The young man has yet to complete one full season of collegiate basketball, but picking out his top highlights is more difficult than mastering a Rubik’s Cube with one hand while inebriated.
With his entertaining style of play and extremely likable brashness, there are plenty of captivating Greivis Vasquez moments to choose from.
It might be wise to start with Vasquez’s no-look, exquisitely-executed bounce pass – while moving away from the play – to senior forward Ekene Ibekwe for a fast-break dunk against Florida State. But his mouth takes no backseat to his play.
When the Terps were floundering in conference play, Vasquez guaranteed an NCAA tournament berth to virtually whomever would listen. After he helped to slow Georgia Tech’s star freshman guard Javaris Crittenton, Vasquez made sure to remind the media about it. Following junior forward Bambale Osby’s breakout performance against the Seminoles, Vasquez proclaimed to a student columnist that the Terps would need that type of effort from Osby to reach the Final Four.
And then there’s all the extra-curricular on-court antics, such as when Vasquez beautifully fed Parrish Brown for a 3-pointer against Florida State and then proceeded to yell at the home crowd, demonstratively nodding his head the entire way back down the court.
“If I was on another team, I’ll probably try to elbow him or something,” senior guard D.J. Strawberry said, laughing. “He’s one of the most trash-talking people I know. He’s hilarious, though. He goes out, and he showboats. He doesn’t care about whatever anybody else thinks. He’s going to do whatever he feels like doing after he makes a bucket or after he makes a good pass.”
My favorite Greivis moment came all the way back in November in one of Madison Square Garden’s tiny locker rooms; after the Terps trounced St. John’s, Vasquez could be found singing the Maryland Victory Song – loud and clear.
Yes, sometimes Vasquez’s juices can boil over, such as the time when he picked up two fouls within six seconds in the first half’s final minute against North Carolina. Before assistant coach Keith Booth could calm him down, Vasquez appeared to yell directly at a referee in disgust.
“I pay attention to [his talking] if I think it’s hurting his game,” coach Gary Williams said. “He’s a freshman, and he’s learning how to be at this level. That’s just how he is, and there’s been a lot of great players in the league over the years that have done the same thing. It’s not a negative thing, it’s just he’s just gotta do it in the framework of the team and making sure it helps us and not hurts us.”
While Vasquez has generally done a masterful job at using all of his energy positively, tonight will undoubtedly be his stiffest test. Illinois’ Orange Krush is one thing, but Duke’s Cameron Crazies could make even Tim Duncan lose his cool.
And as you can imagine, Vasquez isn’t shying away from the pressurized matchup.
“We gotta beat them twice this year, so they can talk about the freshmen – me and Eric,” Vasquez declared.
It won’t, however, be Vasquez’s first experience inside Cameron. Two years ago, his Montrose Christian high school team traveled down to Durham to look at Duke and hold practice.
He also recognizes tonight’s hostile environment will be starkly different than his previous Cameron experience – but naturally, it’s something he welcomes.
“I know people are going to be there screaming my name pretty loud,” said Vasquez, who will almost certainly be a primary target of the Crazies. “I can’t wait, man.
“I wanted to come here,” Vasquez continued defiantly. “I love Maryland, and I’m proud to be here.”
Greivis, we had no idea.
Contact columnist Daniel Chiat at chiatdbk@gmail.com.
