Senior guard Greivis Vasquez, who will make his third and final visit to Joel Coliseum when Maryland plays Wake Forest tonight, is one of the best players in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
If you don't believe it, just ask him.
There might not be an opponent in the conference who knows Vasquez better than the Deacons' L.D. Williams, who played AAU basketball with him before the two entered the ACC as freshmen in 2006. They've faced each other five times since, with Maryland winning four of the games.
And Williams will attest that Vasquez, who last season became the first player to lead Maryland in points, rebounds and assists for a season, talks as good a game as he plays.
"He makes tough shots, he makes big plays, and he's in your ear the whole game," Williams said. "He's letting you know what he's doing every time he does something.
"You have to shut him up early, to be honest with you, get a couple of early stops and take away his passing lanes -- because when he's able to create for others, it opens up the lane for himself.
"If you take him out of the game, then you've won a big part of the game."
Shutting up Vasquez hasn't been as easy lately as it was earlier this season. After a slow start, Vasquez has been on enough of a roll to score at least 20 points in the last six games -- five of them wins for the 10-4 Terps. He's averaging 17.6 points, fifth best in the ACC, along with 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists and shooting 43 percent from the floor, 36 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the foul line.
"He was in a slump early in the year," Coach Gary Williams of Maryland said. "He didn't play with the emotion that is necessary for him to be a good player. He's back to playing like he played last year.
"He's a year older, a little bit stronger and a little more experienced. He's having a very good year, and he's important to us, not just because of his scoring. He's a leader and he's a very good defensive player.
"Other guys look to him -- there's no doubt about it -- on our team, and he's been a very effective leader for us this year."
Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest called Vasquez the heartbeat of the Terps.
"I think he is just a terrific player," Gaudio said. "He plays with a lot of emotion and a lot of energy.
"He's a guy that gives his teammates courage."
The game is a tough assignment for Wake Forest, which lost at Miami Saturday night to fall to 11-3 and had a 5 a.m. wake-up call for a commercial flight home. But the Deacons' rigors of the road pale in comparison to those of the Terps, who beat No. 18 Florida State in College Park Sunday night, attended classes Monday morning and flew to Winston-Salem later yesterday.
Three seniors, 6-6 Vasquez, 6-4 Eric Hayes and 6-7 Landon Milbourne started against Florida State, along with 6-4 sophomore Sean Mosley and 6-9 freshman Jordan Williams. Milbourne is averaging 14.6 points and 5.5 rebounds, Mosley is averaging 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, Hayes is averaging 11.7 points and 3.2 assists and Williams is averaging 7.6 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds.
"I think most coaches in our conference, if you have to play with a one-day turnaround, you would rather play on the road first and at home second," Williams said. "But here we are and we have to handle it.
"There's no excuses by the time we get to Wake Forest."
dcollins@wsjournal.com
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Game night
• Teams: Maryland at Wake Forest
• Time: 8 p.m.
• TV/Radio: WMYV Ch. 15; WBRF 98.1; WZTK 101.1
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