Young Terrapins Face ACC Initiation Rites

Maryland Terrapins forward James Gist clearly remembers the shock of his first career Atlantic Coast Conference game, of facing the most intense competition he had experienced to that point.

"My freshman year, there was probably never a moment where I just wasn't on the [court] sliding across the floor or something," Gist said. "I was getting beat up."

Fellow senior Bambale Osby, who transferred to Maryland, has similar recollections, saying the level of intensity in conference play "just transcends to a different level."

When Maryland tips off against Boston College tonight at Comcast Center, it will the first taste of ACC competition for many of the Terrapins (6-3), who depend on their youngsters to contribute. Of Maryland's six first-year players, three have averaged more than 10 minutes per game.

Freshman center Braxton Dupree earned a spot in the lineup, averaging 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in four games since replacing Osby as a starter. Freshman guard Cliff Tucker has given the Terrapins a much-needed outside offensive threat off the bench, hitting 70 percent of his shots from the field in his first nine games. Freshman guard Adrian Bowie has worked his way into the rotation, as has redshirt freshman forward Jerome Burney, who has filled the reserve role left by the injured Dave Neal.

But even though the freshmen have seen quality competition this season, Gist said the league play presents a new set of challenges.

"It's definitely a different level of play, and for me it was a shock, excitement and at the same time, it was just a huge rush to be able to play like that in front of that many people," Gist said. "I'm hoping that will be the same effect it has on these freshmen. But everybody takes it differently."

In recent years the rite of passage has come early for the Terrapins. While most other league teams have used this time of season to prepare for their league openers in January, Maryland opens conference play with a December game for the fourth straight season.

"With expansion in leagues, this is a result of that," said Williams, who for the third straight year faces the Eagles to start the ACC schedule. "You play in December some league games."

Of course, Boston College (6-1) faces a similar challenge. The Eagles, who lost ACC player of the year Jared Dudley from last season's squad, feature five first-year players; three of them -- Rakim Sanders, Biko Paris and Corey Raji -- average more than 20 minutes per game. Boston College junior Tyrese Rice has helped fill the void left by Dudley. Rice, a preseason all-ACC guard from Richmond, leads the Eagles with 21.2 points per game. The Eagles' only loss this season came against Providence.

Williams believes the Terrapins have been prepared by nonconference games against UCLA, Missouri and Illinois.

"I think we're ready," Williams said. "We've had our moments where we've played well, and we've had our moments where we haven't played so well. Part of that process is learning through the wins and tough losses. That's how you get better, and hopefully we've learned some things."

The Terrapins showed a measure of progress against Morgan State on Thursday, when Williams gave more of the team's ballhandling duties to sophomore guard Eric Hayes in hopes of freeing up back-court mate Greivis Vasquez to score. After committing 13 first-half turnovers against the Bears, Maryland turned it over just five more times.

"Hopefully we got out of that, that if we move the ball properly we still can score a lot of points," Williams said. "We'll see."

As for offering any advice for preparing his younger teammates for the rigors of their first ACC game, Gist said he hasn't even tried.

"It's just one of those things you've got to go through," he said. "You can talk about it all you want, but nobody's going to know what you mean until you experience it."