1997-98 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
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Jersey Number 11
Matt Kovarik
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 196
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Greensboro, N.C.
- High School:
- Grimsley
OnKovarik: The most experienced returning player in the ACC in terms of career games played, 97, entering the 1997-98 season... Started Maryland's 1997 NCAA tournament game versus the College of Charleston and recorded three assists and three rebounds in 19 minutes ...Will be counted on to provide valuable leadership both on and off the court... Has exceeded all expectations during his career in College Park... Among the top guards returning to play in the ACC for his fifth, redshirt senior, season... Averaged a career-high 12.8 minutes per game as a redshirt junior more than double what he averaged as a sophomore and 3.5 minutes per game more than he averaged as a freshman... Became a regular in the Terps' rotation last season for the first time since a short stretch his freshman season...At 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds, his size has enabled Head Coach Gary Williams to use him at shooting guard and small forward as well as his natural position, point guard... Head Coach Gary Williams on Kovarik: "He's really versatile. He's like having a great utility midfielder"...On sitting all but 14 minutes of the 1996 season - "I learned a lot not playing. I got to see what Coach Williams wants and doesn't want... Coach Williams said during the 1996-97 season: "I think Matt has become one of the better defensive guards in the ACC. "...Averages 3.3 points, 1.3 assists and 16.3 minutes per game in three career starts.
As a Redshirt Junior: Competed during 1996-97 as a redshirt junior after being granted a medical redshirt for the 1995-96 season... Played in a career-high 32 games while starting one... His one start came versus the College of Charleston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament... Established career-bests in points scored, 64, rebounds, 58, assists, 41, steals, 18 and minutes played, 4 10... Also established a single season career-best for field goal shooting at .431... A career-best 22 field goals made and a career-best tying 19 free throws made... Enjoyed his career-best assist to turnover ratio of 1.46:1... An even better A: TO ratio in ACC games with 22 assists and only 11 turnovers for a 2:1 ratio... Played a career-high 23 minutes versus both N.C. State and Florida State - his previous career-best was 20 minutes versus Morgan State as a freshman. . .Also played a career-high 24 double figure minute games - more than his first two seasons combined. . .Did not commit a turnover in seven of 16 ACC games and did not commit a turnover in 13 of his total 32 games played. . .Career high 23 minutes played versus N.C. State and Florida State at home - both were Terp victories... Enjoyed a stellar nine game stretch, 116 minutes from December 23 through January 19 when he committed only 10 turnovers... Tied his career-high of four assists in a game against Perm on January 21... Played 15 minutes and scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and dished off four assists as the Terps recovered from a 22-pomt deficit at North Carolina. . .Played nearly eight minutes during the second half when the Terps mounted their incredible second-half comeback. . .Entered the game during the second half as a replacement at the point for Terrell Stokes with 8:52 remaining and the Terps down by six points, 68-62... Maryland continued its comeback with Kovarilc in the lineup and when he was replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius with 2:06 remaining in the game, the Terps were ahead by six points... A Kovarik lay-up with 3:07 remaining gave Maryland a 76-70 lead - North Carolina scored only 75 points as Maryland gained the victory... Three assists in the second half comeback versus North Carolina ...Was a sparkplug versus N.C. State as the Terps won in Raleigh... Scored what proved to be the game winning basket on a lay-up with 8:50 remaining in the second half to give Maryland a 43-42 lead.. .The basket began a decisive 11-1 run which N.C. State never recovered from as the Terps won the game, 69-58. . .The lay-up was his only basket of the game to go along with three assists... The victory over N.C. State coupled with the Terps amazing come from-behind victory at North Carolina only four days earlier gave Maryland victories over the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack on Tobacco Road in the same week for the first time in school history. . .Hit a career-best six-of-six free throws and scored a season high eight points versus Penn in the Baltimore Arena on January 21... Also tied his career-high of four assists versus the Quakers... Scored seven points versus Lafayette just before Christmas on a perfect shooting night in Cole Field House... Shot a perfect two-of-two from the field (including one-of-one from three-point range) and was two-of-two from the free throw line as Maryland defeated the Leopards... An ACC season high of five points at Georgia Tech as the Terps won in Atlanta for the second time during Kovarik's career. . .A fifteen foot jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the first half allowed the Terps to extend the lead to four points and second half lay-up gave the Terps a 10 point lead which was the straw that broke the Yellow Jackets stinger in the contest... Three steals versus Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic established a career-best. . .A career ACC Tournament best four points versus N.C. State on two-of-three shooting from the field... Closed the season in a giving mood with nine assists in the last four games, three versus Virginia, three versus Clemson in the ACC Tournament and three versus Charleston in the NCAA Tournament... The three assists versus Clemson established a personal ACC Tournament best and the three versus Charleston establish an NCAA Tournament career best.
