In Maui, the Terps are technically the number 1 seed by virtue of the fact that they have drawn host school, Chaminade in the 1st round.  Drawing DII Chaminade is a double-edged sword.  While the matchup virtually guarantees that Maryland will be playing in the semifinals of the winner's bracket; a win will not count in eyes of the NCAA Tournament committee come next March.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Before I start breaking down our potential semifinal opponents; I need to forestall the karma Gods and at least spend a little time breaking down the Chaminade Silverswords (I had to look that up).  The roster appears to be composed of castoffs from D-I programs (a Utah State here, a University of Washington there, and so on).  There is a Serbian on the roster too.  For a small school in Hawaii; it appears that the coaching staff has amassed some talent.  It won't matter.  Despite having a 7-footer (USC transfer Mamadou Diarra); Chaminade can't possibly compete with the likes of the ACC. In fact they never have.  Unless of course, you count UVA as a legitimate ACC School.

My prediction:  Terps 80, Chaminade, 52

The Terps second round opponent promises to be more formidable.  Let's start with Cincinnati.  Anyone who follows the Terps knows that the coaching staff pursued New York scholastic phenom Lance Stephenson (aka Born Ready)  this past summer.  It's not clear if Gary Williams and the coaching staff soured on Born Ready or viceversa; but Stephenson opted for Cincy out of nowhere as his recruitment came to a close.

Anecdotally, I sit next to a huge Bearcat fan at my new office and he says there is Big East Freshman of the Year buzz surrounding Lance Stephenson.  I'm not sold. Lance is averaging 11.5 points per game on 35% shooting.  He's not exactly lighting it up.  Couple that with a near loss to Prairie View A&M, and the Bearcats look vulnerable should we wind up facing them.

Vanderbilt has also struggled in the early going.  The Commodores squeaked past mid-major semi-power, St. Mary's last week.  St. Mary's is a good school, so a 72-70 victory isn't exactly cause for concern.  Vanderbilt's best player is from, where else, Sweden.  His name is Jeff Taylor (you were expecting Magnus von Magnussen?).  He is a 6'7" swing player who has yet to hit a three pointer this year.  There really is no precedent for a Swedish basketball player named Jeff, so I can't comment any further.  What I can tell you is that Vandy's second leading scorer is a long range sharpshooter. His name is Jermaine Beal and he is currently connecting on 46% of his threes.  Our tall guards will need to use every inch of their length to keep Beal from killing us from beyond the arc.

I really can't say who the Terps will be playing on Wednesday; but anything short of a victory will be a major disappointment.  The final round offers a cornucopia options including: Gonzaga ( very dangerous), Arizona (Sean Miller and his meddling with Terrell Stoglin's recruiting come to mind), Wisconsin (wouldn't a 55 - 52 final score be exciting?), and Colorado (no chance).  I'm going to wait for the field to narrow a little before analyzing our options.  Until then, Go Terps!

For more great Terp content, go to Turtle-Soup.com

Agent Dagger would like to announce that Jeremy Gold of Turtle-Soup.com will be helping contribute to our blog for a weekly "Turtle Soup Terps Update," to help you keep up with the Terps! 

Here's Jeremy's Bio from his site:

"I was born in Baltimore, MD and I have two degrees from the University of Maryland. A BS in Finance and an MBA. My father and sister graduated from Maryland as did 90% of the significant friends in my life. It’s safe to say that being a Terp is in my blood. My career has taken me to Chicago where I currently reside. I still catch most of the Terp games although you will see me occasionally gripe about not being able to get the game in Big Ten country. I started Turtle Soup in 2004. I had just graduated with my MBA and was in the process of starting my career anew. While searching for a Terps blog or message board, I was unable to find one that didn’t charge a fee. So, I started one. Originally called “Herman Veal Chops” (named after a former Terp with a bit of a checkered past), Evan Brunell and the good folks at MVN found me and recruited me as a staff writer which continued until August 30, 2008 where Turtle Soup struck out on our own due to MVN closing its college sports coverage. I enjoy writing about my beloved Terps, but I am not a monolith. I also cheer for the Ravens, Orioles and Wizards. As for my day job, I work in online media for Advertising.com."

Check out his site, Turtle Soup.com, for the best Terps coverage around.

Team Name: Maryland Terrapins
Last Years Finish: Lost to Memphis in the second round of the NCAA tournament 70-89. Finished the season 21-14 (7-9). Defeated #5 Michigan State, #3 North Carolina, # Wake Forest.
Key Additions: F Jordan Williams (Torrington, CT), F James Padgett (Brooklyn, NY)
Key Losses: Dave Neal

What they're saying:

"In 2007-08, he led the country in turnovers with 149. While maintaining his flair, he cut the mistakes down to 98 last season. And where would his team have been without that improved efficiency? They don't want to think about it. The Terps made something of their season because they got more shots than other teams of similar tempo."

Pre-Season Rank: 20

-Rob Daniels, Sporting News

"Maryland will play in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, opening against Chaminade on Nov. 23, but will face a challenge the next game against either Cincinnati or Vanderbilt. Arizona, Gonzaga and Wisconsin are potential opponents in the opposite bracket. The Terps play at Indiana (which should be an improved team) on Dec. 1 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, then face Villanova in their next game on Dec. 6. That’s a pretty salty schedule over a three-week period. Things lighten up after that."

"Landon Milbourne, who spent his first two years as a swingman, may have to return to the low post, where he averaged better than 11 points and five rebounds a game last season.

