College Basketball

Washington Post College Sports editor Matt Rennie and Washington Post staff writer Eric Prisbell were online Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. ET to examine the college basketball season.

The transcript follows.

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Eric Prisbell: Thanks for coming, everyone. We have plenty to talk about, but before we get started if anyone has any other comments, criticisms or story ideas, email me at this address (espbell@aol.com) this week because I'll be on the road much of the week with Maryland. Let's start.

But, yes, to answer the obvious: I do cover the third, and maybe the fourth, best team in the area.

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East Meadow, N.Y.: Hey, guys. I know that it's Schlabach who puts together that page on Saturday that lists the top-five mid-majors, but I'm directing the question to you guys, anyway. What are "the seven basketball power conferences" that he is excluding from consideration? I count the Big East, the ACC, the Big 10, the Big 12, the Pac-10, the SEC. That's six. If we count Conference USA (Only God knows why they'd be in there at 17th in RPI... ouch), then there's seven. That would explain why Memphis wouldn't be on his list, but not Gonzaga. And if GW is in there, then why wasn't Xavier (prior to their loss against Saint Louis on Sunday)? It seems awfully tough to figure what's going on here; some conspiracy theorists in Foggy Bottom might accuse you of having a fraudulent poll that serves no other purpose than to call GW a "mid-major." So which is the seventh conference, and why aren't these other teams included?

Eric Prisbell: Knowing Mark, the seven conferences he excluded from mid-major consideration are as follows: the SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC and, of course, the SEC.

I'm sitting in an Atlanta hotel room, so I can't say anything bad about Mark in his neck of the woods.

You raise a good point, though. I think Mark looks at teams more than conferences. If that is the case, Xavier and Gonzaga have reached the Elite Eight in the past seven seasons. GW has not had that sort of tournament success. Different people have different definitions. Personally, I put the entire A-10 down as a mid-major league and only once in a while does the league have a true national power, like St. Joe's two years ago or UMass in 1996.

On the topic of mid-majors, a couple weeks ago I answered a question about whether the American coaching staff should go by writing that if things don't change, a coaching change may be in order. It was a lazy comment and I should not have written it.

Matt Rennie: An excellent point that others have made and I've shared with Mr. Schlabach. The "seven" power conferences was a holdover from last year that I thought we updated the week before but slipped in again this week. Clearly, C-USA is no longer a power conference. And yes, if GW is in there, Xavier should be too. And soon, we'll know which should be ranked higher.

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Herndon, Va: Forget Georgetown over Duke, that's nothing. How about the North Dakota State Bison trampling Wisconsin on the Badger's home court? That has to be the biggest upset since (misspelling alert) Chaminade beat Virginia.

Matt Rennie: You're right. Truly unbelievable, and it got somewhat overshadowed locally and nationally by all the undefeateds going down, but there's no question that was a stunning result. I didn't even know ND State's nickname before that game. And I loved the coach's quote afterward: "It'll definitely help recruiting. It might hurt scheduling."

Eric Prisbell: During the Duke game, Mike Wise turned to me and asked, "If the Hoyas win, it will be the biggest upset since when?" I said, "Since North Dakota State beat Wisconsin 10 minutes ago."

I kept watching the score of that game at press row during the Duke-G-Town game and I could not believe it. That is usually a really tough place to play up there. That may do wonders for the North Dakota program.

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Red Oak, Iowa: What is your take on the Missouri Valley Conference? With four teams with an RPI in the top 27 teams in the country, does the NCAA take four teams from the Valley for the tournament? Has this conference moved to an area where it is not a Super Conference, but it is not exactly your typical Mid-Major conference either? Finally, how are teams like Northern Iowa seeded when their RPI is 12th, but they are not ranked in the top 25? Thank you.

Eric Prisbell: Thanks for the great question, Red Oak. We love the Missouri Valley Conference. In fact, I've been touting it all season and believe Northern Iowa is right there with George Washington as the best mid-majors in the land. I pity two teams in the NCAA tournament. The one that draws West Virginia and the one that draws Northern Iowa. If you could attend one conference tournament this season other than the Big East --- which will be exceptional - go to the MVC tourney. Every game will be nip and tuck.

