One advantage of sitting on the court is hearing every single word the players say to each other. And when you hear them talking, you cannot believe some of the things you hear. It wasn't hard to believe that with Maryland's communication and teamwork on the court, they came out with a triumphant 80-63 win.
"Robert, pass the ball here," Jake Layman will signal his teammate, Robert Carter Jr., simply by his first name.
"Come on D," the players will refer to Damonte Dodd by the most prominent letter in his name.
And you can hear the players all working together and utilizing what they use in practice.
"Michal, motion, motion!" Melo Trimble will tell Cekovsky.
"To the hoop, to the hoop, great job," the coaches will praise the players when they warm up.
"Keep the motion," Mark Turgeon will say to his players. He is rarely sitting down.
This is how coaching is supposed to be. You can see that this staff cares so much about the players, and that the players care about everyone just the same. It is amazing to see this on the court; they all have a common bond and it makes the team so much stronger.
When they all huddle, Varun Ram will literally be at Michal Cekovsky's hip, but they all hold each other and include each other in the team huddle. And when they play, they let each other make mistakes. They let each other have the ball and they don't get mad when someone ignores them.
My favorite player of the night was Jared Nickens, whose 3-pointers were critical in Maryland's win. He kept sinking point after point and I never saw a smile leave his face. He's an impressive young player who was surely Maryland's best non-starter.
Overall, it's been exciting watching this team, and I can't wait for the rest of the season. Shoutout to my mom and sister for coming to their first Terp games. Shouts to Ram for always keeping a smile on his face.