What is Maryland Basketball?
by 214ever on Mar 21, 2010 11:22 PM EDT
Email
PrintImpermanence is the idea that life is constantly in flux. Because life is finite it is meaningful. Without flaws, there would be no perfection. Without darkness there is no light.
So here is a bitter sweet list to define Maryland Basketball.
- We don't always recruit 5-Star Talent, so we get all jacked up when we do get one.
- When we do get a 5-Star talent, they disappoint us, which makes us appreciate the talent the Gary develops.
- We lose 4 and 5-star commits, but then we get vindication when they go elsewhere and flounder without the tutelage of Gary Williams. (Terrence Jennings, Lance Stephenson, Gus Gilchrist)
- We've comeback from the depths of the NIT, making our tournament experiences that much sweeter.
- We went from a 1-star 6"6 F (Dave Neal) playing the center position to a 6"10 C in Jordan Williams.
- Len Bias- his death left us thinking how much more pride he could have added to this program?
- Steve Francis - one year wonder, yet he provided so much.
- Wilcox, Dixon, Baxtor, Blake, Mouton, Holden, Randle, Nicholas, Collins - oh how I miss them. Still waiting for the next ones.
- On the other end of the spectrum, we also had Gilchrist, Canar Medley, Travis Garrisson.
- Gary Williams, appreciate him for what he has done and what he is doing.When he is gone, what will the new guy bring to the table? What part of our identity will we lose?
- Greivis Vasquez, flashes of poor decisions and flashes of brilliance. Not a great athlete, but just a great player. He exemplifies UMD basketball.
- UMD Bandwagon - It just feels good to say "What now hatorade drinkers?" and shove these people off the wagon.
- Bad Memories - DJ Strawberry missed put back against Syracuse, Steve Blake's 3 goes in and out at the buzzer against MSU, Mike Jones misses inbounds pass against Butler for a chance at the winning shot, a loss to MSU again at the buzzer with a path to the Elite 8 seemingly wide open in 2010.
- Good Memories - Drew Nicholas running 3 at the buzzer against UNC Willmington in RD 1 - phew! 2 Final Fours, 1 National Championship, countless wins against the best in the country. ACC regular season titles and an ACC tournament Title.
Without flaws there would be no failures, without failures there would be no road to triumph and redemption.
Thanks to all the UMD players that tried their best but fell short. We will make it back to the top one day.
In Gary We Trust.
Anything deemed inappropriate will be deleted by an admin or moderator with the power to do so. The views of the above FanPost do not represent the beliefs of Testudo Times or Testudo Times' authors, nor are they the work of them.
42 comments
|
2 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Wasnt Mike Jones' missed inbounds pass against Butler?
Also, I responded to what you wrote to my comment under the Recovery thread, and found that you completely took me out of context and accused me of being a Gary-basher which in no way was true. It was rather immature to jump to such conclusions. Sorry if Im being harsh.
post of the century...
this is a tough pill to swallow but we are on the rise…
I think that we will see JWill tear up the league next year….if we can get quality pg play out of bowie, howard or stoglin….
and if pankey or padgett emerges….
lots of reasons to hope
Bowies really come on strong
I think he’ll be a great starting PG next year. And once Tucker matures a bit, were geared up for at least a 3rd/4th place finish in the ACC. Maybe not champs like this year, but well be strong.
hard to remember
was it creighton or UNC Willmington? They used it for those at&t commercials.
it was unc wilmington
we have never played creighton in the tourny
by MurlandTerps on Mar 22, 2010 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah I like Bowie.
I would disagree with your statement about Terrence Jennings, LS, and Gus Gilchrist though. Jennings will probably still get drafted. LS will be great next year. Gus Gilchrist would have been on an NCAA tournament team if he was healthy this year with South Florida. They were already pretty good. He is avg a double double I think.
I wouldn’t care about the stars we don’t get if we were at the same time gathering players that were our top choices. Instead, we get players that were our third or last options (Hakur, Peshon, Pankey.)
They were saying something today on sportstalk 980 about how MD has lost the last 3 of 4 tourn. games on the last possession or something like that (MSU, Syracuse, Butler, and MSU again obviously).
perfectly valid
you make a valid point about Gilchrist, but I still think Gary would have done a better job with him had things worked out. Did something happen to Jennings this year? Or is he still waiting his turn? His stats don’t really blow me away.
As for never getting our first choice, a lot of things besides player choice play into it. Such as academics (Terrence Jennings and Terrence Ross).
Losing in the 2nd round each time is tough, I really thought they’d bust through this year. Then when Kansas went down, I was liking our chances even more of advancing even farther. This last one truly was a dagger.
Nice post but, for the older Md alumni we have even more tradition than you give credit.