As a Junior: Granted a medical redshirt after suffering a stress fracture of the tibia in his right leg during pre-season conditioning which did not heal until well into the season... The fracture healed satisfactorily during the season, but because of the threat of further fracture, he was advised against extended running and jumping... Spent his redshirt season learning the game from the perspective of the coaching staff and will use those experiences to be a leader both on and off the court... Played in five games as a reserve and played a total of 14 minutes... Scored two points from the line versus Massachusetts on December 2... Hit both ends of a one-and-one situation to give the Terps a 44-43 lead with 6:37 remaining in the game... Had three assists in only eight minutes of play versus Towson State... One rebound versus Towson State and Massachusetts...double figure minute games - more than his first two seasons combined. . .Did not commit a turnover in seven of 16 ACC games and did not commit a turnover in 13 of his total 32 games played. . .Career high 23 minutes played versus N.C. State and Florida State at home - both were Terp victories... Enjoyed a stellar nine game stretch, 116 minutes from December 23 through January 19 when he committed only 10 turnovers... Tied his career-high of four assists in a game against Perm on January 21... Played 15 minutes and scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and dished off four assists as the Terps recovered from a 22-pomt deficit at North Carolina. . .Played nearly eight minutes during the second half when the Terps mounted their incredible second-half comeback. . .Entered the game during the second half as a replacement at the point for Terrell Stokes with 8:52 remaining and the Terps down by six points, 68-62... Maryland continued its comeback with Kovarilc in the lineup and when he was replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius with 2:06 remaining in the game, the Terps were ahead by six points... A Kovarik lay-up with 3:07 remaining gave Maryland a 76-70 lead - North Carolina scored only 75 points as Maryland gained the victory... Three assists in the second half comeback versus North Carolina ...Was a spark-plug versus N.C. State as the Terps won in Raleigh... Scored what proved to be the game winning basket on a lay-up with 8:50 remaining in the second half to give Maryland a 43-42 lead.. .The basket began a decisive 11-1 run which N.C. State never recovered from as the Terps won the game, 69-58. . .The lay-up was his only basket of the game to go along with three assists... The victory over N.C. State coupled with the Terps amazing come from-behind victory at North Carolina only four days earlier gave Maryland victories over the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack on Tobacco Road in the same week for the first time in school history. . .Hit a career-best six-of-six free throws and scored a season high eight points versus Penn in the Baltimore Arena on January 21... Also tied his career-high of four assists versus the Quakers... Scored seven points versus Lafayette just before Christmas on a perfect shooting night in Cole Field House... Shot a perfect two-of-two from the field (including one-of-one from three-point range) and was two-of-two from the free throw line as Maryland defeated the Leopards... An ACC season high of five points at Georgia Tech as the Terps won in Atlanta for the second time during Kovarik's career. . .A fifteen foot jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the first half allowed the Terps to extend the lead to four points and second half lay-up gave the Terps a 10 point lead which was the straw that broke the Yellow Jackets stinger in the contest... Three steals versus Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic established a career-best. . .A career ACC Tournament best four points versus N.C. State on two-of-three shooting from the field... Closed the season in a giving mood with nine assists in the last four games, three versus Virginia, three versus Clemson in the ACC Tournament and three versus Charleston in the NCAA Tournament... The three assists versus Clemson established a personal ACC Tournament best and the three versus Charleston establish an NCAA Tournament career best.
As a Sophomore: A valuable and dependable member of the Terps' backcourt who appeared in a career-high 31 games... Earned his second career start versus Towson State in Cole Field House and helped Maryland to a 120-73 victory... Played a season high 16 minutes and scored a season high four points... Was perfect on two free throws and had one assist in the victory... Played well offensively versus Morgan State as he helped Maryland score a school record 138 points... Against Morgan, he grabbed a season high four rebounds and dished out a career high tying four assists... Scored two points and grabbed one rebound versus La Salle as the Terps won in College Park... Scored an ACC season high of three points versus N.C. State as the Terps defeated the Wolfpack at home. ..Hit his only three-point shot of the year in that game. ..Three rebounds and one assist in eight minutes came at Duke in a game shown nationally on ESPN... Played four minutes versus Florida State in the Terps' opening round victory over the Seminoles in the ACC Tournament... Scored one point on a crucial free throw in the first half. ..His free throw with 2:06 remaining in the first half was the final score of the half and brought Maryland back to within four after having been down by as many as ten. . .Played strong defense for four of the final five minutes of the first half and helped Maryland outscore Florida State 8-6 to close the gap... The Terps outscored the Seminoles in the second half and won the contest, 71-64... Played well in the ACC semifinal with two assists in three minutes... Played well m all three of Maryland's NCAA Tournament games... Scored two points versus both Gonzaga and Texas and played four strong minutes versus Connecticut in the West Regional Semifinal game... Dished out multiple assists in a career high eight games... Averaged 7.1 minutes per game over the final 10 games of the season - up from his 6.4 minutes per game season long average.