Is Red Oak near Sioux City? I hope not.

Matt Rennie: Not that I really want to get into a big semantic debate again, but yes, the MVC is raising its profile every year, and I would put it on a level with the A-10, Mountain West and even C-USA now as leagues that deserve somewhere from two to four bids almost every year, but lacks the depth of the -- for lack of a better word -- BCS leagues.

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Washington, D.C.: I am praying to Big George that Georgetown's win over Duke will stop the Maryland and GW love-fest that Matt and Eric host here every week. Does GW still look like the "area's dominant program"? The only thing more ridiculous is their #14 ranking.

Eric Prisbell: Wow, that's some pretty substantial trash talk right there. I have a close relationship with the GW fans, and they will not be happy with that. I would love to see a Georgetown-GW matchup this season. I've seen both programs play really well in person at the MCI Center. I'd lean toward Georgetown, but not by much.

By March, I'll probably be busy filling out my NIT bracket.

Matt Rennie: There's room for everyone, and if that win woke up the Hoyas fans, so much the better, as far as I'm concerned. I think GW and Georgetown have good enough teams to have ample reason to be excited. I also think neither are good enough to talk about clear superiority to the other.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Rennie! Is Michigan any good? 13-3, but they've lost to all three ranked opponents (only by 5 at Illinois, though). If they beat Spartie tonight, will they get some love, as the kids say?

Matt Rennie: We'll find out tonight. I think this is Amaker's best team, if for no other reason than it has stayed healthy. I think the Wolverines might be in a similar class as Iowa, scratching and clawing for one of the Big Ten's last NCAA bids. But they better not give away any games at this time of year because their season-closing four-game stretch is brutal.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Don't get carried away, GTown had a nice win at home and GW has kept winning(if you count beating A10 teams as winning). Even without McCray MD still should go farther in the NCAA tourney this year than either of these teams(well at least GW and Mason)....

Eric Prisbell: Huh?

Even without McCray?

Too many Tom and Jerry reruns, Silver Spring.

I went over the schedule for a while in the airport this morning. I think Maryland needs 19 wins after the ACC tournament. One does not count because it was a D-II team in Maui. I give Maryland a 40 percent chance of making the NCAAs.

Matt Rennie: I agree with Eric, Silver Spring. Without McCray, the only way the Terps will be the last area team playing this season is if they make another deep NIT run. The Terps have a chance of making the NCAAs, but that would be it.

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New Brunswick, NJ: Eric, I heard you on the radio saying that you knew about rumors involving McCray's ineligibility status for about three weeks, so why did it take so long for the story to be reported?

Eric Prisbell: Great question.

First, it is a delicate situation that was not decided for sure until Monday. I covered Jerry Tarkanian for three years so I've seen situations in which you thought for sure a kid was ineligible and then he suited up and scored 23 and was honored before the game because he suddenly made the Dean's list. This is not that, let me make that clear, but I don't jump to conclusions.

You have to be careful with this stuff, and you have to be fair and you have to be prepared. I felt I was.

I wanted to get Chris alone to talk about it. That did not work out. I felt I needed on the record confirmation from either Gary, Debbie, his mom or Chris to get the story in the paper before it was announced. That was not going to happen because none of the above could comment on it and also because none of the above would want a story affecting the process.

And to this point, because of student privacy laws, Debbie and Gary still refuse to talk about specifics.

All that said, I went over every possible scenario dozens of times in my head 23 hours a day for the past few days. I slept an hour each day.

I don't have any significant regrets with it.

Matt Rennie: and as Eric wrote, there was hope up until the 11th hour that McCray might be able to work something out with one of the classes in question. To that point, there's no news. We wouldn't write that a student MIGHT be in academic trouble; that's not very fair to the student. It's similar to how we don't report the threats of a lawsuit; something has to get filed before we report on it.

