The dress rehearsals are over. When the Maryland men?s basketball team takes the floor at Comcast Center tonight, the 2006-07 season will be under way.
Maryland hosts Hampton at 8:30 p.m. in the second regional semifinal of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
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This year?s season opener is one of the earliest in team history, and it?s forcing the younger Terps to learn on the fly.
“We still have a lot to work on,” senior guard Mike Jones said. “We are working with some good freshmen.”
Freshman guard Greivis Vasquez is expected to play in the opener after making his first appearance in the Terps? 86-77 exhibition game win over Carleton University Saturday. He had been sidelined during the team?s first exhibition game with a sprained ankle.
“I will be 100 percent” for Tuesday, Vasquez said.
Vasquez and fellow freshman guard Eric Hayes bring more depth and shooting capability to the Terps? backcourt. Hayes enjoys the chemistry that he has with Vasquez, but said the team has to depend on the leadership from its veterans to be successful.
“Those are the guys we are going to go to when we need buckets,” Hayes said.
Seniors D.J. Strawberry and Ekene Ibekwe both played well in the team?s final scrimmage, with 20 and 16 points, respectively.
“You want your seniors and juniors to be solid rocks out there as the new guys get thrown into the mix,” Terps coach Gary Williams said.
The big concern for the team has been defending the 3-point shot. In both exhibitions, the Terps gave up 13 3-pointers, with opponents shooting nearly 43 percent from behind the arc.
“We still have a long way to go on our defense,” Strawberry said, adding that he was happy with the effort the team has shown so far.
Williams has repeatedly said the Terps will go as far as their defense carries them.
“We have a couple tough games coming up quickly here,” Williams said. “We will find out pretty soon how good or bad our defense is.”