As a Freshman: Earned Honorable Mention All-ACC Freshman Team Honors as he averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds while playing m 29 games... Started one game, Hofstra, while coming off the bench to appear in 28 others... Was the only player on the team outside of the starting five to start any games. . .His first career start came in the Terps' victory over Hofstra in the first round of the Abdow's Hall of Fame Classic m Springfield... He responded with six points and one steal in 14 minutes of play... His biggest basket of the season, a three pointer, came versus Wake Forest as he returned to play in front of his family and friends for the first time since high school. . .He calmly drained the three pointer from the top of the key with 2:30 remaining in the first half. . . His clutch basket drew Maryland within two points at 20-18... The basket spurred the Terps' offense, as it went on to outscore Wake 43-38 over the remainder of the game to gain the important, 61-58, ACC victory on the road... Scored a career high nine points and grabbed a career high seven rebounds as Maryland defeated Morgan State in Cole Field House. ..Established a personal career best with five offensive rebounds and also dished off three assists... Scored a crucial basket during the second half of Maryland's ACC season opener at Georgia Tech... Scored a lay-up and was fouled on the play to extend the Terps' lead to seven, 78-71, with4:50remainmg... .Maryland went on to win the game, 91-88, for its first victory versus Georgia Tech in Atlanta since the 1980 season. . .Was perfect from the field in both games of the Hall of Fame Classic as he hit all five of his shots from the field during the two day event as he scored a total of 11 points. ..His 79.2 percent free throw accuracy was the best on the team. ..He hit his first seven free throw shots of the season and was 11 of 15 from the line m ACC competition... Played 253 minutes, an average of 8.7 per game.
At Grimsley: Was a First-Team All-State selection and the County Player of the Year following his senior season... Was a First-Team All-County and First-Team All-Conference selection as both a junior and senior... Averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game as a senior. ..Shot 51.1 percent from the field including 39.0 percent from three-point range. . .Led Grimsley to a 21-7 record his senior season and a 20-7 mark his junior year... Was a three-year starter at point guard... His high school coach was Robin Lincks.
Personal: Born January 24, 1975. . .His full name is Matthew George Kovarik.
As a Redshirt Junior: Competed during 1996-97 as a redshirt junior after being granted a medical redshirt for the 1995-96 season... Played in a career-high 32 games while starting one... His one start came versus the College of Charleston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament... Established career-bests in points scored, 64, rebounds, 58, assists, 41, steals, 18 and minutes played, 4 10... Also established a single season career-best for field goal shooting at .431... A career-best 22 field goals made and a career-best tying 19 free throws made... Enjoyed his career-best assist to turnover ratio of 1.46:1... An even better A: TO ratio in ACC games with 22 assists and only 11 turnovers for a 2:1 ratio... Played a career-high 23 minutes versus both N.C. State and Florida State - his previous career-best was 20 minutes versus Morgan State as a freshman. . .Also played a career-high 24 double figure minute games - more than his first two seasons combined. . .Did not commit a turnover in seven of 16 ACC games and did not commit a turnover in 13 of his total 32 games played. . .Career high 23 minutes played versus N.C. State and Florida State at home - both were Terp victories... Enjoyed a stellar nine game stretch, 116 minutes from December 23 through January 19 when he committed only 10 turnovers... Tied his career-high of four assists in a game against Perm on January 21... Played 15 minutes and scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and dished off four assists as the Terps recovered from a 22-pomt deficit at North Carolina. . .Played nearly eight minutes during the second half when the Terps mounted their incredible second-half comeback. . .Entered the game during the second half as a replacement at the point for Terrell Stokes with 8:52 remaining and the Terps down by six points, 68-62... Maryland continued its comeback with Kovarilc in the lineup and when he was replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius with 2:06 remaining in the game, the Terps were ahead by six points... A Kovarik lay-up with 3:07 remaining gave Maryland a 76-70 lead - North Carolina scored only 75 points as Maryland gained the victory... Three assists in the second half comeback versus North Carolina ...Was a sparkplug versus N.C. State as the Terps won in Raleigh... Scored what proved to be the game winning basket on a lay-up with 8:50 remaining in the second half to give Maryland a 43-42 lead.. .The basket began a decisive 11-1 run which N.C. State never recovered from as the Terps won the game, 69-58. . .The lay-up was his only basket of the game to go along with three assists... The victory over N.C. State coupled with the Terps amazing come from-behind victory at North Carolina only four days earlier gave Maryland victories over the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack on Tobacco Road in the same week for the first time in school history. . .Hit a career-best six-of-six free throws and scored a season high eight