Don’t forget we have a very rich history of great basketball, and unfortunately some dark years too. We have won championships prior to Gary coming to town. and should embrace those years, for they represent us too. I graduated in 1990 and grew up in Md watching basketball with my brother. We would pretend to be the greats from the 70’s and early 80’s on our back yard court. Unfortunately, I arrived on campus at the absolute worst time to be a Md basketball fan. Lefty was done, and the Bob Wade era began. I went to every home game at Cole. Gary arrived too late for me, but I have loved him ever since. Maybe that is why I appreciate him so much, and got very upset with those that challenged his credentials last year.
A few guys that shouldn’t be left off the list of our “Who we are team”
Coach “Lefty” Driesell, Albert King, Tony Massenberg, Buck Williams, Tom McMillan, Walt Williams, Joe Smith, John Lucas, Keith Booth, Len Elmore, Gene Shue, Derrick Lewis, and many many more….
http://thumbs.imagekind.com/museum/350X350/TEL/JPGS/AE077.jpg
I didn't attend UMCP
But I have been a Terp fan since I started watching college basketball. My grandfather and my father were Terps fans, and even though I took the scholarship $$ to go to UMBC, I’ve always been a Terp at heart.
I remember when Len died, and vividly recall the Bob Wade era. It was not pretty. I’m not sure folks who grew up knowing nothing but Gary Williams basketball have any idea just how horrid the Wade era was. On top of that I’ve always been a Bullets fan — so basketball for me was about rooting for the underdog.
When Gary came back to College Park, everything changed. Except one thing — almost never were the Terps considered the favorites or given their proper respect. And I think Gary thrives on that.
Anybody can coach blue chip one-and-done monsters. Put almost any other coach in the country behind the reins of some of the squads that Gary has coached and I challenge them to play .500 ball.
Guys with average talent but unlimited heart and desire — THAT’s Maryland basketball. To me, anyway.
i'm too young
Sorry if I left out a big part of Maryland’s history. I’m way too young to know about Lefty or Bobby Wade. Maybe I’ll do some research and add to my post.
Thanks for bringing it up.
Right...When Evers Burns is your star on the Hoops Annual poster
…all is not well with the program. Makes it even more amazing what GW did.
how could I leave that out!
Well I was going specific motif, but yes, Cole Field House.
My freshman year was the first year they opened Comcast Center : \
Ugh
I miss that place sometimes
With the 18th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select Florida QB Tim Tebow. (not a RB!)
by John Stephens on Mar 23, 2010 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions
I wish we would have kept it and just renevated it.
There was no place like it…
by MurlandTerps on Mar 23, 2010 9:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Playing soccer in there, while still at UMD, was pretty nostalgic.
With the 18th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select Florida QB Tim Tebow. (not a RB!)
by John Stephens on Mar 23, 2010 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions
at Maryland day?
That’s my favorite part of it every year.
In one game as a freshman at Miami, Wieters hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, then pitched the bottom of the ninth for the save. On that day, the God nickname was bestowed. - Sports Illustrated
by BaltimoreSportsFan on Mar 27, 2010 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I wish I could've seen a game there
I wasn’t a Terp fan until I came to school here, being from Pennsylvania and having PSU alumni as parents, so Comcast is all I have ever known. I had a discussion class in Cole last semester, though.
Great article
It gave me goosebumps recalling some of those memories
With the 18th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select Florida QB Tim Tebow. (not a RB!)
Wow.
Hopefully whoever cut that will update it with the General and company.
Anyone else surprised when you see old footage of Gary and he looks… young? And happy? LOL.
They should REOPEN Cole Field House for a game in the near future.
Kind of like they did in UNC for the NIT opening round. I play soccer in there all the time, but how much trouble could it be to tear up the turf for a week and set up the hardwood? It would totally be worth it…tickets would go for $100 a pop. I never got to experience Cole, but that would be SICK.
Yeah, I've thought of that too
When we get a chance to sit down with Debbie Yow again, I’m going to suggest that/see if it’s an option. Even if it was for the exhibition game to start the year or for midnight madness – that would definitely add a draw to going to either…
I also wonder why MD no longer plays a game up in Baltimore. They use to play a game or two a year up there. I’m going to inquire about that as well…
Awesome.
If they opened up Cole for just the nonconference slate, it would sell out EVERY game and people would pay a whole lot for tickets. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be a consideration/
After all, 10 year anniversary of its closing
is coming up.
I wouldn't want to do anything in First Mariner
I can’t blame them for not wanting to play there, it’s old and not very appeling.
In one game as a freshman at Miami, Wieters hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, then pitched the bottom of the ninth for the save. On that day, the God nickname was bestowed. - Sports Illustrated
by BaltimoreSportsFan on Mar 27, 2010 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions
yah, basically
In one game as a freshman at Miami, Wieters hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, then pitched the bottom of the ninth for the save. On that day, the God nickname was bestowed. - Sports Illustrated
by BaltimoreSportsFan on Mar 28, 2010 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.