Maryland Men's Basketball To Hold Open Practice For Students Wednesday
10/25/2004 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 25, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Head coach Gary Williams and the Terrapin men's basketball team invite all University of Maryland students to an open practice on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Comcast Center at 7 p.m. Arena doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the first 1,000 students to arrive will take home new "GARYLAND" t-shirts.
Maryland students will have the chance to watch the 2004-05 Terrapins practice and scrimmage, meet Coach Williams and tour the locker room and training facilities at Comcast Center.
"This is a chance for our students to get an early, up-close preview of our team," said Williams, who is in his 16th season directing his alma mater's men's basketball program. "Our student-fans are an important part of our success, and I look forward to speaking with our students after the scrimmage."
On Saturday, Oct. 30, fans of all ages are invited to attend an open Red/White scrimmage at noon at Comcast Center. Fans can check out the Terps before heading to the Maryland-Florida State football game, where the men's basketball team will be honored at halftime for capturing the 2004 ACC championship. Fans without football parking passes will need to pay $8 for admission to the Comcast parking lots.
Last March, Williams led his Terrapins to their first ACC Tournament title since 1984. The Terrapins became one of only three teams in ACC Tournament history to knock off the top three seeds when they downed No. 3 Wake Forest (87-86), No. 2 NC State (85-82) and No. 1 Duke (95-87 (ot) en route to an automatic bid and No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps reached the Second Round and finished the season with a 20-12 record.
The 2004-05 Terrapins return 11 letterwinners and four starters from what was statistically the youngest team in the nation in 2003-04. ACC Tournament MVP John Gilchrist, who led the Terps in scoring, assists and steals a season ago, has been named to the preseason Wooden Award Watch List and Dick Vitale's All Rolls Royce Team. Sharpshooter and tenacious defender Chris McCray returns to round out one of the nation's top backcourts, while versatile Nik Caner-Medley and powerful big man Travis Garrison return in the post. All four of Maryland's returning starters put forth standout performances as the Terps took a 12-day tour of Italy in August.
The Terrapins, who finished the 2003-04 season ranked No. 19/24 in the polls, have earned preseason rankings spanning from 8th to 20th in the nation. The latest Dick Vitale ESPN.com preseason rankings placed the Terrapins at No. 7 in the nation.