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Why is the Post Such an Apologist for Maryland?: Wilbon and Kornheiser both absolve Gary Williams of any responsibility in the Chris McCray saga and the off-the-court incidents. Gary has known about McCray's academic status for a while, and he know about all of the off the court incidents will before they were published in the Post, yet he only suspended Garrison for one game - and only after it made the papers. McCray had been involved in two off the court incidents and didn't get suspended. Maybe you guys should look at the top.

Matt Rennie: Wilbon and Kornhesier are paid (well) to express their opinions, not the opinions of the newspaper. So if you disagree with either of them, that's fine, but they're not told what to write. I think Wilbon's column today is a defensible position, but I also think the program should know virtually everything that's going on with its 13 scholarship players.

Eric Prisbell: As you know, Tony and Michael are columnists. I am the beat writer, so I'm looking to report the story objectively. Two totally different positions.

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Laurel, Md: Hey Guys! What is your take on Chris McCray's mother's comments on her son's situation. It kind of makes me realize why the kid didn't take classes seriously.

Eric Prisbell: What struck me the most from my conversation with Shirleeta a few days ago was how upset she was at Maryland after I told her I had heard about this three weeks ago. She said she did not find out until a week ago. More than one athletic department source I spoke to found that sentiment absurd. Shirleeta is an honest woman and stands behind her son. I've talked to her on a number of occasions.

Matt Rennie: I don't think you can blame a parent for wanting to protect his/her kid. I also think the parent and the kid (who isn't a kid any more) need to take ownership of the situation. Let's face it: A lot of people dropped the ball here. The list starts with McCray, but there are others on it.

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Washington, D.C.: Woah Woah, G-Town won a game...congrats it's been a while.

Um, I think you guys are a bit silly comparing G-Town to GW when GW is #14 and a one loss team whereas G-Town isn't even ranked in one poll and despite a very marquee win, still has four losses on the year.

At least Prisbell can cover the MD vs. G-Town NIT game...

Matt Rennie: Like I said earlier, the only thing that's silly is fans of either school thinking they're in a different league than the other. they are similarly talented teams.

Eric Prisbell: I truly believe if I cover another NIT game I will come down with hives.

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Washington, D.C.: For discussion purposes, which local college player has the best chances in the NBA draft? And why?

Eric Prisbell: Wow, we're getting tons of questions. Keep sending them, please.

As far as the NBA and local connections:

Rudy Gay

Kevin Durant

I like Green and Hibbert, actually

And i think Ibekwe will get a good look because of what he can do.

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Westcliffe, Colo.: How 'bout those Anteaters! Undefeated and leading their conference. Sweet 16 material?

I like the Jaspers and the fighting Artichokes - though the 'Chokes (Scottsdale Community College) are not Division I. And Gonzaga limped out with a 1 point win over San Diego last week - GO Toreros, whatever the hell that is.

How about a real tournament this year with looney players, bobble-headed painted gits, bad officiating, and strange mascots? Put me down for the Purple People Eaters over Miss Elmer's Boot Black Academy Hobnailed Stompers by 4. Let's see Duke get by one of those without holes in its butt.

From the Real West..

Rufus of the Sangres

Matt Rennie: Westcliffe, I don't have the first idea of how to answer this question, but I like it.

Eric Prisbell: Take a nice long walk around Rock Springs, Wyoming, if that does not cure it, repeat the process three times. You'll recover soon enough, dude.

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Mike Jones. Who??? MIKE JONES: there is no "blessing in disguise" with McCray being out, but could the absence of McCray bring more of a fire from our forwards, specifically C-M and Garrison? Seems to me that they have been playing pretty soft this year. I think with Garrison, Gist, and Ibekwe playing better on the boards, and Caner Medley actually taking shots like he used to, the loss of McCray will be padded. Also, we haven't seen the complete upside of Jones. I heard a commentator say he was the #2 ranked High school player behind Lebron a few years ago. If only he can get on a hot-streak that lasts a couple of months.

