COLLEGE PARK– Maryland Madness is an annual tradition that kicks off the college basketball season at the University of Maryland in College Park. This year was the 40th anniversary of the event, which started as Midnight Madness under former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell. But this year also marked the beginning of a era with new men’s coach Mark Turgeon.
The night also marked another important anniversary, the 10 years since the Maryland men’s basketball team celebrated a national title. Some of the players from that team joined with other player alums in a scrimmage before thousands of Maryland fans. Among the players hitting the boards one more time were Steve Francis, Greivis Vasquez, Steve Blake, Eric Hayes, and Dave Neal.
Former head coach Gary Williams was also there to help kick off the new era for the men’s basketball team as well as catch up with his former players. “All my guys are playing in the alumni game, so I wanted to see them,” he said.
It will be a transition year for the Terps. In addition to a new coach, the team has six walk-on players, which the Athletic Department says is the most they can recall in recent memory. The men’s team opens its season on November 13 with a match-up against UNC-Wilmington at the Comcast Center.