Nov. 1, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Putting two weeks of practices and intrasquad scrimmages behind them, the Maryland Terrapins open their 2001-02 college basketball season on Friday evening, Nov. 2, when they host a touring exhibition team sponsored by EA SPORTS.
A collection of former college all-stars, the EA SPORTS All-Stars (formerly the California All-Stars) visit Cole Field House for the third straight season. Tipoff is 8 p.m. at Maryland's Cole Field House. Tickets are still available.
The Terrapins open the exhibition campaign just eight days before opening the college basketball regular season for the nation. Maryland - joining Arizona, Florida and Temple at the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic next week at Madison Square Garden in New York City - opens the college basketball campaign in a battle of teams from last year's Final Four. Florida and Temple open the IKON Classic at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Terps and the NCAA runner-up Arizona at 9 p.m. Both opening night games will be televised on ESPN2.
This Friday, however, Maryland tunes up for next week's regular season opener by hosting an all-star team which includes former NBA players Scott Brooks and Will Cunningham, and former Virginia star Curtis Staples. Brooks, a 6-0 guard out of UC Irvine who doubles as the team's assistant coach, played with seven teams through 11 NBA seasons. After beginning his career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1988, he later won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and ended his career with the Los Angeles Clippers in 1998. Cunningham spent a brief career with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets.
EA SPORTS plays Maryland as the second game of a 13-game schedule of college exhbition games. The all-stars play their opener on Thursday, Nov. 1 at Old Dominion.
Against EA SPORTS, Maryland head coach Gary Williams will put four returning starters on the floor, and seven of the team's top nine scorers from the 2001 Terrapin team that finished 25-11 with the country's No. 4 ranking by USA Today/ESPN. That final ranking matched the highest in school history, and accented Maryland's first-ever trip to the national semifinals.
Back are scoring and steals leader Juan Dixon, who has been ranked by preseason publications as the nation's best shooting guard, and rebounding leader Lonny Baxter, who has been similarly ranked as the nation's top center. Both have been nominated for the second straight season as candidates for the Wooden and Naismith national player of the year awards. Joining the Baxter-Dixon duo are returning point guard Steve Blake, a junior, and senior forward Byron Mouton. Other regular contributors include versatile guard Drew Nicholas, and power forwards Tahj Holden and Chris Wilcox who will vie for the vacated starting position left by Terence Morris' departure to the NBA.
All Maryland basketball games can be heard live on the Maryland/Learfield radio network, anchored by flagship stations WBAL (AM 1090) in Baltimore, and WMAL (AM 630) in Washington. Veteran play-by-play voice Johnny Holliday calls the action, beginning with the Maryland pregame show 20 minutes prior to tipoff.