I still think NCAA tourney berth is likely.

Eric Prisbell: That commentator was off his rocker. Who would ever put Mike Jones behind Lebron Who in high school? Everyone knows Jones was superior to James in high school (just read the Maryland message boards). LeBron has a head start in the NBA, but just wait until Mike catches up!

Matt Rennie: sorry, folks, but there isn't any upside to McCray's season being over. We'll see what Mike Jones can do. He'll definitely make game higher-scoring.

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Silver Spring, Md: Mike Gansey, wow what a player. So he is the best shooter in college ball right? 65 percent + from the floor and over 50 percent from beyond the arc, JJ who? That steal to seal the win at UCLA was so cold hearted... WVU national title contenders? and i must admit I'm a MD fan and it is hard for me to acknowledge WVU even has a decent team but it is very hard not to like those guys and the way they play...

Matt Rennie: the Mountaineers are fun to watch and have sustained last season's momentum admirably. The Big East tournament should be a blast, a nice precursor to the big dance.

Eric Prisbell: Mike Gansey is my favorite college player in the country. His story is really good, having come from Bonaventure. I could not believe his shooting percentage when I looked at it the other day. He should get strong all-American consideration. WVU is a joy to watch, a joy. The Mountaineers can beat anyone in the country on a given night. If I get sent to a regional to watch them play again, I will be lucky to cover them.

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Washington, DC: We need Schlabach!! Is Tenn the best team in the SEC? Is UF still worthy of a #1 seed in the tourney?

Matt Rennie: I think Florida can't afford more than one more loss if it wants to land a 1 seed. I think Duke and the Big Ten champion will get 1 seeds, and the Big East will be waiting to steal a second if the Gators slip.

Eric Prisbell: I thought Mark was not allowed to ask anymore questions?

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Wahoo, Wash.: What is going on with the Cavs? I haven't taken a close look at their remaining schedule -- is finishing with a .500 ACC record plausible? They have already won more ACC games than I expected. Is Leitao catching the majority of the ACC in a "down" year, or is he doing a great job? Or some of each?

Matt Rennie: I'm stunned, frankly. And while I remain cautious, I will say this: In this season's ACC, anything is possible.

Eric Prisbell: Virginia's success in the ACC thus far might be the biggest surprise in the conference to date, probably even bigger than Boston College's early struggles. I know Leitao will recruit top tier talent to Charlottesville in time, but I did not expect this quite this soon given the roster. I felt Virginia was a lock to finish last and Virginia Tech would contend for the NCAA tournament. I wonder if Maryland can gain a split with UVA, I would think so. Not sure about a sweep.

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Bethesda, Md.: Time to give us some insight into the editorial process. There was quite a contrast between the Chris McCray and Mike Hall articles on the front page. Was this done intentionally? Thanks for doing the chat!

Matt Rennie: Not sure I understand the question. We have a lot of newsworthy basketball teams in town. It was nice to get three of them on the section front today. When the Olympics start, that's not going to happen.

Eric Prisbell: I thought we had excellent college basketball coverage in the section today. I enjoyed Dan's piece on Hall a lot.

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Real Loser of the Georgetown-Duke Game: I think the biggest loser from the Hoya's big win over Duke is the Terps. The Hoya's are on a major upswing - they will very likely make the tourney and have a great recruiting class coming in. While the Terps have fallen off in recent years, and in losing their best player, will find it difficult to make the tourney this year.

Gtown still has mystique, and has the ability to capture the hearts and minds of DC like Maryland can't. Top kids that want to stay in the D.C. area will now look to Gtown at the expense of the Terps.

What do you think?

Matt Rennie: I think Georgetown has already received recruiting commitments that make the future bright. What effect that has on Maryland remains to be seen. I think there's room in town for more than strong program. It's happened before.

Eric Prisbell: Maryland's class is looking strong for the next two years. That said, it looked good heading into the 02-03 season as well.

