Travis Thomas: Fear The Final Four Turtle
One month ago The Travis Thomas Experience broadcasted immediately following the Terps 71-55 blowout loss on the road against Iowa. I took calls for hours on people calling out Head Coach Mark Turgeon, questioning Melo Trimble and Dez Well's hearts and even suggesting that, in the ACC, this team wouldn't be a factor. Fast forward to present day and Turgeon is a semifinalists for the Naismith Coach Of The Year Award, both Dez Wells and Melo Trimble are getting National attention, and after beating a top 5 team in Wisconsin in the midst of a six game win streak, the ACC is an after thought. In fact, I would argue that this team is primed for a run at the Final Four due to the one factor that always seems to win out in sports come Post Season time: Momentum. In College Basketball, more than ever, we are seeing parody. Nobody questions that Kentucky is the #1 team in the country, however I think we can all agree they aren't as dominant as that unblemished record would suggest. Just watching Kentucky you can feel it. You can feel that they can be beat. College Basketball, for me, continues to be a struggle to watch in terms of style of play and excitement. I miss the days of Nolan Richardson's 40 Minutes Of Hell, The Running Rebels Of UNLV, back-courts like Miles and Bibby, Vince Carter dunks and the list goes on and on. Nowadays, I believe the combination of players leaving school after one season and conservative coaching has led to a boring brand of basketball, with scores looking more and more like High School Basketball finals.
These Terps are a throwback. When I was taking those calls on my show, I continued to defend this team because I understood it takes growing pains for a young team to come together. Historically, tough road losses build character for young teams. I also pointed out that Dez Wells and Melo Trimble were dealing with injures during those tough road trips. Both are healthy and peaking now. Teams like Wisconsin always have trouble with athletically dynamic teams. Increasingly in College Basketball those teams are few and far between and that's why Wisconsin and teams like them are having meteoric success in this era of College Hoops. The Terps are one of those athletically gifted teams that can cause trouble and develop into giant killers come Tournament time. I noticed two takeaways from the game against Wisconsin that supports my hypothesis. Down the stretch of that game, the Badgers were 1-10 from the field; they came into that game as of the best in the country in that very scenario. That tells you that the Terps can get a big stop when they need to lock you down in a tight spot. Dez Wells's athleticism proved to be a problem for the Badgers as well. He could score at will and finished with 26 points, therefore the Terps can get a bucket in tight spots when needed as well. The other glaring fact with that win was the Terps earned their fourth win against a top five team in the last three seasons. What does that tell you? The top ranked teams may Fear The Turtle, but they sure as hell don't fear you. It should be noted that this team is 9-0 this season when the game is decided by six points or less.
Guard play is always the most common dominator for teams that make Championship runs this time of year. Although I've praised Dez Wells throughout this article, and he is undeniably the leader of this team. Melo Trimble has the ability to carry this team if needed. He's quietly averaged 20 points during this end of the season hot streak for Maryland. But it's not just the points; Trimble makes his teammates better and seems to know the perfect time to play Batman or Robin with Dez Wells. During UConn's Championship run last season the Huskies got hot at the right time and rode it to a National Championship against all odds. Meanwhile the Terps will go into Big Ten Tournament play on a run of their own, let's see if it translates to the same fate.
