Actually, LaQuan Williams is, too; he's on the injured reserve for the Ravens, unfortunately, but the Ring don't distinguish.
Congrats to all the Ravens fans out there, of which I know there are plenty around these parts. And congrats especially to Torrey, who's one of my favorite all-time Terrapins, easily my favorite of the latter half of the Ralph Friedgen era. He had a quiet game, but he was instrumental in getting Baltimore there in the first place. I couldn't think of a more deserving alum, particularly because he is indeed an alum.
(Ray Lewis is a UMUC grad, too. But that's different.)
Anyway, for those among us of a more Washingtonian persuasion, here's hoping Josh Wilson and Madieu Williams get theirs next year.
Now: basketball!
Morning review: Maryland’s offense finally fed off post play
I was considering making this a full post, but we'll try it as a link for now. Fans are pretty impatient at this point when it comes to Maryland finally settling in on their identity, so there's going to be a rush to proclaim that the Terps have finally figured out that they can dominate most of the conference on the interior. That's where the entire offensive outburst against Wake Forest came from, after all: effective play in the post freed up outside shooters, so Maryland had multiple places to get buckets, plus the individual success of Dez Wells and Nick Faust slashing to the rim or (in Wells' case) hitting from mid-range. That requires one of Jake Layman or Logan Aronhalt (maybe Seth Allen, but he's more disruptive) to be on the floor at all times, but it's a balanced offensive attack.
Thing is...it was Wake Forest. They don't have the size to stay with Maryland in the interior, they didn't have the individual perimeter defenders to stymie the Terrapins' ballhandlers, and they were poorly coached to boot. Doing this against Wake Forest at home is very different than doing it on the road against Virginia.
That said, I can't help but wonder if this will have an impact when it comes to getting them a step closer. One of the big things when it comes to execution is belief: the players have to have faith in what they're doing. It'll not only lead to greater effectiveness, but it also means that they'll look to stick to the plan and get the ball into the post, which is something Maryland's done inconsistently at best this year. Seeing it dismantle an ACC foe - Wake Forest, sure, but an ACC foe nonetheless - has hopefully opened the eyes of a few guys.
Lunardi's latest bracketology: Terps in next four out
That's pretty fair and is about where I'd expect them to be if the tournament was today. They have quite a lot of ground to make up given what the rest of their schedule looks like, but if they can close out strong there are going to be some interesting discussions on the selection committee. Unless they more or less win out from here, showing up in the ACC Tournament is going to be critical.
Everyone employed by Rivals apparently thinks Ngakoue will be a Terrapin
I don't know if I care that much about these types of predictions, given their pretty middling success rate, but a clean sweep is promising indeed, and most people seem confident that he'll end up in College Park. What a coup that would be; Maryland needs a pass-rusher at the WILL now-ish, and Ngakoue could be that right from the off. Not to mention that landing Ngakoue and Gray would send a message to D.C. locals and give Maryland even more of a foothold at Friendship Collegiate.
In a way, Friendship fits Mike Locksley and Maryland as a pipeline much more than Good Counsel. Kids from Friendship are usually transfers from other publics for transcript help (like Gray) or they come up through FCA (like Jalen Tabor). In both cases, that means little in the way of facilities, hype, or any of the trappings that come at traditional WCAC powerhouses. That rougher football background means some of those kids are going to be more receptive to the less glamorous dirty work that is staying at home at Maryland. Which isn't to say it's not appealing to WCAC kids, too - after all, Wes Brown and Stefon Diggs are here - but that was a complicated relationship game, which isn't always going to work. (See: Fuller, Kendall; O'Daniel, Dorian.) Building up a strong tradition of kids going to Maryland at any WCAC school was always going to be unlikely. At FCA, Maryland's got more of a shot.
WBB: Tiana Hawkins and Alyssa Thomas go for 50, Terps win 10th straight
Poor, poor Boston College. Maryland's looked mighty good since losing to UNC in Chapel Hill back in early January.