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Washington, DC: Hey guys, No one in their right mind would argue that McCray's troubles are anyone other than McCray's responsibility. However, a coach does more than teach basketball. He also motivates his players to play hard, stay out of trouble, and ideally to become men. Over the past few years it would seem that Gary has failed to do those things. My question is this: how much of that failure do you think is Gary William's? How much of it do you think is due to the players simply being unreachable? Does the departure of so many assistant coaches play a role? This whole situation should make us Maryland fans appreciate that national championship team even more. Not just for the way they played basketball but for the class with which they carried themselves.

-Frustrated Terp Fan

Eric Prisbell: You raise a good point about the turnover among assistants, yet another angle to this. I have talked to people who blame Gary. I have talked to people who blame the assistants, the mom, the kid. Everyone has an opinion on this one.

Matt Rennie: I think a lot of factors go into situations like this, and blaming one party in the interest of absolving another is a mistake.

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Bowie, Md.: Just a quick comment on the student athlete position at UMD...as a former varsity athlete, I found the resources at Maryland (tutors, computers, advisors and studyhalls) easy to access and always available when help was needed. Minding your grades and keeping up-to-date on professor policies is the responsibility of the student. If an athlete fails at Maryland, they really have to work at it. Chris owed it to himself and the team to be responsible for his grades and to be an adult for the situations he has put himself in.

Eric Prisbell: Thanks for the comment.

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Washington, DC: How about some updated tournament projections? Who will make it from the Big East, ACC, Big Ten, etc? Biggest sleepers/disappointments?

Eric Prisbell: My predictions thus far have been utter rubbish, as my wife kindly reminds me every day.

UConn should beat Duke in the tournament.

West Virginia can beat anyone.

NC State is very dangerous.

Memphis is being overlooked and should not be.

When in doubt, choose those teams to advance in the brackets.

Gonzaga is a mystery because they have all they need but I'm not sure what condition they will enter the tourney in, having won a down WCC.

Matt Rennie: The Big East will get nine teams, I predict. The Big Ten will get six. The ACC will get five, with the fifth being one of the most controversial of Selection Sunday.

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Washington, DC: Is Skip Prosser that BAD of a coach, or is Weak, er...Wake Forest that bad of a team?

They really miss Chris Paul, Taron Downey, Jamaal Levy, and Vytas Danelius.

Eric Prisbell: I don't know what the latest is because I've been swamped with McCray stuff, but you'd better hope your coach does not skip off to Cincinnati. But if a certain coach from West Virginia would arrive in return, you could probably live with it.

Matt Rennie: There's grist for the rumor mill. I can't believe Wake lost to Florida State, at home no less. Bad loss. Really bad loss.

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Alexandria, Va.: I was at the Duke game. As a lifelong Duke fan, I was very excited to finally get to see the Devils in action. Although I was disappointed by the outcome, It was good to see G'Town and JT III get a marquee win--definitely a boost towards potential postseason play. I was dismayed at the utter lack of class of the G'Town Student Body--who were more interested in taughting Duke fans than celebrating the teams huge accomplishment. Unfortunately, it did not surprise me.

My Question. Does this loss expose Duke or do you think it will propel Duke into a better direction--consistent play up to par with the ability? I personally thought Duke needed a kick in the pants--and don't envy the remaining ACC opponents.

Matt Rennie: this has been a debate that has come up in the last couple years, first with St. Joe's and last year with illinois: Is it better for a team to lose a regular-season game? I think it's good for a team to play some CLOSE games, but I don't know that there's any benefit to losing them. Confidence is such a big facotr in college sports; I would want my players thinking they're invincible.

But I wouldn't worry one way or another about Duke. The Blue Devils will be playing on the last weekend of the season.

Eric Prisbell: Shelden Williams can't have that sort of game. UConn, with its size, would be the worst matchup for Duke. Gonzaga also would be a nightmare game. I still expect Duke in the Final Four. Getting Nelson back healthy is a must. Dockery and Nelson need to be catalysts on defense, along with Shelden.

