Greivis Vasquez has been the ACC player of the year for a long time

Most of the talk about last night's performance by Greivis Vasquez centered around not only Maryland's surge to the top of the ACC, but Vasquez' surge to the top of the ACC player of the year ballot.

And to be fair, it was deserved.

Jon Scheyer and Vasquez are without question the two favorites for the award. Both play the role of leading scorer, both handle the point guard duties, and both are instrumental in what their team wants to do on the offensive end.

With the two talented seniors so close in the eyes of most media members, it only made sense that whoever played better would garner the majority of the attention.

Vasquez won that battle.

He outscored Scheyer 20 to 19. He had more assists (5) than Scheyer (2). Duke went up 63-60, capping a 14-6 run late in the second half, but it was Vasquez who hit the three to answer and Vasquez whose short jumper put Maryland back ahead 67-65. It was Vasquez who hit the most important, and toughest, shot of the night to give Maryland a 73-69 lead with under 40 seconds left. And it was the block by Vasquez on Scheyer's attempt to answer that sealed the win.



There's a term you will hear so-called basketball experts throw around called a "shot maker". A "shot maker" is a guy that doesn't necessarily need a play called for him, he can create his own. He's a guy that also doesn't necessarily take the smartest shot -- the highest percentage shot -- all the time. "Shot makers" aren't always the most fundamentally sound players.

But a "shot maker" does exactly that.

Greivis Vasquez is a shot maker.

The shot he hit (over Scheyer none-the-less) is not a play that a coach would draw up in the huddle. He avoids using the ball screen set for him. He dribbles across the lane and takes off of one foot heading away from the basket. He squares his shoulders while in the air and shoots a one-handed runner fading away from the rim.

That is pretty much the opposite of the way any player is taught to shoot a ball.

Greivis Vasquez celebrates with Maryland students after they RTC'd/STF'd.
(photo credit: Nick Wass/AP)

But the shot went in, and in the end that is all that matters.

"He didn't see anything wrong with it," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said after the game. "I'm with him."

And while that shot may have been the epitome of Greivis Vasquez, what Vasquez provides this Maryland team is so much more than the ability to take and make a tough shot in crunch time during March.

Vasquez is by far the best playmaker on this team. As much as he shoots and scores, Vasquez really is an unselfish player. Last night was a perfect example. He was leading a break and had a chance to get a relatively easy bucket with Scheyer back, but instead dropped it off the Williams for what turned into a Sportscenter top 10 play.

There is not a player in the ACC that is more instrumental in what his team does than Vasquez. It is rare that a Maryland possession on the offensive end does not run through Vasquez. Maryland has some good role players on their roster. Eric Hayes is a heady guard that is a knock down shooter. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne are tough, scrappy kids that play bigger than they are. Jordan Williams is a year or two away from being a Lonny Baxter-like presence on the block.

There is some talent on this team.

But think about where they would be without Vasquez.

Maryland was an ACC afterthought in the preseason. After the win last night, they are now tied with Duke for first place in the conference. Vasquez leads the conference in assists and is second in scoring. He's the Terps offensive focal point and emotional leader.

Anyone that thinks he won the ACC player of the year award last night hasn't been paying attention.