LAHAINA, Hawaii -- It didn't matter that Gary Close has known Gary Williams for dozens of years and his Maryland teams play with many of the qualities that the teams their mentor, Dr. Tom Davis, possessed.
Close was still going to spend much of the night preparing the scouting report on Williams' Terrapins, who are playing the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team in the third-place game at the Maui Invitational on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 .
"Gary's a real good coach, one of the best in his profession," said Close, an assistant coach with the Badgers (3-1), who lost to Gonzaga 74-61 in a second-round tournament game Tuesday night. "We have two great coaches in this one. It will be a great matchup."
Leading the way for the Terrapins (4-1) is senior guard Grevis Vasquez, a 6-foot-6 matchup nightmare who, last season, became the first player in program history to lead Maryland in scoring, rebounding and assists in the same season.
Vasquez had 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals during the Terrapins' 69-57 loss to Cincinnati in a second-round tournament game Tuesday night at the Lahaina Civic Center.
"He hasn't shot the ball real well yet this year, which really scares me. He's one of the best point guards in the country," said Close.
"He has length, he has size, he can put it on the floor, he's a good 3-point shooter," Close continued. "He can make passes, he has a little fire to him so to speak, he's confident. He's quite a player."
Maryland has plenty of different ways to beat teams. Sean Mosley, a 6-4 sophomore guard, had 19 points and 8 rebounds during the Terrapins' 79-51 win over Chaminade in a first-round tournament game.
Also, Eric Hayes, a 6-4 senior guard, had 12 points and 5 rebounds against Chaminade and Jordan Williams, a 6-10 freshman, had 9 points and 10 rebounds in the same game.
"They aren't as experienced in terms of physicality, but they are pretty good-sized. They can post up and hurt us inside like some of these other teams have," said Close.
"They can knock some 3s down, they can beat you off the dribble and they have full-court pressure defense, which is a concern," he added. " They can turn people over."
Wisconsin has a 4-2 lead in the series that includes four games this decade. Wisconsin beat Maryland 78-75 on Nov. 29, 2000 at the Bradley Center. That was Dick Bennett's last game as the UW coach. He resigned after the game.
Maryland defeated the Badgers 87-57 in a second-round NCAA Tournament game in 2002 in Washington D.C. The Terrapins went on to win the NCAA title that year.
The following season, the Badgers lost 73-67 at Maryland in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game despite a tremendous performance from Devin Harris. In 2004, Wisconsin defeated Maryland 69-64 at Madison in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game.
Posted in Men, Rob_schultz on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 12:25 pm Updated: 6:36 pm. | Tags: Maui Invitational, Wisconsin Badgers, Maryland Terrapins, Bo Ryan, Gary Williams, Gary Close
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