Head Coach: Gary Williams: @ Maryland: 295-153, 15th season; Overall: 502-281, 26th year. National Championship: 1 (2002); Final Fours: 2
2002-03 Record: 21-10 overall; 11-5 ACC (2nd)
Players to watch -- Freshman guard Mike Jones is a prolific scorer in the mold of past Terp role scorers like Juan Dixon and Steve Francis. And remember Darryl Strawberry? His son D.J. is now a freshman baller in College Park.
Forgive Maryland senior Jamar Smith if he seems like the kid at the party who just awoke to the realization that all his friends were gone, and in their place were the cops, who were wondering what exactly was going on here.
Or perhaps Smith is like the kid whose favorite professional team moved away in the middle of the night and is then forced to root for the new expansion team in town.
Whatever analogy fits best, one thing is clear: the old familar faces of Maryland basketball are gone--Steve Blake, Tajh Holden, Ryan Randle and Drew Nicholas--and Smith must take over a very young Terrapins team comprised of five freshmen, four sophmores, three juniors and Smith.
Smith, the 6-foot-9 forward who transfered from Aleghany Community College two years ago, is now a veteran. And in the words of coach Gary Williams, Smith must step up this year.
It is a daunting task for a player who averaged only 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds--good enough to be tops among returning players--especially when his ascension to team leader has more to do with process of elimination than with anything else.
Nevertheless, to a certain degree, the Terps will be hard-pressed to succeed without substantial, positive leadership from Smith, Williams said.
"For us to be good this year, he has to provide some inside scoring," Williams said. "That's one of the things when I look at our team; we've lost some really good inside players the last couple years. Jamar has to step up and give us a threat where we can score inside. A couple of our young guys do too, but I would think Jamar is in more a of a poisition to do that with his experience than a freshman."
For his part, the reserved Smith appears to have already made the decision to shoulder the extra responsibilty without complaint.
"Taking on a leadership role is just something I had to do," Smith said. "Being the only senior, with basically just young guys on the team, I gotta go out there and lead by example by playing hard and keeping my head on straight."
And while the theme at Maryland this year seems to be a trend toward the unusual, one constant will remain--talent. The Terps' talent might be young, but it is certainly present, especially in its freshmen class.
Freshmen forward Ekene Ibekwe, a 6-foot-9 forward, and 6-foot-5 guard Mike Jones, will see substantial playing time this year and could start. In addition, guard D.J. Strawberry, son of former major league baseball player Darryl Strawberry, should provide Williams with depth in the backcourt, or at the very least, an extra media buzz wherever he goes.
Freshmen centers Wil Bowers and Hassan Fofana, both near 7-footers, appear to be projects at this time.
Sophomore John Gilchrist is the only lock in the starting lineup at this point, according to Williams. He will run the point while sophomore Chris McCray will contend with Jones at shooting guard.
All in all, it will be an atypical season for the Terps, with an ungrizzled senior leading them and underclassmen poised to be the team's backbone.
"We are just trying to win as many games as possible and get to the national championship," Smith said. "Lower expectations this year? It doesn't bother me. It just motivates me. The people that count us out are going to be the same people at the end of the season who are going to try to interview us, saying how great our season was."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.