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College Park, Md.: Hi guys,

Is DC now the best college hoops market? Looking at cities that have at least 4 teams, I don't see any place else with our strength:

Baltimore- (UMBC, Towson, Morgan St., Coppin St., Loyola) GW beat Morgan St. All 5 are mediocre at best.

Boston- (BC, BU, N'Eastern, Harvard) The first three have lost to UMD, GW and Mason respectively.

Chicago- (DePaul, N'Western, Loyola, Ill-Chicago, Chicago St.) Georgetown will get a shot at DePaul. The others aren't that good.

Lost Angeles- (UCLA, USC, UC-Irvine, CS-Fullerton, UC-Riverside, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, CS-Northridge) Mason already beat Irvine. UCLA is tough, but that's it.

New York- (St. Johns, Seton Hall, Manhattan, Iona, Hofstra, St. Peters, Wagner, LIU, St Francis, Columbia) Georgetown already beat SJU, Mason already beat Manhattan.

Philadelphia- (Villanova, Drexel, St. Joe's, Temple, Penn, LaSalle) Probably have the closest competition. GW already beat St. Joe's and Temple and should beat LaSalle at home. Maryland will play at Temple and Georgetown will get a shot at Nova. Mason hosts Drexel.

No other cities have 4 schools like we do. Georgetown, GW, Maryland and Mason all have a shot at the dance. AU and Howard are struggling, but the other 4 have could prove to be the best city-foursome in the country. We'll see how those games vs Philly schools go. Your thoughts?

Eric Prisbell: I think it is. It would be even better if Maryland was as good as expected.

Great question.

Matt Rennie: I said back in November that I expected this season to be as good locally as last season was nationally. With the exception of Maryland's off-court problems, it hasn't disappointed.

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Chicago, Ill.: One thing about this Maryland situation that I don't get is Kornheiser and Wilbon claiming that it is easier for a small private school to cover up these academic situations than a large public one. Having gone to a small private college and taught at both Georgetown and a few large public universities I find that this isn't remotely true, do you have any idea where these guys are coming from?

Matt Rennie: I didn't hear Tony and Mike on this topic, but one thing I would say is that at a smaller institution, the circles are usually tighter and it's maybe easier to work out compromises. At a big institution, a professor might not notice or care whether a student isn't showing up for class. At a smaller school, it gets noticed and perhaps addressed before it becomes a larger issue.

Eric Prisbell: I did not quite understand the point they made either. If it's a public school, a reporter can request all the information he wants through FOIAs, but you can't get any academic info. That's what I thought about at first.

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New York, NY: I agree about A-10 being a mid-major, is this going to hurt GW down the line, even if they keep winning, when it comes time to seed the tourney? Also, since they probably will not have a great RPI (their SOS is so weak), will the new move of the NCAA to release those numbers going to have a negative impact?

Eric Prisbell: The number that jumps in my mind is a 5 seed for GW. Might be too high a bit, we'll see. They'll be a tough out before the Sweet 16.

Matt Rennie: Releasing the numbers doesn't matter. The selection committee always had access to them. GW is in a similar situation to Gonzaga about 3-4 years ago. The Zags got a 6 seed, I think, when they were hoping for a 3 or maybe even a 2. But then, if I remember correctly, they lost early, and their complaints rang hollow. I'm not saying seeding is overblown, but as long as you can avoid the No. 1 seeds on the first weekend, I think you have a chance to right any wrongs of the selection committee.

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Washington, DC: Until G-Town gets the guts to play GW, they need to pipe down and bow down to the #14 Colonials

Matt Rennie: And until Maryland has the guts to play Georgetown and until GW has the guts to play Mason, yadda yadda yadda.

I'd like to see all the teams play each other, but they all have some pettiness in this regard.

Eric Prisbell: I'll wait for the G-town-GW game at the Final Four, that is if the Hoyas can make it.

Honestly, both schools have a decent chance to reach the Sweet 16.

