WASHINGTON - During the entire offseason, there were concerns about how the Maryland men's basketball team was going to replace All-America guard Juan Dixon. Who could have as big a heart? Was there a go-to guy? Who was going to become the team leader?
This team can win without Dixon, but the Terps still haven't found replacements for center Lonny Baxter and power forward Chris Wilcox. Current starting seniors Ryan Randle, a center, and power forward Tahj Holden have potential, but so far they haven't had a presence in the middle.
Softies.
Yesterday, they failed to provide muscle inside as No. 9 Maryland was embarrassed, 79-67, by Notre Dame in the first round of the BB&T; Classic at MCI Center.
After losing, 80-74, in overtime to Indiana on Tuesday night, Maryland coach Gary Williams had hoped his team would get this message: When you're the defending national champions, you have to play hard every night.
But, apparently, the Terps weren't paying attention.
You can't put the entire blame on Holden and Randle. Shooting guard Drew Nicholas doesn't appear ready to take the mantle from Dixon. Point guard Steve Blake wants to win so badly that he becomes reckless at times. Maryland shot 37.1 percent from the field yesterday, which proves it's going to take some time for this team to jell, but the Terps can still overcome a lot of those problems on most nights.
They can't, however, survive without a physical presence in the middle.
"Our interior defense was bad, and we couldn't score one on one when we got the ball down low," Williams said.
Basically, the Fighting Irish treated the Terps as a father does his 5-year-old son when they are playing a pickup game in the back yard. You know the routine. Hold him back with the left hand and score on him with the right.
Notre Dame forward Torin Francis is a freshman, but he outplayed Holden and Randle. Francis was 8-for-8 from the field and 4-for-7 from the foul line. Notre Dame center Tim Timmermans didn't have big numbers, but even he pushed Maryland around inside.
Who in the world is Tim Timmermans?
Meanwhile, Holden finished with 13 points but made it to the free-throw line only twice. Randle had six points and didn't shoot any foul shots. Maryland had a 47-37 advantage in rebounds, but the Fighting Irish had nine more (16-7) on the offensive end.
"We have to go hard, and if we don't, we'll get beat every night," Holden said.
"We just can't let people finish inside, and we have to finish our shots inside. It's not rocket science down there. You have to score when you have the opportunities. It's all about effort."
It's not just about effort. It's also about attitude and temperament. Holden and Randle need to become meaner. More aggressive. Act like someone just stole your NBA signing bonus and then asked your girl out for dinner. Put those big, old butts on some people in the paint.
That's what Baxter did. He would hard-foul you into next week. Wilcox thought he could dunk over Godzilla. A nasty streak is needed night after night after night.
"We were trying to get physical today, but things weren't falling our way," Randle said. "Hey, we can get in there and bang around with some of the best teams, but it didn't show today."
The Fighting Irish had no fear because they kept flying to the basket. Point guard Chris Thomas kept driving the lane. Francis owned the paint. There were times when Randle and Holden didn't know who was guarding him. The best illustration came with 4:33 left in the first half. Francis took a pass down low, and when he turned to face the basket there was no one there.
A surprised Francis stopped for a second before dunking. Williams called a timeout and yanked Randle.
"We didn't communicate, that's it," Holden said. "It won't happen again. That's it."
Randle said: "They were spreading us out; we couldn't find our man. We weren't communicating at all."
Randle and Holden were just as ineffective on the offensive end. With 7:52 remaining in the first half, the 6-foot-9 Randle had the 6-10 Francis down low on the block, but instead of going strong to the basket, he shot a fadeaway. Pulled an Hakeem Olajuwon.
About two minutes later, Holden was driving the lane and Francis stepped in front. Instead of going through or over the top of Francis, he stepped to the side and missed an off-balance shot.
There was another time when Holden had the ball under the basket - with 11:56 remaining - and he should have shattered the rim with a dunk. Instead, Francis blocked it. Why? No power surge.
That's the way they are playing right now. Fadeaways. Putting the ball on the floor instead of just going up with power. It has to change before the Terps can become better.
Randle has played well this season, and this might have been a rare night off. Holden has been through this before, and he is struggling again this season. Last season, though, Maryland had Wilcox to replace him. This year, freshman Travis Garrison is in line. It's a change Williams really doesn't want to make. But the Terps can't keep playing like this.
Sooner or later, they have to get tougher.
"It was embarrassing," Nicholas said of the loss. "For me, being a senior playing in this tournament for a fourth time, this was sad.
"We can't put the blame on the young guys because there are a lot of times we got four or five seniors on the floor. We're just breaking down a lot, doing things we should not be doing."
And not doing things they should be doing, like having a physical presence inside.