Today, Maryland held Media Day for their basketball team, and among other things Gary Williams took a moment to comment on his roster.
Cliff Tucker has done some great things. The shot he hit against Georgia Tech was one of the best shots in my 22 years here. He's had other games where he's been a dominant player.
Adrian Bowie has done some really good things. If you remember the second half of the Duke game here last year, without Adrian, we don't win that game. He's all ready to go. He is excited to play.
Dino Gregory had a tough year last year, where he didn't play at the beginning of the season. When he started playing, I think that hurt him a little bit, that he didn't get that early part of the season. He has worked very hard to get to where I think he can be a very effective player for us.
Jordan Williams was the one guy last year I wasn't really sure what he could do. He came on and had a phenomenal season, first team all-freshman in the ACC. He is one of the top 50, preseason, for the Wooden Award.
Sean Mosley is one of those people that just keep getting better because he works. He just keeps working and he gets better because of it. He is one of the great competitors I've coached. He is the leader out there, whether or not he is a senior.
James Padgett was hurt a little last year, he had some stomach problems. Now he is 100 percent. I just want to see what he can do. I'm excited about the start of practice because he showed flashes in being able to do some things. Just like a lot of guys, he has to do it on a more consistent basis.
Berend Weijs is from Holland. The reason he came here is because we had 46 inches of snow last year and he thought he would be comfortable. He is 6-foot-10, 6-11. He can run but he's a little thin. We're going to get him stronger. He competes so it will be interesting to see what he does.
Mike Parker is from Virginia. He's very talented and plays above the rim. He's a shooter, a big guard, small forward, whatever you want to call him. He's very versatile out there on the court.
Terrell Stoglin, his team won the state championship in Arizona last year. He's left-handed, only about 6-foot-1, but very strong. He's a very good point guard. Hawk Palsson is from Iceland by way of Florida... He's a very good shooter. Once again, he has that 6-foot-6 size. He can play down a little bit as a guard or strong enough to go inside. We'll see Hawk fits into things.
Pe'Shon Howard played at Oak Hill Academy last year. He is a very strong guard and a physical-type player in the backcourt. He's a combination guard, a one-two player. We'll see once practice starts, exactly where he fits in. He is certainly a competitive young man. He likes to get out there pretty good.
Ashton Pankey, from St. Anthony, played for the hall-of-fame coach Bob Hurley. He goes after the ball. We were talking the other day about his rebounding ability.
You can read the full article here, in which Gary Williams talks about the state of the ACC, about offensive changes for the Terps, and finding a leader.
The article also contains quotes from the Jordan Williams, Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosley, and the rest of the Maryland roster.
