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@Duke 2/15 6pm ESPN

Started by BSLChrisStoner , Feb 12 2014 12:57 PM

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#21 DJ MC

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Posted 14 February 2014 - 01:21 PM

Steve Blake, Jason Williams, stolen ball, half time.

Loudest I've ever heard an arena get.

My high-rise shook.

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#22 BSLChrisStoner

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Posted 14 February 2014 - 01:21 PM

The MD / Duke rivalry at it's height was great. The Washington Post link I posted in the OP was well done.

Rob and I have been friends for 20+ years... him always a huge Duke fan, me always a fan of the Terps. I don't think the game would have meant quite as much to me, had I not known Rob.

I remember one of our earliest discussions being me telling him about MD's incoming Freshman Booth, and this kid Joe Smith who was apparently impressing everyone that Summer.

MD obviously had a nice run of success with the two Smith teams... and over Booth's 4 years... when Francis joined the Terps, there was a sense of many MD fans that it was 'now or never' for the Terps... that they had to fully break through that year.

That MD team with Francis, Profit, Morris, the Big O, Stokes.. (a young Baxter, Dixon) was freaking loaded.... it was extremely disappointing when MD lost in the NCAAT to St. John's (Ron Artest)... it should also be noted, that MD got smacked twice that year by Duke.

In one of those losses Rob told me that MD would never take that next step as a program. That there was a ceiling for a Gary led program, and that was a S16. Having that Duke voice right there in my ear could be brutal.

The following year MD had a win at Duke... but a loss to Duke in the ACCT Final. That was tough... as was MD getting absolutely obliterated by UCLA in the NCAAT.

At that time, it was beginning to get a bit lonely as Capt. of the USS Team Gary. Rob's previous comments about MD never going to step-up as a program, were now being said by many MD fans as well.

The following year had the Gone in 60 seconds game (which I watched with Rob and my wife Laura)... it also had the game 13 years ago today, when MD suffered a loss at home to Florida State... with Seminoles players jumping onto Media row and celebrating... and MD's crowd booing loudly. It gets whitewashed today, but many MD fans were calling for Gary to be fired after that game.

MD would pick themselves up off the mat after that game and get hot. Beating ranked WF, Oklahoma, UVA, and winning, on Senior Night at Duke. Only to lose to Duke in a fantastic ACCT Semi-Final... (that game didn't hurt much... was just a great game.. )... and lose to Duke in the NCAA F4 Semi... (that game is still hard to think about).

Of course, without the pain of the F4 loss, maybe MD doesn't get back and win the title the next year.

After MD's title, Rob would be proven correct when he said the difficulty would be sustaining that level of play as a program. We've had those discussions a million times as a board... we know all about it...

I guess my takeaway remains that we know it can be done. We've seen MD reach the top of the mountain, they can make that climb again.

MD is not a blue blood like Duke (or UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA)... but it was shown that if you keep fighting, keep clawing... are willing to get up after crushing defeats... you can get back up and achieve. There were some great life lessons there.

At some point in the rivalry, Rob made the point that it feels that many MD fans cared more about beating Duke, vs. the success of the MD program. That was never true for me, but I do think there was some merit to Rob's thoughts there. If there is anything I dislike about leaving the ACC, it is that MD is not leaving at a high. Coach K has sustained excellence for 30 years. I wish MD had again become a power, and delivered a few more black eyes before leaving.

The rivalry was great because MD had built itself to a point where they were at an equal level of a truly great program... and every game was a referendum to show that MD belonged.

Ultimately though, what I care about most though is the Terps. I'm looking forward to MD again ascending. Proving they belong... if MD gets pitted vs. Duke in some future ACC/Big Ten Challenge, or NCAAT... that will be cool... but the only thing that will really matter is where MD goes as a program.

Favorite moment in the rivalry for me is the 2004 ACCT. That was a wild weekend. Getting to the Final was tough. Needing to win that game to get to the NCAAT... that was a very hard fought game.

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#23 Oriole85

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Posted 14 February 2014 - 03:19 PM

@RyanChell87 '@DrewNicholas: "I hate to say it, but the rivalry ended with the decline of Maryland basketball."

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#24 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 14 February 2014 - 03:44 PM

@RyanChell87 '@DrewNicholas: "I hate to say it, but the rivalry ended with the decline of Maryland basketball."

He's right. By the end of the decade it was just another game for dook. Then the ACC expanded and made Pitt our "rival" and that was it.

But MD leaving remains some huge issue.

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#25 bnickle

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Posted 14 February 2014 - 09:18 PM

Joe Smith's 40 points and tip at the buzzard in '95 is probably my favorite sports game of my youth. I remember everything about that game so clearly.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=JJ2jkp9CHOk