Maryland's remaining games are almost as difficult, the only major difference being that it hosts the Cavs for the season's last game. Like the Cavaliers, Maryland has suffered immensely this year from a loss of players, like forward Joe Smith, who departed to the NBA after leading the ACC in scoring and finishing second in rebounds and blocked shots last year. If you do make a mistake in your half-court defense, you're probably going to struggle a little. Guard Johnny Rhodes represents Maryland's primary defensive threat. Fellow guard Duane Simpkins and forward Keith Booth are tied for second on the team, with 13.1 points per game.
Booth is the team's leading rebounder.
Perhaps most disappointing for Maryland this year has been the performance of forward Exree Hipp, whose output has dropped from 13.6 points per game last year to just 6.6 this season. Williams draws parallels between his team's performance without Smith and the Cavaliers' performance without graduated forward Junior Burrough. He was a great college player, and it really affects your team when you don't have that inside force coming back. In addition to the loss of Burrough, Virginia lost its other top-two rebounders from last season, forwards Yuri Barnes and Jason Williford. Losing our top three rebounders from last year and our three most physical performers, I certainly underestimated the impact that that loss would have.