What it's Like to Go to the Masters

A Weekend at the Masters.

This past weekend I had to opportunity and privilege to go to the Masters, so I thought I’d share what it’s like

I thought this might be handled best in a Q&A with myself. Right now I am typing on Sindler’s laptop as we drive on Sunday night from Augusta to Atlanta, where we have a flight out in the morning. Just warning you in advance, this will be a print and read, it was an eventful and interesting 3 days and I have two and a half hours to kill.

Here goes:

You went to the Masters? Really? How’d you score badges?

Let’s just say Sindler has access to them and we’ve been waiting for the right year to go and it finally came together.

When did you get in town?

We arrived Thursday night in Atlanta, met at the airport, he rented a silver Corolla (surprisingly peppy), picked me up when my flight got in (he came in from Denver, me from Baltimore) and made the 2.5 hour trek to Augusta. Once in Augusta, we stayed at a really nice $300 a night hotel.

Wait, only part of that is true.

We stayed in a $300 a night hotel, but it was the Sleep Inn. A fleabag that otherwise goes for $49/night. But, like all things in Augusta, everything is different during Masters Week. The best things I can say about the Sleep Inn is that the door did not open directly onto the parking lot. Also, there was a fridge and a microwave.

What else is different in Augusta during Masters Week?

Well, that’s actually hard to answer because I had only driven through Augusta once like 8 years ago when Greame lived nearby in Aiken and took us past “the grounds” as they are called. For starters though, everything in town is closed Masters Week in Augusta.

Schools are off and businesses – other than restaurants, bars, and hotels of course – take a break like it’s a national holiday. Many of the town’s resident leave and rent their homes for anywhere from $3,000 to $25,000 and up/week to visitors. Renting one’s home is such a big business in Augusta that many are built specifically to rent for more money during Masters Week. For example, if someone were about to build a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house, they might instead built a 4 bedroom, 4 bath house so that each bedroom can be used as a stand-alone suite for VIP visitors and rent for significantly more cash the first week in April.

Why do you know this?

Part of going down to the Masters for me involved a gig writing a story for the Sports Business Journal about the hospitality scene in Augusta. For this idea and the hook-ups that followed I have to thank Patrick McGee, my friend and former colleague from Octagon. Patrick knows the ins and outs and paved the way for the story; we also hung out before and after the rounds around town. The guy knew back roads to the course when traffic was backed up, set us up at two different hospitality venues for hang time before and after the rounds while the masses were bellied up at Hooters or Waffle House (not that there’s anything wrong with Hooters or the Waffle House) and, in general, served as our Masters sensei.

Anyway, the Masters is a different golf tournament for a lot of reasons, many of which most people know, but for those who aren’t up to date on the quirky, elitist traditions, here’s a primer: (for those of you who know the tournament, the club and its history better than me, my apologies if I get any of this wrong):

The Masters is run by the members of Augusta National golf club, which was founded by legendary amateur Bobby Jones of Atlanta of his friend and financial advisor Cliff Roberts of New York in the 1930s.

Players are invited to play in the tournament by the club based on a list of qualification standards, some of which are changed and updated over the years. One of the great ones is that champions earn a lifetime invitation; that’s why you see the legends there, year after year. Gary Player, for example, just played in his 50^th Masters.

The PGA Tour does not run or manage the Masters. (The PGA tour actually doesn’t own or manage any of the majors – Augusta runs the Masters, the USGA runs the US Open, the Royal and Ancient runs the Open Championship, and the PGA of America runs the PGA Championship. Incidentally, that’s why the PGA tour makes such a big deal out of the Players Championship and calls it the “5^th Major,” throwing a ton of money at it; they want the one that they run/own to be a big deal.)

But I digress… how did we get here… let’s get back to the Masters and what it’s like to go.

Here’s the thing. The Masters is a really cool, interesting and unique event as much for what is not at Augusta as it is for what is at Augusta. Let me explain. At most golf tournaments, corporate logos and hospitality are everywhere. There are sampling tents, hospitality tents… tents, tents, tents everywhere all over place. There are digital scoreboards, and video replays around the finishing holes.

At the Masters? It’s about the golf. Period. The course has not one sign on it of a corporate sponsor, unless of course you include the Masters logo, which is everywhere. You can’t even walk on the course with a coke can or a starbucks coffee cup because they don’t want those things on the grounds. I tried to walk in on Friday with a cup of Starbucks and had to throw it out (I coulda poured it in a Masters cup but didn’t know that yet).

