The guy who deferred to Greivis Vasquez, Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes a year ago still exists a bit. After all, Sean Mosley can't take every shot for Maryland.

But he's going to take his share, and it seems possible the sophomore will make the most substantial scoring leap of anyone on the Terrapins' roster this season.

"I feel a lot [more] comfortable," Mosley said yesterday. "I feel I can get open shots where I normally get them. Last year, I passed up a lot of open shots and this year I'm taking the shots."

It comes with the blessing of coach Gary Williams, who believes Mosley's finish to last season coupled with a near-permanent spot in the gym in College Park this summer has earned the Baltimore native a chance to shoot more.

That would be more in keeping with Mosley's high school reputation. He entered Maryland as the state's No. 2 career scorer in high school, but there were only sporadic signs of his offensive potential.

Mosley reached double figures in six games. Despite starting for the final half of the season, Mosley averaged less than five shots a night.

"He's going to be a key factor for us in the starting lineup, even though we don't know who's going to start," Vasquez said. "Sean has to realize that we need him big time, offensive and defensively. We need sean to score some points."

It could happen. Maryland could use a steady scorer to complement Vasquez, rather than simply hope Hayes or Adrian Bowie or Cliff Tucker can go off on a given night.

Mosley, who made much of his living in high school in the paint, might be the second backcourt scorer the Terps need to make a deep run into March.

"In high school, I always had the ball," Mosley said. "I was the go-to guy and shot the ball and had the green light. Here, it's kind of different because you have Landon, Greivis, Eric, those type of guys who can score. I was just trying to fit in where I could. I think I did a great job of doing that. This year, if I can add some points to the team, I think it will help the team out a lot."

--- Patrick Stevens

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