That’s because the transfer of Braxton Dupree and the decision by Jerome Burney to give up basketball for health issues leave things a little thin. Junior forward Dino Gregory will be asked to play a bigger role, but the answer inside may come from two promising freshmen."

Yahoo! Sports Maryland Team Report

"Coming off their 16th consecutive post-season appearance, the Terrapins return four starters, including second-team All-ACC guard Greivis Vasquez, from last year’s squad, which finished 21-14 overall and tied for seventh in the ACC with a 7-9 league mark ... posted three wins a year ago over teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll ... Gary Williams, 418-229 in his 20 years in College Park, is third all-time in victories among ACC coaches ... Williams has seven wins over No. 1 ranked teams in his career ... Terps have won at least 19 games in 13 straight seasons ... with four starters shooting 79 percent or better, Maryland led the ACC and ranked ninth nationally in free-throw percentage (.758) ... Terps lead all ACC teams with 274 career starts by returning lettermen"

The ACC (Official Website of the ACC)

"Funny, you don't seem to hear much about Gary Williams' job security anymore. Willing their way into the NCAA tourney and winning a game there was a step in the right direction. Now with nearly everyone back, the Terrapins have to build on it."

Pre-Season Rank: 22

ESPN's Power Rankings

Maryland cruised to the 89-51 victory over Charleston Southern in their season opener Friday night. While the win over Charelston was expected, the game provided us a first look at what to expect from the Terps players this season.

The big story here was the performance of Maryland’s two freshmen big men, James Padgett and Jordan Williams. The pair of three-star recruits were brought in to give immediate help in an area where they needed it most last season, size, and from the looks of Friday night, they are off to a good start. Williams added 12 points and 9 rebounds and Padgett supplied 10 and 8. Both showed good patience in the offense and played solid defense, all be it against inferior competition.

The Terps will need these two to mature fast as the biggest returning post player for the club is Landon Milbourne at a skinny 6-7, 207. Milbourne notched seven rebounds a game last season but his slight frame hardly made him a post presence. Outside of Milbourne the best rebounders on the team are Vasquez and Mosley, both guards. Lets hope the two freshmen can adapt quickly.

Also having a big night for the Terps was Senior Vazquez, who despite poor shooting mustered 13 assists, Sophomore Sean Mosley who scored 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting, and Eric Hayes who scored 10 points on 3-5 shooting from the three point line and 5 assists.

Terps in the top 25

With the convincing win over Charleston, Maryland has slipped into the AP top 25. Their first tests will come Tuesday Dec. 1when they take on Indiana and Dec. 6 when they play 5^th ranked Villanova.

Up Next:

Maryland will go head to head with Fairfield University tonight at home before welcoming New Hampshire to the Comcast Center Friday night. Both of these games should be shoe-ins for Maryland, and provide a good opportunity for the young players to grow.

Washington area basketball has had few players they could truly distinguish as heroes.

They have had their stars though. D.C. has had electrifying scorers like Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse. They have had college standouts like Allen Iverson, Alonzo Morning, and Patrick Ewing. And they have had a true legend in 40-year-old Michael Jordan. But few have reached into that upper echelon to captivate not only our excitement, but also take on our hopes, our fears and our passion and carry it on their backs with gallant fearlessness.

Today the news broke out of Atlanta that one of our heroes has been released from the training camp roster of the Hawks. Juan Dixon, the former face of the Maryland Terrapins basketball program, and hero to many in the greater Washington D.C. area is now without a team only days before the 2009-10 season. Through seven seasons in the NBA, Dixon has averaged over 10 points per game in two separate years, shot a career 41.3 percent from the field, and 34.1 percent from three point land.

But Dixon earned his heroism long before he was drafted 17^th overall by his hometown team the Washington Wizards. It started when Dixon was a small boy, tip-toeing through his house trying not to wake his parents from their sleep, and trying to avoid the heroin needles that caused their unconsciousness. Later he would recount picking those needles up after his parents had passed out and putting them to bed when they couldn’t fend for themselves.

Dixon went on to be a high school hoops star but he never found serenity in his home life. Bouncing between staying with his grandparents and his real parents, Dixon could never find peace in a world that never gave him anything easy. At the age of fourteen his mother Juanita fell ill with AIDS and shortly thereafter died. His father Phil suffered the same fate just over a year later. Yet with seemingly his entire world crashing down around him at one of the most confusing times in a young mans life, Dixon carried through and had an incredibly successful prep career en route to being recruited by the Maryland Terrapins.

We all know the story from there. The undersized shooting guard shot his way into the record books, and willed his team into basketball history. In his four years at Maryland Dixon averaged 16.1 points per game en route to becoming the universities all time leading scorer. In his junior year he led his club to the Final Four and in his senior campaign he helped the Terrapins win their only NCAA National Championship.

However what has endeared Dixon to fans across this area has not only been his on the court success or the championship he brought us but also his fearlessness and swagger that allowed us, for a time, to feel that we were a part of it all. On Dixons back, we as fans were able to feel we were just as invincible as he was. His down to earth personality made us feel like we could see ourselves in him, and his stone cold confidence and steady hand made us all wish we could ever be half the man he was.

Dixon represented the hardships we have faced and the challenges we still have yet to tackle. He served as a role model to teens across the area, and as a reminder to adults everywhere that despite life’s hardships, we can carry through. While he may have been just a basketball player, for four years of our lives he made that short time between January and April a little more alive, and a lot more hopeful.

No matter what may happen to Dixon’s career from here forth, he will always be a hero. That is something no one can take away from him.