Maryland will be Smithless in the Tip-off Classic
Assistant Sports Editor
Life after Joe begins for 15th-ranked Maryland Friday night in Springfield, Mass., when the Terrapins begin their first season since losing national Player of the Year Joe Smith. Maryland will battle top-ranked UK in the Tip-Off Classic.
The game will be the first of the year for the two teams, both who have been chosen by many writers to finish first in their respective conferences -- Maryland in the Atlantic Coast, UK in the Southeastern.
"It's quite an honor to play in the (Tip-Off Classic)," Maryland coach Gary Williams said via teleconference yesterday. "There's only two schools who get to do that every year."
Smith left College Park after his junior season. He compiled a 20.1 point per game career scoring average before Golden State made him the top pick in last June's NBA draft.
"With Joe, he gave us a very athletic player in the middle," Williams said. "He was only maybe 6-foot-9 at the most, but he played a lot bigger than that."
Mario Lucas, a 6-foot-8 senior, will be the new starter at center. Rodney Elliott, at 6-foot-9, and 6-foot-10 freshman Obinna Ekezie will back up Lucas in the middle.
"Hopefully they'll make each other better to the point where we'll get better at that position," Williams said.
While the loss of Smith is big for the Terps, Williams does have his other four starters returning from last season's 26-8 squad.
"(The returnees are) guys that have played quite a bit the past two years," Williams said, "and that's a plus."
Those players include forwards Exree Hipp, who averaged 13.6 points and grabbed 4.2 rebounds a game as a junior last year and senior Keith Booth.
The Terps also return one of the top backcourts in the nation in seniors Johnny Rhodes and Duane Simpkins.
Rhodes, a 6-foot-4 point guard, has started all but one game since arriving at Maryland. He averaged 14 points a game last season, while Simpkins chipped in 10.5 a contest.
"They have a great deal of experience," Williams said. "They know each other well, so they don't have to say a lot to each other to know what's going on out on the court."
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