Five observations from Maryland’s 71-62 loss to Illinois Tuesday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
A Passing Thing. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon is growing weary of the assist question. The stat sheet said the Terps had five assists on 21 made baskets against Illinois, but Turgeon disputed the accuracy, at least in the first half. “We had 12 buckets and three assists. I’m gonna watch the film,” Turgeon said. “That’s wrong. We shared the ball in the first half.” Primary ball-handler Terrell Stoglin has two assists in his last 100 minutes on the floor. Out of 344 teams, Maryland ranks 334th in assists per game (8.7) and 339th in assist percentage (39.1). Turgeon has said he’d like to see the Terps get 65 or 70 percent of their baskets off assists.
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Where’s Mosley? Guard Sean Mosley had the best three-point shooting stretch of his career, hitting eight of 14 and scoring 37 points the last two games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. In 69 minutes since, however, Mosley has taken only 10 shots, making five. “We’ve actually put in two new plays just for Sean and tried to run them. Sean has to get more shots,” Turgeon said. “It’s not enough.” If anyone needs a point guard to get him the ball, it’s Mosley. His best year came as a sophomore. With Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes in the backcourt, Mosley averaged 10.1 points and shot 51 percent. This year, he is averaging 10 points and shooting 44 percent. He is far and away the most accurate Terp from the free throw line (83 percent) and three-point arc (46 percent).
Padgett Emerges. After two seasons of flashes under Gary Williams, but little consistency, 6-8 junior James Padgett has become the Terps’ most trusted frontcourt player. He scored a career-high 16 points on Tuesday night. “When coach has confidence in me, I have confidence in myself and it gives my teammates confidence.” Padgett is shooting 59.5 percent from the floor, up from 47.5 percent a year ago.
Crooked Faust. Freshman Nick Faust hit two of 11 shots and has been the team’s worst shooter, making 12 of 49 (24.9 percent from the floor) and three for 22 from the 3-point circle (13.6 percent). “The poor kid, he’s lost his confidence,” Turgeon said. “Nick needs to get his swagger back.” With Pe’Shon Howard (broken foot) out, Faust has had to play a lot at the point, preventing him from receiving the ball in his preferred spots on the floor. Faust refuses to use it as an excuse however. He said the last time he played point guard he was age “10 or 11” on the Mount Royal AAU team.
Irish Eyes. Next up for Maryland (3-3) is Notre Dame (5-3) in the BB&T Classic. The Irish have lost three of their last four and are reeling after the loss of preseason All-Big East forward Tim Abromaitis (torn ACL). Notre Dame got down early and never challenged Gonzaga on Wednesday night in a 73-53 road loss.
