Steve Goins made an appearance Saturday. This was noteworthy because he hadn’t been heard from on the court since the day after Thanksgiving.
Nothing screams “project” like a scholarship player who can go two months between appearances, with an injury accounting for only some of that pine time.
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But it’s funny. He is Maryland’s biggest player at 6-foot-10, and suddenly people are wondering if maybe Goins is the answer.
The most tactful way of putting this is that a guy who has reached late January with only a dozen minutes played is rarely the short-term answer anyone is seeking. But maybe he could be useful in another matchup with Brian Zoubek, who pretty much had the game of his life on Saturday.
Still, he could play some, as Gary Williams suggested today.
“He’s 6-9, 260, and that’s a big player in the ACC this year,” Williams said. “We can use that size. We’re a little small inside this year, and we can use that size. You don’t have to get stats. It’s just that you’re out there. You’re taking up room, you’re helping out on defense or whatever. Those things are important.”
Calling Maryland “a little small inside this year” is like saying Penn State employs a football coach who “is a bit older than most of his colleagues.” But besides that, it would seem Goins might have an opportunity to play just a teensy bit more, if his conditioning and improvement permit it.
—- Patrick Stevens
