UCLA vs Maryland

Have you ever seen a Ben Howland game that wasn't a grinded out root canal affair? If you had, it wasn't last night! UCLA prevailed in another slugfest (particularly the first half). Meanwhile Maryland continues to struggle, and the Gary Williams magic is gone... But Gary Williams may have found a personality clone on the court in...



... sophomore Greivis Vasquez who creates a dilemma for camera-men: Do you follow Gary Williams jumping up and down or Vasquez? And someone please teach Mike Gminski how to pronounce his name properly!

It will be interesting to see how Ben Howland will cope with the coaches box. As you may recall, he is frequently following the action and playing defense on the sidelines. While Kevin Love continues to have solid performances, I am starting to get vibes of the over-rated. But I'll withhold judgment until he actually plays against a college player of similar weight and relevance.

I continue to think Chace Stanback is under-utilized by Howland, and the reason it's no secret, defense! Stanback could have the offensive impact of an Arron Afflalo, except Stanback is taller, so it would be easier for him to shoot over opponents. But as Wooden has pointed out, Howland wins on the defensive end.

I will add to what John Wooden said: Doing so is such a mid-major thing to do when you are ooaching at UCLA :)

The Gary Williams Experience at Maryland continues to deteriorate. No longer teams fear the turtle, but instead they end up having turtle soup (no turtles were hurt during this blog post). Vasquez alone cannot wake up the rest of the team, and Gist continues to have flashes, a problem that has plagued a number of recent (touted) Gary Williams recruits.

Can the new wave of freshmen pick things up quick enough to have an impact this season? With Brenda Freese doing so well, will Gary Williams get on the hot seat if he has a bad season? Surely, he shouldn't, but in this era of what have you done for me lately, will The One Ring save him from Doom? :)

For the UCLA point of view, check Bruins Nation, and for the Maryland point of view check It Never Rains in College Park.