COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When the lights went down on October 17 at the 2003 Midnight Madness celebration, a new era of Maryland basketball officially began as the next generation of Terrapins took the floor.

Over the last 14 seasons, head coach Gary Williams has worked to resurrect the basketball program at his alma mater and restore it to a position among the nation's elite. By the 1993-94 postseason, it became evident that Williams' labors were beginning to bear fruit, as the Terrapins earned what would be the first of 10 straight invitations to the NCAA Tournament. The ensuing decade of dominance would include eight 20-win seasons, 10 finishes in the upper-echelon of the always-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, seven trips to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, a pair of Final Four showings in 2001 and 2002, and the program's first-ever national championship.

How difficult is it to achieve such success? During the Terrapins' 10-year run to the apex of college basketball, only two schools other than Maryland have appeared in each of 10 NCAA Tournaments, captured a national title and reached the Sweet Sixteen as many times. Consider the fact that Williams and the Terrapin program had to overcome inherited NCAA sanctions in their earliest seasons to achieve such triumphs, and it becomes evident what a storybook journey the previous decade has been for every Maryland player, alumnus and fan.

A season ago, only one year removed from Maryland's ultimate victory on that Monday night in Atlanta, Williams guided an experienced but mostly unproven squad to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Having to face all of the pressures and challenges of defending a NCAA title - having to take every team's best shot every time they took the floor - the Terrapins followed their 2002 national championship with a seventh-straight 20-win season and their fourth Top 10 final ranking in the last five years.

Now, as the new season begins and the new era dawns, the Terrapins welcome an incoming class of five highly-acclaimed newcomers to join what was a sensational group of rookies a year ago and a pair of juniors whose three years of experience includes the 2002 championship run. Senior Jamar Smith, coming off a solid junior-transfer campaign, along with hard-working juniors Andre Collins and Mike Grinnon, represent the lone upperclassmen on a young team full of limitless potential. Developing and meshing the 2003-04 crop of Terp rookies with the existing talented core of players will be the latest challenge for Williams and his coaching staff.

"This is our youngest team in probably four or five years, but that doesn't mean it can't be a good team. We have talented people and freshmen and sophomores who are ready to play," said Williams. "I think a lot will depend on how hard we are willing to work from the first day of practice right through until the end of the season. This team has a chance to improve greatly from the middle of October to January 1. We could be a really different team in terms of our ability by then."

The Terrapins' 2003-04 recruiting class, a consensus Top 10 group that has been rated as high as No. 2 in the nation, brings five fresh faces to a team that is set to continue the winning tradition that has been established in College Park. The standard has been set, and an excitement is building in Comcast Center that can only be associated with a new-look squad full of unlimited potential and possibilities.

One decade of dominance has come to commencement; it is time for another to begin.

BREAKDOWN: Guard
With players like Juan Dixon, Drew Nicholas and Steve Blake filling the guard positions for the past several seasons, the Maryland backcourt has been among the most talented and triumphant in college basketball. The Terrapins will certainly have a different look at the guard spots for 2003-04, but the development of the younger players at these positions could ensure success for this year and seasons to come.

Replacing a four-year starter like Blake will be a definite challenge, but it is one that sophomore John Gilchrist can handle. A tough, physical athlete at the point, Gilchrist was able to showcase his playmaking abilities and his flair for competition as Blake's primary back up last season. As a freshman, Gilchrist was third on the team in assists only to Blake and Nicholas, shot at a .588 clip from the floor, and seemed to excel in the most pressure-packed situations.

"John was probably as good as any freshman guard in the ACC last year," said Williams. "He gave us some very valuable minutes, and with his strength and determination, he is a very effective point guard."

Andre Collins, whose three years in the Maryland program put him among the most experienced players on the team, came on strong at the end of last season and played valuable minutes during conference play and in the NCAA Tournament. He will be a major factor at the point as well.

Depth will be one of Maryland's stronger assets in the upcoming season, and nowhere are the Terps deeper than at shooting guard. Sophomore Chris McCray, a natural shooter with the potential to be a big-time scorer, will certainly see significant minutes. McCray played in 24 games as a freshman and averaged 3.1 points per game.

Freshmen Mike Jones and D.J. Strawberry also stand to play major roles at the two-guard spot as well. Jones, a McDonald's and Parade All-American, has been rated as high as the No. 2 shooting-guard prospect in the country only behind NBA No. 1 draft pick LeBron James. Jones' elite combination of athleticism with a shooter's touch and stalwart work ethic should make the rookie an immediate contributor.

Said Williams, "Mike strength-wise is ready to play college basketball. He is very quick, very powerful off the floor and he is an outstanding 3-point shooter."

Strawberry, an outstanding defender and passer from the nationally renowned Mater Dei High School program in Santa Ana, Calif., possesses the versatility, athleticism and intangibles to contribute immediately for the Terps.

BREAKDOWN: Small Forward
Last season's questions about the position of small forward were answered by the emergence of senior Calvin McCall and freshman Nik Caner-Medley. Caner-Medley started 18 games as a freshman, becoming the first rookie to make a regular appearance in the Terps' starting lineup since Blake in 1999. The 6-foot-8 sophomore from Portland, Maine, averaged 5.9 points per game as a freshman and is fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered in the Terps' Sweet Sixteen game against Michigan State.

"Nik had a very good freshman year," said Williams. "He started quite a few games and showed great potential. We're looking forward for Nik to have an outstanding sophomore year."

Junior Mike Grinnon, who came to Maryland as a pure shooter three years ago, has continued to develop his game and put in a tremendous effort in the weight room this offseason. The 6-foot-6 Grinnon has bulked up to an impressive 211 pounds and will work for playing time at small forward.

