KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Maryland junior guard Greivis Vasquez has the basketball — or a platform to chirp — teammates, coaches, everybody must take the bad with the good.
Like any loose cannon, the emotional Venezuelan can be lethal and combustible — sometimes at the same time.
But there are a lot more pluses, Terrapins coach Gary Williams said Friday during NCAA Tournament interviews at the Sprint Center.
“Everybody is different,” Williams said before a closed 90-minute practice in preparation for today’s second-round game against second-seed Memphis. “Nobody is perfect. But, at the same time, I’m really glad to be coaching Greivis.”
The 6-foot-6 Vasquez averages team-highs of 17.5 points and five assists, is an impossible matchup and makes national headlines. On Feb. 21, his triple-double in an overtime win against North Carolina saved Maryland’s season from an NIT sentence, and, for now at least, got critics off Williams’ case. With 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Vasquez recorded Maryland’s first triple-double in 22 years.
Afterward, Williams said Vasquez ranks near the top of his all-time favorite mentally tough players, along with Juan Dixon and Steve Blake. Williams might have to turn his back, however, when Vasquez opens his mouth in the locker room, which he does with regularity and high decibels.
“It’s got to be important for them as much as it is to me,” Vasquez told the Terrapin Times after Maryland pulled out an early victory over Charlotte with a second-half rally. “I got into some guys (at halftime) and told them I need to win. I’m not trying to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I just want to win.”
If some of the preaching sounds borderline selfish, his teammates insist they do not interpret it that way.
Same for his antics on the court. During Thursday’s 84-71 win over California, Vasquez became particularly animated while once again balancing the bad with the good. He received the usual “air ball” chants after missing everything on a 3-point attempt in the second half, with many of the jeers spewed from Maryland fans.
Maintaining his focus, Vasquez hustled back and stole the ball near midcourt. He drove the lane and was fouled — just before the ball dropped in. Vasquez made the free throw and couldn’t resist rubbing it in. He glanced over at the Terps fans and pressed an index finger on his lips.
“Sometimes people question me and judge me for the way I play,” Vasquez said. “That’s how I get going. I need to use my emotion. I’m going to keep doing it until something bad happens to me, but I don’t think it will.”
His father took him to watch Venezuelan professional basketball games — and he got hooked. Playing college hoops in the U.S. became a goal after Vasquez learned of Charlie Villanueva, who helped Connecticut claim the 2004 national championship.
A victory today would send Maryland to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.
“The biggest thing about playing Memphis is, you can’t be intimidated,” senior forward Dave Neal said.
No chance of that if everybody just follows Vasquez’s lead.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
