Rebounding a concern for Terps

On Saturday, Terrapin men’s basketball guard Greivis Vasquez joked that the downside to forward James Padgett practicing so well was that the freshman might take over the team lead in rebounding from the senior star.

By Tuesday, it wasn’t nearly as funny.

With junior forward Dino Gregory suspended due to an unspecified team rules violation, the suddenly less-imposing Terps were outrebounded in their 75-54 exhibition win against Division II Indiana (Pa.) on Tuesday night. The Crimson Hawks, who don’t have a player taller than 6-foot-9, pulled down 17 offensive boards to edge the Terps in total rebounds, 36-35.

“I will try, but I can’t lead the team in rebounds,” said the 6-foot-5 Vasquez, who tied a team high with six rebounds against the Crimson Hawks. “Our big guys got to take it personal. They’ve got to get every rebound in the paint.”

With Gregory and 6-foot-10 Steve Goins (knee) unavailable, Padgett and fellow freshman forward Jordan Williams, who also pulled down six boards, rotated at the center position.

Coach Gary Williams said he gave Padgett the start in his Terp debut because he matched up more favorably with the Crimson Hawks’ quick, athletic lineup. Jin Soo Choi rotated in at the power forward position with Landon Milbourne but struggled to keep up with the Crimson Hawks’ physicality inside.

The 21st-year coach said that once the freshmen shook off their opening game nervousness, he was happy with their performance, calling Tuesday’s game “a good step for them.”

The Terps expected to match up more favorably size-wise this season after bringing in the freshman big men and only losing 6-foot-7 Dave Neal to graduation. But Williams noted the Terps missed Neal’s toughness inside Tuesday. And it’s still unclear how long Gregory might be out. The 6-foot-7 junior forward averaged 5.2 rebounds off the bench during the Terps’ final five games last season — the three ACC Tournament games and two NCAA Tournament games.

The Washington Post reported Gregory said this summer that his eligibility for this season was in question because of an academic dishonesty charge, but it is unknown whether that situation is related to last night’s suspension. The team has not commented on Gregory’s future status.

The Terps could’ve used Gregory’s rebounding spark on a night when the overall effort on the boards left Williams unsatisfied. He made it part of a laundry list of areas to improve before the season opener against Charleston Southern on Nov. 13.

“We have to rebound better against anybody that has some size,” Williams said. “That’s going to be a factor. We have the people to rebound — we have to just get it done.”

The lackluster performance just highlighted the Terps’ continued lack of front-court depth without Gregory and Goins. Guard Sean Mosley, who also grabbed six boards, called the rebounding “terrible.”

Starting a three-guard lineup, the Terps will need to control the defensive glass to be effective when the games start to count. Mosley said the team’s guards were getting too worried about starting to break into transition before securing the basketball.

“You’re supposed to have five defensive rebounders every time the ball goes up,” Mosley said. “And we’re not getting that right now.”

That’s part of the reason 6-foot-3, 190-pound Indiana (Pa.) guard Julian Sanders was able to accumulate seven of his team’s 17 offensive rebounds, which gave the Crimson Hawks the extra offensive looks necessary to help them hang around until well into the second half.

On a night when the Terps were clearly frustrated with many areas of their game, they realized being beaten on the glass by this season’s Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference favorite doesn’t bode well for a team with aspirations of ACC contention.

“They’re a [Division II] team,” guard Adrian Bowie said. “We should be outrebounding them. There’s no reason why they should outrebound us, especially at home.”

edetweiler@umdbk.com