Terrapins Lose McCray for Rest of Season

The loss of senior and two-year captain Chris McCray, the Terps' leading scorer at 15.2 ppg., could cripple Maryland's hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament after missing the field of 65 last season. (Toni L. Sandys - The Post)

"They make sure he goes to practice; they should have made sure his grades and things were straight for him to be eligible," she said. "I'm not only going to fault Chris; I'm going to fault everyone up there. I knew when [former assistant] Dave Dickerson was there, if anything like this would have happened, they would have called me and let me know."

NCAA rules allow McCray to continue to practice with the team but not travel or compete in games. When told this, Shirleeta McCray said: "No, he is not going to practice. He doesn't need them. They did all they could do for him. I hate to sound like this."

Williams declined to comment publicly on Shirleeta McCray's remarks and referred to his statement released by the school.

"Chris's career was outstanding here at the University of Maryland," Williams said in the statement. "He has contributed a great deal to our success the last 3 1/2 years. I'm fully confident Chris will be successful in life."

It had already been a trying year for McCray, who was arrested in August because police said he refused to leave the scene of a fight and initially fled police after an early-morning incident in College Park. McCray, 21, was charged with misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and escaping from custody.

Those charges were dropped in mid-October, when McCray agreed to take an alcohol education course offered through the school and serve some 20 hours of community service. At the time, McCray said that the arrest "definitely humbled" him and taught him he had to live by high standards because he was the team's co-captain.

On Oct. 27, less than two weeks after the charges were dropped, McCray was with teammate Travis Garrison at the Cornerstone Grill and Loft, a popular College Park bar, when Garrison was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense.

Williams suspended Garrison on Jan. 14 for one game, against Wake Forest, for violating a team rule for being at the bar. Williams said he did not suspend McCray, who was listed as a witness in court documents, because unlike Garrison, McCray was not charged in the incident.

McCray's absence should mean more minutes for popular reserve Mike Jones, who matched his season high of 22 points in a 90-86 victory against Wake Forest on Jan. 15. Williams said after the game that he had recently told Jones to shoot without hesitation when open and that such contributions from Jones would be much needed the rest of the season. Jones, however, does not possess the defensive presence that McCray did.