Maryland's Trap Works...Just Don't Get Used to It

There is a growing perception that the full-court press is becoming a bit of a relic.  Following its Kentucky and UNLV heyday in the mid '80's to early '90s, teams relying on the traditional full-court trap seem to have greatly diminished.

This is perhaps due in no small part to an increase in early college departures and the NCAA's 1991 decision to reduce scholarships from 15 to 13. 

These changes mean teams can no longer simply overwhelm opponents with superior depth and athleticism. It may also have to do with the fact that the press is, frankly, pretty easy to solve. Just don't panic, keep the ball moving, and throw over your defenders for an easy bucket when the opportunity inevitably presents itself.

That trend changed for the Terps on Tuesday against Miami. Maryland pressed them into 14 turnovers in the first half, and breakaway layups and "and-ones" were a regular occurrence for the Terps.

After building a 17-point lead, Gary Williams called off the dogs in the second half, and Miami committed only three additional turnovers the rest of the way.

But it was probably more a blip than anything else. Miami's main ball handler is a freshman, and all but one of their guards are underclassmen. They're greener than a bin of alfalfa sprouts—and crumple just about as quickly under pressure (Zing!).

The larger trend is that of the press getting kind of, sort of absolutely shredded. For example, the Cincinnati loss turned into a jailbreak, with Maryland giving up 12 fast-break points to score 16 while sacrificing valuable help defense.

Even William and Mary —up this year, sure, but still no Kentucky—solved it to the tune of six three-pointers on 50 percent shooting before the Terps retreated to the zone after halftime.

Now take the recent 88-64 blowout of N.C. State, in which Maryland pressed very little and emerged with decisive advantages in fast-break points (10-2) and turnovers (11-9), all while holding N.C. State 18 points below its scoring average from the previous three games.

Which brings us to Sunday's big showdown with Clemson. It will be extremely interesting to see what Maryland does, given that Tigers point guard Demontez Stitt has a gimpy ankle. Here's hoping they "repress," if you will, their full-court urges.

Pressure defense is and should remain a Maryland signature, but the all-out full-court trap seems like more of a situational play at this point. Is it a coincidence that several recent games, featuring a more judicious use of the press, have heralded no less than a full defensive turnaround?

With cagey (and decidedly long-limbed) veterans Greivis Vasquez and Landon Milbourne, an improving-every-game Sean Mosely, a scrappier post presence led by Jordan Williams and Dino Gregory, and some booster fuel off the bench in the form of Adrian Bowie (we'll see if it sticks), this team doesn't need to resort to gimmicks.