Don?t expect Greivis Vasquez to change his hairstyle anytime soon.
The Maryland sophomore guard, who took the court at Comcast Center with spiked black hair, debuted his look with perhaps the best performance of his career, as he tied a school record with 15 assists in an 84-70 victory over N.C. State on Saturday.
“That?s Greivis,” Maryland senior forward James Gist, who scored a career-high 30 against the Wolfpack said with a smile. “You don?t know what you?re going to get with him.”
The team also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Vasquez, who has built the reputation as an energetic, but inconsistent piece of the offense. He averages a team-high 16.9 points and 6.7 assists per game, but also has been careless with the ball, averaging 4.2 turnovers per game.
But after tying the school record set by Terrell Stokes in 1998, Vasquez has no plans of changing his look when the Terrapins (16-8, 6-3 ACC) play at conference-leading and No. 2 Duke (21-1, 9-0) on Wednesday night at 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
“He?s trying a different look, like I did earlier in the season,” Maryland sophomore guard Eric Hayes said with a smile, referencing his shorter haircut. “He was scoring, passing. When James is on fire like that, everybody is looking for him.”
Vasquez attributes Maryland coach Gary Williams, who earned career win No. 601 on Saturday, for pushing him to prove he can score points by passing the ball, not just by shooting it.
“That?s why I love being here,” Vasquez said. “That?s why I don?t care about the fans. I thought the fans did a pretty good job [Saturday], but they?ve got to support us every time. We didn?t do it for them. We did it for us and for our pride.”
For Maryland, which has won four straight games and six of seven to move into third place in the ACC behind Duke and third-ranked North Carolina (22-2, 7-2), the games keep getting bigger as the Terrapins vie for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
“I?m letting the game come to me,” Vasquez said. “I?m trying to be patient. I just got to use my potential and just make this team better. I don?t want to be Juan Dixon. I don?t want to be Steve Blake. I want to be myself. So, when I get out of here, people are going to remember me.”
