COLLEGE PARK, MD – One of the great Terp legends Adrian Branch and longtime Maryland basketball analyst and former American head coach Chris Knoche were inducted to into Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at Congressional Country Club on Sunday morning.
 
The pair joined Thurl Bailey, Frank Bolden, James Brown, Donald Huff, Johnny Jones, Stacey Robinson, Penny Toler, and Tony Upson as the Class of 2024.
 
Branch played at Maryland from 1981-85 and finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer (currently fifth all-time). He scored 2,017 career points for the Terps averaging 16.4 over his four years. As a sophomore and senior, he averaged over 18 points a game. His 671 points in 1984-85 rank as the eighth-most for a single-season in program history. 
 
He had the winning shot against #1 ranked Virginia and College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and, in 1984, led the Terrapins to the ACC Championship. Branch was a two-time All-ACC selection. He led Maryland to 49 victories between his junior and senior campaigns and back-to-back trips to the NCAA Sweet 16. In 2004, Branch was honored at the ACC Tournament as an "ACC Legend" and was inducted into the Maryland Hall of Fame in 2018.
 
Branch was drafted into the NBA in the second round by the Chicago Bulls in 1985 and played a reserve role on the Lakers NBA Championship team in 1987. He later played professionally in Australia, Spain, France, Monaco, Thailand, Philippines, Israel, Turkey and Dominican Republic. He became a TV analyst for the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004 and later joined ESPN in 2007 as a college basketball analyst. A versatile 6'8" player who could play four positions on the court, Branch had unbridled confidence and an aptitude for spectacular basketball plays! Before college, he was named All-Metro twice, in 1980 & 81 while playing for DeMatha HS, selected by Parade magazine as a High School All-American, and chosen as the McDonald's All-Star MVP (over Michael Jordan).
 
Branch was a cornerstone of the outstanding Maryland teams in the mid 1980's, helping lead the Terrapins to the 1984 ACC Championship. The 6-8 forward still ranks fourth on Maryland's all-time scoring list with 2,017 career points. As a junior and senior, the Washington Grove, Md., resident led the Terrapins of Lefty Driesell to 49 victories and back-to-back trips to the NCAA's Sweet 16. He was taken in the second round of the 1985 NBA draft by Chicago, and was a part of the 1987 Los Angeles Laker team that won the NBA title.
 
Knoche is a former player and head coach at American University who has worked in radio and television for the past 25 years. He is currently in his 25th season as the color analyst for the Maryland Terrapins men's basketball radio broadcasts alongside the legendary Johnny Holliday.  Knoche spent 17 seasons at American University, two as a player under former Terrapin coach Gary Williams before moving into an assistant coaching position and later serving seven seasons (1991-1997) as the Eagles' head coach. 
 
Knoche attended W.T. Woodson High in Fairfax, Virginia, where he starred under legendary Coach "Red" Jenkins. 
 
Prior to joining Maryland's broadcast crew, he served stints on the Ivy League "Game of the Week" on Westwood One/CBS Radio and Ivy League "Game of the Week" for DirecTV and for HDTV.  He was also a television broadcaster for ESPN and CSN, in addition to radio and television analysis for George Mason University games.  Knoche is currently the moderator of the popular podcast "DC Coaches Corner" with Gary Williams, Jimmy Patsos and Ed Tapscott.