That’s all great Greg, but you’re kind of babbling. What is it like to attend the golf tournament?

Sorry. I am tired. It is 9 p.m. Sunday, been walking the course for 3 days. Let’s get to the good stuff.

Ok, like I said, we stayed at the fabulous Sleep Inn Augusta, which is about a mile and half from the course. We wake up Friday morning and we have our badges and it’s cold out, like 40 degrees and windy. It was chilly all weekend, but never so cold that you didn’t want to be out there. Sindler insisted on wearing shorts each day by the way.

On Friday, our first day, there’s a lot of nervous anticipation. One thing I should mention is that because I was writing about hospitality at the Masters, we got to experience hospitality at the Masters by going to these clubhouses that have been built and set-up across Washington Rd. from the main public entrance to Augusta.

Day one we went to the Double Eagle club, which is about 100 yards from the main gate, the closest you can be without being on the grounds.

The guys there are very cool, I do a couple of interviews, and by 10 a.m., Sindler and I are walking onto the grounds.

You might guess or know that they take security and their rules very seriously at Augusta National. Here are some of them in no particular order:

• No cell phones on the course.
• No electronic devices of any kind.
• No cheering for misses.
• No running (we violated that one once; gave a light jog to see a putt and the ranger told us, ‘no running.’ I felt like a 12-year-old at the summer pool).
• Folding chairs allowed, can’t have arms.
• You can bring in a bottle of water or coffee but it can’t have a logo.
• There’s more… I don’t mean to make it sound restrictive. It’s really not. They have their rules and you go, learn them and have a great time.

Here are some really cool traditions

You can leave your little folding chair anywhere you want on the course – so you can get to a great spot at Amen Corner early in the morning, set up at a key spot and watch; then leave your chair in the designated “sitting area” and no one will sit in your chair or move it all day. Really. You can leave it there at 11 a.m., come back at 2 and have the same seat (though you are told not to leave your chair for an “inordinate” amount of time).

What about the freaking course Abel?

OK, OK. It was a surreal experience walking on the course for the first time. Augusta isn’t just green, it’s super green, green green. The fairways are so lush you want to lie down in them and take a nap; but don’t lie down, because there is no lying down at Augusta while watching the golf; we saw a few people who were made to sit up for violating that one.

After walking through the main entrance you pass the huge merchandise store (more on that later), then emerge to the course and on your right is a large scoreboard with everyone’s results in alphabetic order; updated throughout the day. The scoreboard, like everything else at Augusta, is old school.

You have an impulse to whip out your camera and take a picture. No cameras. (though you can bring a camera on practice round days earlier in the week)

After the scoreboard, you walk up a big hill (the course is crazy hilly, much hillier than it looks on TV) and you’re about 200 yards from #1 tee which is perched at the top of a hill.

And my feeling at that moment was, ‘holy crap, we are at The Masters.’

How did you take it in?

The first day we decided to walk the course to see the whole thing. Like I said, it’s very hilly and we didn’t stay with one group. You get a pairings sheet when you walk in and you see who is playing with whom and you start following some groups around, finding strategic places to stand or sit and watch; and every once in a while you stop and think, ‘this is crazy, we’re at the Masters.’

They give out a little booklet called a Spectator Guide and in it is all sorts of information, rules, history, players bios and tips on the best viewing spots, purportedly written by Bobby Jones (and I’m sure some of it was), though it makes reference to great moments by Tiger Woods and others who didn’t come around until after Jones was dead, so I don’t think he wrote those parts, but I’m guessing an Augusta member wouldn’t put it past him. I would like to quote from the spectator guide now to give you a sense for how it’s written, this passage captures it:

“Before starting out, I’d like to observe that experienced spectators realize that the least satisfactory way of watching a medal play tournament is to trek around the course with one particular group of players. It’s an accepted fact that walking 18 holes is more tiring than playing them. I would suggest that greater enjoyment for the spectator may be provided by a little organization of his activities, according to his interest and energy.”

Random notes from Day One on the course:

We saw Luke Donald make an eagle chip on #2.

Our first foray into the concession stands was a memorable moment, more on the concessions later.

