Maryland Terrapins Men's Hoops: Still Looking for an Answer

Whenever college basketball season comes around, it is a special time. 

I often think of the great tournament moments, legendary players, and how for one year, the Maryland Terrapins put it all together to win the 2001-'02 National Championship in Atlanta.  Hard to believe that it's been six years ago already.

I can still picture that team simply dominating the competition.

In my mind, Juan Dixon was the most complete guard I've seen at Maryland.  He flat out carried that team to a title, no question. 

Throw in a great point guard in Steve Blake, a ridiculously athletic Chris Wilcox, a banger down low in Lonny Baxter, the consummate role player in Byron Mouton, and Drew Nicholas, Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle off the bench, it was one of the better title teams that never gets complete credit. 

That probably can be attributed to the fact that they beat a decent (not great by any means) Indiana team lead by Tom Coverdale, Kyle Hornsby, and Jared Jeffries.  Still, it was Maryland's ship to sail that season, and Gary Williams sweated right through all of his suit jackets to help the Terps cut down the nets. 

But, since 2002, Maryland has largely been viewed as the team that is right on the cuff, but cannot kick it into the next gear like they did in that magical season. 

Guys like John Gilchrist, Travis Garrison, Ekene Ibekwe, Mike Jones, D.J. Strawberry were all very good college players at one time or another.  However, they just did not possess that killer instinct that drove the 2002 team.  

Two second-round exits, two NITs, and two tournament no-shows later, the Maryland faithful are getting antsy wondering when (or whether) another championship banner will be hoisted to the rafters at the Comcast Center. 

There are a variety of reasons as to why the Terps have been largely unsuccessful in getting back to the Promised Land.

First, there has been staunch criticism that Gary Williams has been unable to get prized recruits from the DC-Metro area.  I would say that has some validity. 

Look at the last few seasons:  Marcus Ginyard, Brian Johnson, Kevin Durant, Chris Wright, and Michael Beasley among many others. 

Durant and Beasley were both first-team All-Americans as freshmen, Ginyard just played in the Final Four, and countless others have made significant contributions wherever they have gone.  I'll say that I certainly wouldn't have minded seeing Durant or Beasley in Maryland colors.

Second, basketball pundits have criticized Maryland's man-to-man defense, which used to be among the best in the nation, and has slipped a bit over the last few years.  Their scoring defense has risen from 66.7 to 69.8 over the past five seasons, which isn't an incredible amount. 

But, I think all Maryland fans will point to the absolute collapses early on against Ohio and American, and the final daggers against Clemson, Virginia, BC and Syracuse in the NIT to conclude the season. 

The defense became non-existent at the worst possible times.  Statistically, it does not tell the entire story.  Watching this team since the title, I keep thinking that they will get it together and make another magical run.

2007 seemingly had the look of that scenario.  A team that started 3-5 in ACC play rallied for seven straight victories to conclude the regular season and finish with a 24-7 record. 

However, as good as that team was with Strawberry, Jones, Ibekwe, Gist, and a lesser used Bambale Osby, the buildup they created went to the crapper in the first round of the ACC tourney with a 67-62 loss to lowly Miami.  Even though an NCAA bid was imminent, it would not delay the inevitable.

They barely withstood upstart Davidson and freshman Stephen Curry's 30 points to win 82-70 in round one, but a rugged Butler team awaited in round two.  They were down.  They came back.  They had numerous chances to take control.  But, it just wasn't there.  Butler won 62-59.  

It has been supremely frustrating trying to make all of this make sense.  You see the talent, you see the ability.  But you don't see the mental toughness.  You don't see them take it to the next level when they need to do it most.  We, as Maryland fans, have been given a reason to hope every year. 

Gary will keep sweating and keep trying to recruit the players that will form his next title team. 

It's not that Gary isn't a winner.  He's won everywhere: American, BC, Ohio St. and now Maryland, his alma mater. 

But it gets to the point when 19 wins a season isn't enough to satisfy a fan base that expects, rather, demands, more than that.  There's too much passion and conviction in the way Gary coaches for him to not field a tremendous team every year and be a serious contender for the National Championship.  

But, when you look over your shoulder, and see teams like Virginia Tech, Miami, and BC (that can't match you talent wise) beat you convincingly, you know that you aren't playing the same brand of basketball, and the time has come to get it back.  Now is better than later.