points versus Penn in the Baltimore Arena on January 21... Also tied his career-high of four assists versus the Quakers... Scored seven points versus Lafayette just before Christmas on a perfect shooting night in Cole Field House... Shot a perfect two-of-two from the field (including one-of-one from three-point range) and was two-of-two from the free throw line as Maryland defeated the Leopards... An ACC season high of five points at Georgia Tech as the Terps won in Atlanta for the second time during Kovarik's career. . .A fifteen foot jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the first half allowed the Terps to extend the lead to four points and second half lay-up gave the Terps a 10 point lead which was the straw that broke the Yellow Jackets stinger in the contest... Three steals versus Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic established a career-best. . .A career ACC Tournament best four points versus N.C. State on two-of-three shooting from the field... Closed the season in a giving mood with nine assists in the last four games, three versus Virginia, three versus Clemson in the ACC Tournament and three versus Charleston in the NCAA Tournament... The three assists versus Clemson established a personal ACC Tournament best and the three versus Charleston establish an NCAA Tournament career best.
As a Junior: Granted a medical redshirt after suffering a stress fracture of the tibia in his right leg during pre-season conditioning which did not heal until well into the season... The fracture healed satisfactorily during the season, but because of the threat of further fracture, he was advised against extended running and jumping... Spent his redshirt season learning the game from the perspective of the coaching staff and will use those experiences to be a leader both on and off the court... Played in five games as a reserve and played a total of 14 minutes... Scored two points from the line versus Massachusetts on December 2... Hit both ends of a one-and-one situation to give the Terps a 44-43 lead with 6:37 remaining in the game... Had three assists in only eight minutes of play versus Towson State... One rebound versus Towson State and Massachusetts...double figure minute games - more than his first two seasons combined. . .Did not commit a turnover in seven of 16 ACC games and did not commit a turnover in 13 of his total 32 games played. . .Career high 23 minutes played versus N.C. State and Florida State at home - both were Terp victories... Enjoyed a stellar nine game stretch, 116 minutes from December 23 through January 19 when he committed only 10 turnovers... Tied his career-high of four assists in a game against Perm on January 21... Played 15 minutes and scored two points, grabbed two rebounds and dished off four assists as the Terps recovered from a 22-pomt deficit at North Carolina. . .Played nearly eight minutes during the second half when the Terps mounted their incredible second-half comeback. . .Entered the game during the second half as a replacement at the point for Terrell Stokes with 8:52 remaining and the Terps down by six points, 68-62... Maryland continued its comeback with Kovarilc in the lineup and when he was replaced by Sarunas Jasikevicius with 2:06 remaining in the game, the Terps were ahead by six points... A Kovarik lay-up with 3:07 remaining gave Maryland a 76-70 lead - North Carolina scored only 75 points as Maryland gained the victory... Three assists in the second half comeback versus North Carolina ...Was a spark-plug versus N.C. State as the Terps won in Raleigh... Scored what proved to be the game winning basket on a lay-up with 8:50 remaining in the second half to give Maryland a 43-42 lead.. .The basket began a decisive 11-1 run which N.C. State never recovered from as the Terps won the game, 69-58. . .The lay-up was his only basket of the game to go along with three assists... The victory over N.C. State coupled with the Terps amazing come from-behind victory at North Carolina only four days earlier gave Maryland victories over the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack on Tobacco Road in the same week for the first time in school history. . .Hit a career-best six-of-six free throws and scored a season high eight points versus Penn in the Baltimore Arena on January 21... Also tied his career-high of four assists versus the Quakers... Scored seven points versus Lafayette just before Christmas on a perfect shooting night in Cole Field House... Shot a perfect two-of-two from the field (including one-of-one from three-point range) and was two-of-two from the free throw line as Maryland defeated the Leopards... An ACC season high of five points at Georgia Tech as the Terps won in Atlanta for the second time during Kovarik's career. . .A fifteen foot jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the first half allowed the Terps to extend the lead to four points and second half lay-up gave the Terps a 10 point lead which was the straw that broke the Yellow Jackets stinger in the contest... Three steals versus Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic established a career-best. . .A career ACC Tournament best four points versus N.C. State on two-of-three shooting from the field... Closed the season in a giving mood with nine assists in the last four games, three versus Virginia, three versus Clemson in the ACC Tournament and three versus Charleston in the NCAA Tournament... The three assists versus Clemson established a personal ACC Tournament best and the three versus Charleston establish an NCAA Tournament career best.
