I think Mike Wilbon's column in today's Post sums it up much better than I could, and I agree 100% with his assessment. Yes, a disappointing year, perhaps the most disappointing in the entire nation. But they'll be back. The players are still talented, the coach is still one of the best in the business.
I t will be weird filling out a pool bracket without my alma mater in the field, just because I've never experienced that before. I started following college basketball my senior year in high school, when I was choosing which college to attend and before I realized why the teamfromDurham was a four-letter word. Maryland was making the first of those 11 consecutive tournament experiences, and it was a big deal throughout the state. Joe Smith came out of nowhere as a freshman, Maryland was on the map early in the season with a big win over John Thompson's Hoyas, and in the tournament they shocked the 2-seed UMass (w/Marcus Camby) before losing a tough game to 3-seed Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen (I vividly recall Juwan Howard, in his last year at Michigan, whining to the refs on every call against him in that game). I don't think anyone could have guessed that it was the beginning of over a decade of solid-to-spectacular Maryland teams that would reach two Final Fours, win a National Title, and win the ACC Tournament.
They'll be back next year, and it sounds like Gilchrist will be back too. Hopefully he'll decide to come back as part of the team. With or without #11 though, there's no reason the Terps can't have a very good season.
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