Terrapins Lose McCray for Rest of Season
Senior Ruled Academically Ineligible

By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Chris McCray, the leading scorer and two-year co-captain of the Maryland men's basketball team, was ruled academically ineligible for the remainder of the season, a serious blow to the Terrapins' hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament.

Beginning tomorrow at Georgia Tech, the 18th-ranked Terps will play without McCray, a senior from Capitol Heights who was averaging 15.2 points per game and was widely viewed as the team's most consistent player the past two seasons.

Student privacy laws prohibit Maryland officials and Coach Gary Williams from commenting on specifics involving McCray's academic status, but team sources have indicated for weeks that McCray's eligibility would be in jeopardy when the spring semester starts tomorrow. An athletic department source said last week that the final posting of grades from the fall semester would come early this week, which would determine McCray's eligibility.

McCray's mother, Shirleeta, said her son fell short of posting the 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale) cumulative grade-point average needed for him to remain eligible. In addition to other stipulations, NCAA rules mandate that senior athletes hold at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA after the fall semester to be eligible for the spring.

Regarding one course this fall, Shirleeta McCray said her son told her that he e-mailed his assignments to the instructor, who did not accept assignments that were e-mailed in. A source with firsthand knowledge of the situation, however, said class attendance was an issue for the senior.

McCray, who was unavailable to comment yesterday, apologized to his family, teammates and coaches in a statement released by the school and said that he would continue to pursue a degree in criminal justice.

"I'll learn from this experience," he said, "and look forward to becoming very productive in life and as a student here at Maryland."

When asked Saturday about his spring semester course load, McCray responded only by saying he was taking a family studies course during Maryland's winter session, which started Jan. 3, concluded yesterday and did not affect his eligibility for the spring.

Team sources first indicated there was an issue with McCray's academics nearly a month ago, but Shirleeta McCray said she first learned of the problem last Wednesday, when a Maryland assistant coach called her. She said she was "frustrated" with Maryland because "I could have gone up there three weeks ago when you found out and got this straight."

An athletic department source, however, said she was aware before last week.

At Maryland, students typically can appeal a grade of a course through the individual professor. There was still optimism within the men's basketball program that McCray's situation would be reconciled yesterday, according to those close to the player.

Shirleeta McCray talked to her son early yesterday, when he told her he was about to enter a meeting. She found out her son's playing career at Maryland was over when a reporter called her yesterday afternoon.

"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.