COLLEGE PARK — Only a few feet through the security entrance, Joe Smith was already receiving pats on the back and handshakes at Xfinity Center, his star turn at Maryland widely remembered. Tall and thin in a baggy gray suit and red “ATL” hat, Smith greeted strangers and friendly old faces. He had not been on Maryland’s campus in years, “too long” he would say later, living a retired basketball life with the spotlight turned off.
Back in College Park, Smith felt what was happening. He dropped an admission when he spoke to the media.
“I don’t know if y’all can hear it in my voice, but I’m nervous,” Smith said with a laugh.
The pressure squeezing Maryland’s cavernous basketball arena on Tuesday night even crunched the head of a 40-year-old former No. 1 pick. The opener was last Friday against Mount St. Mary’s, but Maryland’s season of scrutiny, weighted with hope and pressure, began in earnest Tuesday night with a win against Georgetown.
Once Melo Trimble said he would return, Diamond Stone said he would show up and the university said Rasheed Sulaimon could come, the screws began to tighten. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon knew what he had invited to campus for the season. “We’re trying to win big,” he said before it began.
Against Georgetown, an irritated bunch after a double-overtime opening loss to Radford undermined its stature in the game, Maryland fought itself throughout. Turgeon said that five or six times during the night a player missed the offensive call, leaving four of five on the court running one play and the other confused. The Terrapins were also tight, prompting a 9-0 Georgetown lead to start the game. Turgeon put his hands on his hips. His players looked to see if they should keep going. He clapped instead of forming a “T.” Four minutes later, Maryland led by a point. It moved on from there.
SEE ALSO: LOVERRO: The Maryland/Georgetown rivalry lives, thanks to the players
In 2001, Maryland lost in the Final Four. As a result, the following preseason had a similar tenor to this one. Maryland was ranked No. 2 in the first poll. Most of the team was back. Expectations soared. The Terrapins tipped off at 9 p.m. in their opener against unranked Arizona, a legacy program just outside the top 25 to start the year, in Madison Square Garden.
“The hype wasn’t quite the same back then as it is now, with all Internet, media outlets, everything [that is] around now,” former Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “[But], the way we handled it, we went out and lost our first game with Arizona.
“And, so, we knew then how hard we needed to work. There was no free pass because everybody picked us high.”
This year’s team picked up similar lessons in a win, after enduring a more laborious day. Since it was announced in April that Maryland and Georgetown would play again locally for the first time in 22 years, anticipation built. Add that Maryland received the second-most first-place votes in The Associated Press basketball poll this week. Throw in the ESPN trucks unloading mid-afternoon, sets being erected on the floor around dinner time and the drag of waiting for a 9 p.m. tip-off, which was eventually pushed to 9:15. A portion of “SportsCenter” aired live from the floor before the game. Security was increased because of recent world events. With some humor, Turgeon addressed the daylong cauldron.
“Do you realize what I went through [Tuesday]?” Turgeon said. “Nine o’clock start. We had to win. Home game. Wasn’t a fun day for me.”
Turgeon did allow that it felt good afterward, sounding a bit like Williams.
“I told our guys at the end of the game, ’Man, we needed this. This was great,’” Turgeon said. “This was exactly what we needed. We figured out how to win the game. I think that let’s them know we’re not invincible. We’ve got a long way to go. I keep saying, we’re finding ourselves. We’re nowhere near where we’re going to be.”
Depleted and relieved, Turgeon granted high-fives in the back to Sulaimon and Trimble before turning the stage over to them. His public night was finished.
The win veiled a quartet of issues. Turgeon wanted to play small, but had a hard time putting together a fluid lineup without shooting guard Dion Wiley, who had season-ending surgery on his right knee last week. “We missed Dion tonight,” Turgeon said.
Stone crashed in his second game. He played 14 minutes, as much as backup Michal Cekovsky, committed three fouls, two turnovers and scored five points. Lastly, Maryland was outrebounded 36-28 and outscored 17-5 in second-chance points.
Those toe stubs didn’t matter to a smattering of students chanting “S-V-P!” an hour after the final horn. “SportsCenter” anchor and Maryland fanatic Scott Van Pelt watched the game from a courtside seat before hosting ESPN’s flagship program at center court following the game. Cell phone flashes bounced off his gleaming bald head before, during and afterward. Arms around a hunk of students well past midnight, he raised one more smile for one more photo. Maryland’s most anticipated season had begun.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.