Morris Named Preseason ACC Basketball Player Of The Year By Lindy's
9/28/1999 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 28, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Junior forward Terence Morris (Frederick, Md.) of the University of Maryland, who is the choice as the best player in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has been named the preseason ACC Player of the Year and is an All-ACC first-team selection in Lindy's College Basketball Preview magazine.
"Maryland should continue to be a force," the magazine says in its preview. "Gary Williams has Terence Morris, who may well be the best player in the ACC. Morris (6-9) can play inside or out and averaged 15.3 points and 7.1 rebounds last year."
Morris was an All-ACC first-team selection and is the only returning All-ACC first team player for the 1999-2000 season.
Morris became only the fourth sophomore in school history to earn All-ACC first-team honors and finished fifth in the voting for ACC Player of the Year in 1999. He is among the most versatile players in the ACC and was the only conference player to finish among the league's top 10 in field-goal percentage (third), blocked shots (third), free-throw percentage (fourth), rebounds (eighth), scoring (10th) and steals (10th) during the 1998-99 season. He was an all-tournament team selection at the Puerto Rico Shootout, as he averaged 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and shot 70.8 percent from the field (17 of 24). In addition, Morris enters his junior season ranked sixth all-time at Maryland in blocked shots (106) and seventh in field goal shooting percentage (.542).
Morris needs only 243 points to become the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Only 14 players in school history have reached the 1,000-point plateau during or before their junior seasons.
Baxter, who started 10 of the final 11 games of the season, averaged 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 32 games as a freshman. He earned honorable mention All-ACC freshman team honors and led the Terps in field goal shooting percentage with a .599 mark. Baxter's field goal shooting percentage ranks as the eighth-highest single-season field goal percentage in school history and the second highest by a Maryland freshman.
Baxter established a school record by making a perfect 10-of-10 shots from the field against North Texas on Dec. 23, 1998. He scored a career-high 28 points in the game. Baxter's perfect percentage (1.000) tied head coach Gary Williams, among others. Williams was a perfect eight-of-eight against South Carolina on Dec. 10, 1966.
Maryland begins practice on Oct. 16 and opens its season Nov. 17 as it plays host to San Francisco in the first round of the Preseason NIT.