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Terp Fan Out West: I respect privacy laws but wish Gary Williams and the U of M Athletic Dept. could speak more openly about the McCray situation. I was a decent student and a benchwarmer for the football team in the early 1990's and can attest to the fact that they pretty much rode herd on players to attend class and turn in assignments. I was even asked on occasion to "babysit" a teammate who was in the same class, i.e., make sure he got to class and stayed there, even if he pretty much dozed through it. I find it hard to believe the basketball dept. has so backtracked, esp. when you're talking about a kid who could make or break the season. What gives?

Eric Prisbell: When I first heard this was a possibility, I was extremely surprised because I can't remember seeing a player entering his final semester lose his academic eligibility. If you've made it through 3 years, you'd think you'd be able to make it one more semester.

Matt Rennie: While I understand the lack of openness on some level, it's also a little hypcocritical. As John Feinstein said yesterday, if a player wins a Rhodes Scholarship, privacy laws don't stop the school from trumpeting that. It's like when a player is hurt, schools say "we're not allowed to talk about injuries." But when the player is recovered from the injury, the school has no problem announcing that news.

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from this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "A rancher described by many as the Horatio Alger of the cattle business has donated roughly 4,700 acres of his dinosaur-bone saturated Wyoming ranch to the University of Pittsburgh."

This guy has never been to Pittsburgh, no connection to the university, and has "carved out a $7 million portion of his 120,000 acre Wheatland, Wyo., cattle ranch as an educational outpost for the university."

Does Pitt need a Peterson Event Center out west?

Maybe they could build the NCAA tournament center on the property, kinda centrally located, 'eh?

This is a front page story .

Can you believe this?

Eric Prisbell: Let's stage the play-in game there. That's where it belongs.

Matt Rennie: How close is Wheatland, Wyo. to our big fan in Westcliffe, Colo.?

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Arlington, Va: Who's running the asylum in College Park?

Gilchrist: Run out of town. Gone.McCray: Preseason bar fight charges dropped. Can't manage a 2.0 in his final college semester. Gone.Garrison: Arrested, charged with second-degree assault, fouth-degree sex offense. Nice.Caner-Medley: Fine player, minimal improvement for a four-year starter.

At what point does, Gary have to take some of the blame?

How excited is Redick to come to Comcast one last time, knowing McCray will be watching on TV? Who guards JJ?

Eric Prisbell: Gary accepted blame yesterday.

J.J. Redick should have a smirk on his face from ear to ear when he walks into Comcast Center for the final time in a few weeks. And Maryland fans better watch what four-letter words they use near him because he is capable of dropping 40 on the Terps.

Matt Rennie: How about 50? That might be the toughest aspect of the loss of McCray for Maryland.

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Lincoln, Neb.: First I want to thank you guys for doing these chats. Secondly this is more of a statement than a question so I hope you guys will post this. Monday when I saw that Chris McCray was ineligible due to academics I was at total disbelief and denial being the huge Terps fan I am. The first thing that popped into my mind was there goes the season. After a few long hours of sulking I came to the conclussion that I was being extremely selfish. Basketball is just a game and education is part of life. This young man in Chris McCray came to UMD to play basketball but more importantly get an education. I know this situation has to be hard on Chris but luckily he can still continue to pursue a degree in criminal justice. He made everyone proud for 3 1/2 years with the way he played ball on the court. Now we need to stand behind and give him our support because after all one can't play ball forever. As for the current players. You all are playing at UMD for a reason and that is because you are not only good at b-ball but also good as students. You have a great coach and enough talent to overcome this obstacle so go out there and prove all those doubters wrong. GO TERPS! I will be cheering extra loud tonight when you face Ga. Tech.

Matt Rennie: For some reason, I heard Gene Hackman as Coach Normand Dale reading this question as I read it.

Eric Prisbell: Bring the folding chairs onto the court!

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Eric Prisbell: Thanks, everyone. We had so many questions we could not get to. See you all next week.

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