakness is recruiting. Recruiting is a key criterion for success.

8. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful team.

9. Coaches (and programs) are judged by making it into the NCAA’s and how far they advance.

10. Coaches, like all other positions, do not have a job for life.

11. No one person is bigger than the university.

12. Gary has always run a “clean program”.

This shouldn’t become personal and finger pointing between the AD’s office and the Basketball office. This is truly unfortunate for the University. Word on the street is that Gary’s distaste for the nasty job of recruiting has really hurt. Couple this with the high standards that the Athletic Department has put upon the basketball recruits and you have the disastrous season of 2008/2009.

Football in Terpland – News and Notes

This is from Mike Farrell’s Weekly Whispers section:

There aren’t many prospects in the nation who pass the eyeball test better than Pawling (N.Y.) Trinity Pawling defensive tackle Dillon Quinn. And Quinn, a 6-foot-6, 300-pounder, has become part of a three-team tug of war that should play itself out this week.

Quinn had been solidly committed to Boston College since late April 2008, but all of that came to a halt with the coaching changes at BC. Since coach Jeff Jagodzinski was fired in early January, Quinn has taken official visits to Cincinnati and Maryland and received interest from Miami, Notre Dame, Tennessee and others. Right now, he remains a soft commitment to the Eagles.

Quinn already has had in-home visits with new BC coach Frank Spaziani, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly and Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, so this week it will be assistants in the Quinn household trying to close the deal.

As of late Tuesday, BC had the edge, but Maryland was a close second and Cincinnati a close third. A final decision is expected either over the weekend or close to NSD. Quinn is the No. 10 defensive tackle in the country and is a member of the Rivals250.