By Scott Clipp
Senior staff writer
For senior guard Chris McCray, the saying “practice makes perfect” doesn’t necessarily apply.
McCray said he hasn’t participated in practice since the Terps’ loss to George Washington, but the senior captain showed no ill-effects from the time off, scoring 16 points in a win over Boston College.
“He played 38 minutes,” Terp coach Gary Williams said. “That’s what amazed me, that he could be out there that long with that level of play. To play 38 minutes with not having practiced, I guess I’ll have a lot of guys come in and ask me for some time off. … Chris made up his mind he was going to play and he did a great job.”
McCray injured his left ankle against Arkansas in the Terps’ final game at the Maui Invitational. He re-aggravated the ankle in a loss to George Washington and did not play again last Wednesday against Western Carolina.
But McCray returned Sunday night to deliver another inspiring performance, scoring 16 points while adding five rebounds and five assists. The performance put McCray over the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
Williams wasn’t sure if McCray was going to play as of last week, but the guard said after the Terps’ win over Western Carolina, “If I got to walk out there on one leg, I’ll be out there.”
McCray’s 16 points marks the eighth time he has scored in double figures this season.
“I just got to do some extra conditioning to get my wind back,” McCray said. “My ankle’s feeling fine.”
– The Straw that stirs the drink
Though junior guard D.J. Strawberry finished with a modest four-point, four-assist performance against Boston College, he still managed to propel the Terps to the win over then No. 6-ranked Eagles.
With the game tied at 62, Strawberry’s free throw – his first point – gave the Terps the lead. On the next possession, his breakaway lay-up pushed the Terps’ lead to three.
“It was a back and forth game, so I didn’t want to play out of control,” Strawberry said. “I just went out there and ran the offense and my whole team made plays all night.”
But Strawberry has had some growing pains of late, as he becomes more acclimated to the point guard position. He struggled to get the Terps into their offense against George Washington, and is tied for the ACC lead in turnovers.
“He’s just got to calm down a little bit,” Williams said. “That’s one thing I really like about D.J. You don’t really have to fire him up. It’s easier to pull a guy back a little bit than to try and pump him up. I like D.J.’s attitude out there.”
– Poll watching
The Terps jumped four spots to No. 17 in the Associated Press poll after their win over Boston College. The Eagles fell to No. 13 after dropping two games last week.
The Terps and Boston College are two of six ACC teams in the top-25, along with No. 1 Duke, No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 19 North Carolina and No. 21 N.C. State.
Contact reporter Scott Clipp at clippdbk@gmail.com.