Hung out for a while on the downslope of a hill on #6. No. 6 is a downhill par three and you can plop down in a grassy area and see tee shots fly overhead at the green and to your right, you can see the players approach the green on the par 3 16^th. It’s a nice convergence where there’s a ton of action.

A lack of roars

Here’s the thing about going this year… there weren’t a lot of ROARS of fans going nuts when something big happened, because not that many big things happened. With the dry, windy conditions, it was more a matter of survival, the players weren’t scoring, so you heard groans or polite claps for pars and bogeys, but not until Sunday afternoon, when a few players made eagles, did we hear a few of the roars that Augusta is famous for.

What else stood out?

I need to spend a little time talking about the way the concessions are priced and sold at Augusta because it’s unlike anywhere else. You have probably heard about this, but the food is very inexpensive. I wrote down the menu board for the sandwiches, here it is:

Tuna Salad - $1.50

BBQ -- $1.50

Egg Salad -- $1.50

Pimento Cheese -- $1.50

Chicken Breast -- $2.50

Turkey on wheat -- $1.50

Masters Club* -- $2.50

Ham and Cheese -- $1.50

*turkey, ham, and cheese

Beers are $2 or $2.50 for a beer in a souvenir cup. They don’t tell you the kind of beer you are drinking, it is called Light, Regular, or Import. I saw some Heineken bottles, but I don’t know what kind of regular and light beer they sold, probably miller or bud.

Klondike bars, snickers, and M&Ms, potato chips, sodas, and bottled water are also available, all for between .75 and $1.50. You can also buy aspirin and Tylenol for .50.

All of the sandwiches are wrapped in green cellophane so that if you drop a wrapper, it likely won’t show up on TV.

The sandwiches were good and also very basic. No lettuce and tomato on anything. A chicken sandwich is a slightly spicy breaded chicken breast on a roll, that’s it. You can add some mustard if you want. Made fresh daily, served cold.

Throughout each day, we probably went to the food line 3-4 times, and would rack up a few sandwiches, a candy bar, a beer and a water, whatever … and the bill was always around $6 or $8.

We never stopped talking about it.

The other thing is the price of the badge. If you are lucky enough to own badges, the cost for a badge for all four days of the Masters is $175. That’s it. But in the after-market they can go for thousands, up to $7,000 or $8,000 for all four days if you buy in advance from a broker and want to be sure; you can pick one up for less than $1,000 per day to go for a day. On Sunday, which was Easter Sunday, scalpers were offering $250 or $300 for our badges, so I’m guessing they’d try to sell them for double that price.

OK, enough of the Q&A format, I am just going to dump all the info on you in no particular order. Sorry if this is a bit disorganized.

Other random moments to share:
Loved watching from amen corner on Friday. We set up shop along 11 fairway and watched a host of players struggle. Bogey after bogey after bogey.

We saw Phil Mickelson scramble his way to a bogey. All we saw was a recovery shot land near us about 120 out… then he hit a shot to about 5 or 6 feet and made the putt, we thought he saved par because we couldn’t see him batting it out of the woods for his second shot. After he makes the putt, I overheard a petite, cute blonde say to her friend “that was his best bogey ever.”

At that moment, not only did I realize that Phil made bogey, not par, but I realized we were standing right near Amy Mickelson while the whole thing unfolded. Good thing neither of us made any man boob jokes. She was, by the way, very cute and seemed nice, not stunningly hot or anything.

Friday night had a fun night out. Went to Hooters Augusta with McGee another guy from his office in the golf division, Jeremy, and young British pro golfer named Rob who they represent. Good times. Cool talking to a young golf pro about his experience watching the Masters. There were also the Hooters calendar girls signing calendars. Hooters is very cheesy but Augusta does not have a ton to offer.

Every day Sindler wore his Michigan hat with the big blue M on it.

And, I kid you not, he probably got 20-25 comments a day on it, along the lines of:

• ‘You go to Michigan?’
• “Go blue”
• “Go Buckeyes. Heh, heh.”
• “You from Michigan?”

And on and on, it was uncanny.

We saw the Appleby blow-up close up on Saturday. He had a 2 or 3 stroke lead on the field at the time and was the only player in red numbers heading to 17 at -1. We watched him play 15 and 16 and decided to follow him home because he was the hottest player on the course. We get a head start and walked up 17 fairway to the top of the hill where most players’ drives were landing.