As a Sophomore: A valuable and dependable member of the Terps' backcourt who appeared in a career-high 31 games... Earned his second career start versus Towson State in Cole Field House and helped Maryland to a 120-73 victory... Played a season high 16 minutes and scored a season high four points... Was perfect on two free throws and had one assist in the victory... Played well offensively versus Morgan State as he helped Maryland score a school record 138 points... Against Morgan, he grabbed a season high four rebounds and dished out a career high tying four assists... Scored two points and grabbed one rebound versus La Salle as the Terps won in College Park... Scored an ACC season high of three points versus N.C. State as the Terps defeated the Wolfpack at home. ..Hit his only three-point shot of the year in that game. ..Three rebounds and one assist in eight minutes came at Duke in a game shown nationally on ESPN... Played four minutes versus Florida State in the Terps' opening round victory over the Seminoles in the ACC Tournament... Scored one point on a crucial free throw in the first half. ..His free throw with 2:06 remaining in the first half was the final score of the half and brought Maryland back to within four after having been down by as many as ten. . .Played strong defense for four of the final five minutes of the first half and helped Maryland outscore Florida State 8-6 to close the gap... The Terps outscored the Seminoles in the second half and won the contest, 71-64... Played well in the ACC semifinal with two assists in three minutes... Played well m all three of Maryland's NCAA Tournament games... Scored two points versus both Gonzaga and Texas and played four strong minutes versus Connecticut in the West Regional Semifinal game... Dished out multiple assists in a career high eight games... Averaged 7.1 minutes per game over the final 10 games of the season - up from his 6.4 minutes per game season long average.
As a Freshman: Earned Honorable Mention All-ACC Freshman Team Honors as he averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds while playing m 29 games... Started one game, Hofstra, while coming off the bench to appear in 28 others... Was the only player on the team outside of the starting five to start any games. . .His first career start came in the Terps' victory over Hofstra in the first round of the Abdow's Hall of Fame Classic m Springfield... He responded with six points and one steal in 14 minutes of play... His biggest basket of the season, a three pointer, came versus Wake Forest as he returned to play in front of his family and friends for the first time since high school. . .He calmly drained the three pointer from the top of the key with 2:30 remaining in the first half. . . His clutch basket drew Maryland within two points at 20-18... The basket spurred the Terps' offense, as it went on to outscore Wake 43-38 over the remainder of the game to gain the important, 61-58, ACC victory on the road... Scored a career high nine points and grabbed a career high seven rebounds as Maryland defeated Morgan State in Cole Field House. ..Established a personal career best with five offensive rebounds and also dished off three assists... Scored a crucial basket during the second half of Maryland's ACC season opener at Georgia Tech... Scored a lay-up and was fouled on the play to extend the Terps' lead to seven, 78-71, with4:50remainmg... .Maryland went on to win the game, 91-88, for its first victory versus Georgia Tech in Atlanta since the 1980 season. . .Was perfect from the field in both games of the Hall of Fame Classic as he hit all five of his shots from the field during the two day event as he scored a total of 11 points. ..His 79.2 percent free throw accuracy was the best on the team. ..He hit his first seven free throw shots of the season and was 11 of 15 from the line m ACC competition... Played 253 minutes, an average of 8.7 per game.
At Grimsley: Was a First-Team All-State selection and the County Player of the Year following his senior season... Was a First-Team All-County and First-Team All-Conference selection as both a junior and senior... Averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game as a senior. ..Shot 51.1 percent from the field including 39.0 percent from three-point range. . .Led Grimsley to a 21-7 record his senior season and a 20-7 mark his junior year... Was a three-year starter at point guard... His high school coach was Robin Lincks.
Personal: Born January 24, 1975. . .His full name is Matthew George Kovarik.
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