BREAKDOWN: Power Forward/Center
The Terrapins have boasted one of the deepest and strongest frontcourts in the nation during their recent era of success, and look to continue that trend with the addition of three newcomers to a pair of emerging second-year talents in Smith and Travis Garrison.

As the only senior on the squad, Smith will be counted on to not only provide impressive numbers at the power forward and center positions, but upperclassman leadership as well. Smith averaged 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds in 2002-03 after transferring to Maryland from Allegany Community College.

"I thought Jamar had a good year his transfer year from junior college," commented Williams. "Now he has to step up to be a leader as a senior, and continue to improve his game."

Garrison, a sophomore, will be counted upon to log important minutes in the post as well. The powerful but soft-shooting Garrison has worked diligently on improving his inside game during the summer months after averaging 4.0 points per game as a freshman and finishing the season as one of the ACC's premier rookie shot-blockers.

Junior walk-on Darien Henry will continue to help the Terrapins in practice and vie for playing time. His stalwart work ethic earned him minutes in nine of the Terps' contests in 2002-03, and he made the most of his time, scoring in 56 percent of his games played.

The Terrapins have a rare combination of size and athleticism in each of their highly-regarded freshman post players: Ekene Ibekwe, Hassan Fofana and Will Bowers. These players give Williams the coveted depth in the post position that Maryland has relied upon for success.

Ibekwe, a Top 10 prospect at power forward, is a long, lean dynamic athlete who can hit from the outside, slash to the basket or score from the post. The Parade All-American is an outstanding finisher and shot-blocker as well.

"Ekene is a 6-9 player who is very quick and is an outstanding outside shooter with a very good inside game," said Williams. "It is going to be interesting to watch Ekene compete and see where he fits in this year, because he has outstanding talent."

A 6-10, 290 pound forward/center, Fofana provides an imposing paint presence for the Terps with surprisingly quick feet for a player his size. Born in Guinea on the West Coast of Africa, Fofana was a youth soccer player before coming to the U.S. for high school and prep school. The Top 10 center played last season at Hargrave Military Academy, as teammate Andre Collins and former Terrapin Lonny Baxter had before.

Bowers, a 7-1, 245-pounder from Archbishop Spalding High School outside of Baltimore, is also a formidable athlete at center. A Top 20 recruit, Bowers is a talented post man with a shooter's touch.

The Schedule
The Maryland men's basketball team opens what will be a competitive schedule for its youthful squad when the American University Eagles visit Comcast Center on Saturday, Nov. 22. Maryland's matchup with the local team is included among 18 events at the $125-million, state-of-the-art Comcast Center, now in its second season as the home of the Terrapins.

Also for the second-straight season, each of Maryland's exhibition and regular-season games are scheduled to be aired on live television, with at least 14 contests to be aired nationally.

"I think we play a competitive schedule, and our early schedule will help us prepare for the ACC regular season," said Williams. "It will be interesting to see how our younger players accept the challenge of playing this level of competition."

After contests against 2001 NCAA opponent George Mason and Hofstra in the midst of a four-game homestand to open the season, the Terps begin a challenging non-conference stretch with two-time defending regular-season Big Ten champion Wisconsin as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Dec. 2, ESPN2). The Terrapins take on the No. 14 Badgers, who are tabbed as high as No. 16 in one preseason ranking, for the third time in four seasons.

Maryland faces preseason No. 12 Gonzaga in the first round of the 2003 BB&T Classic, meeting the Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 6 at MCI Center in Washington, D.C. West Virginia joins the Terps, Bulldogs and George Washington Colonials in the eighth annual event. The consolation and championship games are scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 7.

The Terps make their first official road trip of the season when they meet preseason No. 8 Florida at the Gators' O'Connell Center (Dec. 10, ESPN). It will mark Maryland's first ever trip to Gainesville after a hotly-contested matchup in College Park last season.

Maryland returns home for pre-Christmas tilts with Pepperdine (Dec. 14) and UNC Greensboro (Dec. 23) before beginning its Atlantic Coast Conference slate with a trip to Tallahassee to meet Florida State. The Terrapins face the Seminoles on Dec. 28 in a nationally televised game on FOX Sports Net.

The Terps then return to College Park for a three-game homestand, beginning with in-state squads Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 3) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (Jan. 6) before resuming their ACC schedule with North Carolina, Jan. 14 on ESPN.

In all, the Terrapins play 15 games against teams that participated in postseason tournaments a year ago (NCAA - Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Florida, Duke, Wake Forest and NC State; NIT - North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia). Additionally, Maryland plays nine games against teams ranked in the 2003 USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches poll, including No. 2 Duke (Jan. 21, Comcast Center, ESPN; Feb. 22, Cameron Indoor Stadium, CBS).

Maryland's final regular-season game of the year will be played against regional-rival Virginia in a FOX Sports Net Sunday night national telecast on March 7 at Comcast Center.

A New Season
As the 2003-04 season begins, new challenges will be overcome and struggles will be met every day. The Terrapins will not be rebuilding, but reloading for success.

"For me personally, it's a great challenge - a different challenge than it has been for the past few years," said Williams. "In the last few years, we have had to prove that we were as good as people thought we should be, and that is a great deal of pressure. I like this kind of pressure where we are just trying to see how good we can be. If we're all willing to go into this with the idea that we are going to become a good basketball team this year, I believe we will be. I don't believe in rebuilding years, I believe in trying to see how good you can be each year, and that is what is important."