We saw one ball out in the middle and everyone is like ‘is that Appleby?’ and then someone points out that he is shorter and WAY left. He was in the bunker on #7, the next fairway over. We were right there. So we go down a few yards and line up along the ropes knowing that he’s going to have a big shot in front of us.

We’re literally about 15 yards away as he paces back and forth to size up the shot and by the time he screws his shoes deep in the sand and is ready to hit, there are hundreds of people nearby. And part of me is watching the shot and another part is thinking about how weird it is that all these people (mostly men, crowd was 20-1 men on Friday, 10-1 men on Saturday and about 5-1 men on Sunday*) were totally quiet.

*these figures are guesstimates Sindler and I came up with (in case you thought we conducted a formal survey); but it was all guys Friday, a few more women Saturday, much more women and families Sunday.

Back to the action… Appleby stands over the ball for a while concentrating. It’s an odd thing watching this… he is immersed in what he is doing; he had to ask a few people to move over, and I can’t even imagine trying to play golf in that kind of pressure and environment. I guess, like anything else, you get used to it, but to see a huge mass of people gather and not make any noise in a situation like that was surreal.

Anyway, he draws the club back, lets it fly and catches the upslope of the trap, then a tree branch, then plunk, down on the ground about 100 yards up. Then he hits an approach to the greenside trap; blasts out in 4 and 3-jacks for 7. Painful to watch. Bye bye green jacket.

Our close encounter with Appleby got even closer after he crushed a tee shot down the middle on 18 following the triple. We watched him drive to see if he’d get back on track, then ducked in the men’s room between 17 green and 18 tee. As I’m walking in, here comes Appleby walking out, right past us. “Pro golfers, they’re just like us! They use the urinals at the men’s room!”

Seriously, that’s what crazy, interesting and fun about a golf tournament. This was the Masters, this guy was just leading, late in the day on Saturday. And he takes a piss right with the fans before walking up 18. That’d be a little like Derek Jeter taking a squirt among the chuckleheads in the bathroom under the bleachers before a key at bat at Yankee stadium during Game 5 of the World Series. You think they might have said something? Golf is just different.

I take the urinal next to the guy who was next to Appleby and he goes, “I didn’t say anything. I just stared straight ahead.”

Probably for the best. Wouldn’t it have been cooler if Appleby had just birdied and it would have been fun to say congratulations? Do you high five in that situation? Probably not. Also, per Sindler, Appleby did not flush or wash his hands. I’m just sayin.

As an aside, I’ve been writing for about an hour now. We’re 40 miles outside Atlanta.

What else can I tell you about Augusta and what it’s like to go? I mentioned the houses and hotels. There aren’t many nice hotels in town. Actually, I found out there are two, a Marriott and a Double tree, so just about all the VIPS who come into town rent homes.

There is massive cottage industry down there of companies that set up visitors, which is what I wrote about for the Sports Business Journal. Often, for a big company, they will rent out 6-10 homes in a subdivision all next to each other. One of the homes will serve as the hospitality center, where everyone comes over for meals, picks up their transportation and badges, and hangs out before and after the golf.

Like I said, there are also ‘clubhouses’ all around the course but across the street and off the grounds, where companies can hang out during the day. These places have full bars and food all day, hitting nets in the back, massage therapists and the works.

But honestly, Sindler and I agreed that you don’t really need all that stuff. Sure, it’s great, but it’s also great just to be at the course, eat the food that’s there, take it all in, move around and get a sports experience that is unlike any other. See with golf you aren’t just sitting in one spot, you are walking all over the place all day long. You probably walk four or five miles, so it’s also good exercise and fantastic justification for eating four sandwiches, a pack or two of M&Ms and a Klondike bar while sipping a few beers.

You can also, of course, just plunk your chair down in a spot and watch the players roll through. On Saturday, we got a great seat at 10 green and stayed there for about 2 hours.

I feel like I’m talking about everything other than the course. But I don’t know how many ways I can say the course is amazing. It’s amazing. It’s like what you see on TV but better, more vivid, real. And because Augusta and CBS do such a great job of telling you that Augusta is all about tradition, you can’t help but feel like you’re standing and walking a course that screams, or better yet, whispers “tradition” in your ear as you make your way around.

As I mentioned, there are no electronic scoreboards or updates on the course. All the updates you get come from the old school scoreboards. So another effect of going to the Masters is that it removes you completely from our blinkety-blink, rapid fire world of constant information coming at you from all directions. It’s actually quite nice.

