As Ford and myself are ardent Terps fans, we had our hearts ripped out today. However bad the loss at the buzzer may have stung we are still proud- much like William Wallace in his final minutes. This year's Maryland Terrapin basketball team was just that, a team. Led by the ACC's POY, Greivis "Mr. GQ" Vasquez, COY Gary Williams knew he had a man he trusted and loved to lead this team. As can be expected, the dagger today left us stunned as we sat silent and motionless, in complete awe of what just occurred to our team. As we were lucky enough to witness the Cliff Tucker buzzer beater in person earlier this year, to be on the other side of the fence was just plain awful. None-the-less, we have found the words to truly represent the road we will take to recovery:
The way I've started to recover is imagining the healing process:
Jordan Williams has a sensational junior year, makes a few All-American teams, and is widely expected to go pro. But he doesn’t. “I have a score to settle,” he says in the press conference announcing his return. Quinn Cook and Mikael Hopkins are sophomores at the time, and Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin are juniors.
Maryland has a trademark up and down season, but earns a 3 seed. Jordan wins ACC player of the year. In the second round, they meet six seed Michigan State. Jordan Williams goes for 23 and 19 in an easy win. After easily dispatching a random 2 seed, the Terps meet Duke in the Elite Eight and win in a nailbiter.
The first game in the Final Four, which is in Washington, D.C., is against John Calipari’s Oregon Ducks (it is discovered that John Wall received money directly from Calipari’s bank account, but Nike paid him a heavy sum to coach Oregon before the scandal was discovered). Terrence Ross happens to be the Ducks’ starting SG. Pe’Shon Howard has 23 points that day, and posterized Ross on a fastbreak dunk. Meanwhile, TRoss doesn’t score in Maryland’s 15 point win.
Then they play UCONN and Jim Calhoun, Gary’s mortal enemy, in the championship. Williams has 17, Howard 14, and Cook 12 and 11 assists. Maryland wins on a last second shot by Stoglin falling away. Williams and Williams hug at center court, tears streaming from both’s eyes, finding redemption. Greivis Vasquez, who was named an honorary assistant coach for the game, runs onto the court, playing the part of Jim Valvano, looking for someone to hug.
After the game, Gary announces his retirement. Maryland fans recognize him as one of the greatest coaches ever, and he is inducted into the Hall of Fame the following year. Rob Ehsan is named head coach. Calhoun retires a week later, and everyone knows that in the final battle of Good vs. Evil, Good won.
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