LIKE HIS COACH, GREIVIS VASQUEZ YELLS AT T.A.H.

Remarkably, we somehow missed this earth shattering story to the consternation of Terps fans nationwide (and especially one in Nokesville, VA!). When queried by some of our most loyal readers about why T.A.H. failed to give our usual Pulitzer Prize-not-winning coverage to the game in question, we replied with this brief retort:

So on the night in question, three nationally ranked ACC teams had games while one wildly inconsistent team (that most recently lost to Morgan State) beat a 9-6 ACC also-ran in a game that featured nothing of interest other than the discourse between the point guard with the wacky first name and the infamously low-brow Terp crowd, we will admit we completely missed it because, like all media outlets, we’re lazy.

Not only did we not watch the game between these two mediocre squads bound for the NIT or other unknown points of the basketball netherworld, but we also failed to read the AP story filed by some poor dumb sap getting paid a few clicks over minimum wage to drag his/her rear end to College Park to watch this piker of a contest.

That would be our bad. What were we thinking?

So, having said that, we are convinced we have shown more contrition for this oversight than Nixon did for Watergate. (See movie Frost/Nixon, or read a history book, for complete explanation).

Now, everybody knows we have some residual love for the Terps since that’s how we grew up – under the spell of the Lefthander. Yep, we were lucky enough to have a parental unit that would drag our butt to old Cole Field House to see Lefty’s boys – John Lucas, Len Elmore, Tom McMillan, Mo Howard, to name a few. The icing on this cake was when Mrs. T.A.H. (a devout Tar Heel) bought coach Gary Williams a drink in a Washington D.C. watering hole and was thanked with the parting shot “anybody who hates Duke is O.K. by me.”

Over the past few years, we have remained perplexed by Maryland’s inconsistency and inability to replicate the National Championship caliber-squad of Juan Dixon, Lenny Baxter, Chris Wilcox and Steve Blake. But, we still have a soft spot for the kids of College Park.

We air that as preface because what we are about to say won’t be popular in some circles. A bunch of Maryland fans (primarily students) are idiots. There we said it.

Yo Terpalicious dudes, you have one good player. Yes, he’s inconsistent. And yes sometimes he looks brilliant and sometimes he looks like he has basketball I.Q. to rival his jersey number, but just like you, he’s a kid…a college student. And, oddly enough, college kids sometimes do things that defy explanation.

But at the end of the day, he’s really all you’ve got. So show G.V. some love, and, to put it as succinctly as possible, SHUT UP.

Evidently, during the Terps earth shaking, all important, media blockbuster victory last weekend over the soon-to-be-nationally ranked world-beating Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (OK, that was a little sarcastic, but CC Nation knows what it’s about, sorry), some Maryland fans (again, mostly, if not all, students) were heckling Greivis Vasquez.

We know what you’re thinking: “You’re kiddin’ me, right?”

Well…no. According to the Washington Post (a legitimate media outlet), “When Vasquez missed a shot or made a mistake, a cluster of Maryland students either booed the guard or yelled for Vasquez to shape up. And Vasquez responded at least three times by turning toward his classmates (once while dribbling the ball), putting his index finger over his lips and telling them to ‘shut the [expletive] up!’”

After the game Vasquez was much calmer, saying, "If they don't believe in us, they can get the hell out. We don't need them anyway. We need the people who will support us, who are with us. I know they are all happy now, but they didn't believe in us when we were down."

Rumor has it that Greivis’ exchange with the cranky fans was the most compelling aspect of an ugly game and it added a new chapter to the love-hate relationship between the Terp’s best player and a fan base burdened by high (and perhaps now unrealistic) expectations.

While Coach Gary Williams has froused on occasion, he has not come right out and criticized the fan base. Vasquez, on the other hand, has mentioned in recent years how quickly the fans jump on and off the Terps' bandwagon.

Just to add a little icing to his shut-your-pile-hole cake, coming out of a timeout with nine seconds remaining with the game in hand, Vasquez walked over in front of the Maryland student section and had a few not-so-kind words with the troops. One student, bewildered, responded, "But we love you, Greivis."

"They don't believe in what we do," Vasquez said. "I didn't shoot well; no one else did. But they always get on me. They are always expecting something out of me. I'm not here for the fans. I'm here for myself, my family and Coach Williams."

Vasquez said Duke, North Carolina and Virginia Tech have student sections that support their teams regardless of performance. And he said to think this team resembles last season's team that struggled through non-conference play is wrong, adding: "We are a totally different team. What the hell are they thinking?"

Agree or disagree, give Greivis credit for speaking his mind.

And the sould patch was nice too. He should bring that back.

(Photos: AP Photo by Rob Carr, Getty Images, Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun and Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)