We had a lot of fun on Sunday sitting in the grandstands on 17, watching players come through and watching the numbers go up on the board. But, when you hear a big roar from 8, 13 or 15 (the par 5s), you can’t help but feel like you’re missing something.

Weird not having a cell phone on the course. When I was standing greenside watching someone putt for example, I kept reaching for mine to make sure it was off, only to realize it wasn’t there.

Augusta did provide banks of phones for the patrons to use, all of which had free long distance for anywhere in the U.S., courtesy, the phones said, of AT&T. I thought that was cool.

We met Lee Elder, the first African American man to play at Augusta, on Saturday morning. He was hanging out at one of the hospitality venues that I was writing about and we had breakfast with him. We asked him about playing the course and what it was like, asked him if there’s been much progress since his day and he said, in so many words, ‘not really’ in terms of the way minorities are treated by club.

He said he doesn’t like the par 3 12^th, thinks it’s an unfair hole because the way the wind swirls and the steep embankment up front.

I haven’t written about the merchandise yet. So I’ll do that and try to wrap this thing up. OK, after you get through security at the main entrance, on your right is the massive merchandise store. We hit it on Friday morning, our first day.

Here are some tidbits about Masters merchandise:

You cannot buy Masters merchandise anywhere else but at Augusta (unless it’s on Ebay or something similar). They don’t license the rights to the logo to anyone else. It’s their brand, they sell it in their store only.

You can only buy Masters merchandise during Masters week. It’s not like you can show up at the course in July and walk into the pro shop to buy some stuff. Not happening.

So here’s what does happen. People go in this store – it’s a huge store, about the size of a supersized Walgreen’s, maybe bigger… not quite a Dick’s sporting goods, but bigger than a normal Walgreen’s or Rite Aid… and anything you might ever want with a Masters logo is in there… towels, blankets, trinkets, maybe 50 different kinds of hats and 100 or more styles of shirts, pullovers, windshirts, jackets, pants, shorts, I mean everything. And you go in there, and you want all of it.

You’re at the Masters, you don’t know when you might come back and you start piling up stuff in an arm basket like a mother of four hunting down toilet paper and bread before a blizzard.

I watched one guy with a long list of names and sizes in one hand and his basket was piled WAY over the little plastic handles. I asked him what he thought he was about to spend and he said $2,500.

We talked to a clerk who had just waited on found one guy whose tab was $25,000. He bought 20 watches alone. Now, you have to think that this is for resale on Ebay or somewhere, but it’s all part of the weird Masters vibe, a traditional unlike any other for sure.

You know what I just realized? There really aren’t even any signs of any kind anywhere on the course. The concessions aren’t labeled with a big sign that says “Food and Beverage” or anything like that, there are just these modest little food and drink centers around the course, set up like a quaint outdoor market, where you pull sammys and chips from bins and walk up to a register.

They do a great job with the registers, check outs, everything moves fast. At the merchandise store, for example, there are 22 checkout lines staffed all day with at least 3 registers… so that’s 66 checkout people ringing up the patrons, all … day … long.

Even long bathroom lines move fast. (though you see long lines of men and never a line for women, which is another oddity) You see a huge line, wind your way to the front and there’s a guy inside the restroom directing traffic, “move up, move up. Stop. Back right. Front left. Move up, move up, Stop…” etc. etc. They think of everything.

OK, we are now getting close to Atlanta, so I will actually try to stop. Sunday was a fun day, we spent it hopping around the course, sitting in the grandstand at 17 for a while, then watching the action at 9 green, then making our way down to 15 and 16. After the leaders came through 16, we had nowhere to go, the course tightens up because there’s 30,000 people there watching a few golf holes, so we packed it up and left.

Before I finish I’d be remiss not to mention something that was on my mind as I took in the Masters for three days this weekend. To get ready, I bought a book called The Masters where the writer, Curt Sampson, chronicles the history and evolution of the club and its signature tournament. (tuhn-mint).

Sampson writes that golf is a melting pot in Scotland and anyone with the pence can walk up and play the Old Course at St. Andrews, which has done nothing to diminish its legend. “Come play says St. Andrews. Stay away, says Augusta National. Unless you know a member.”

So, while you do feel welcome and privileged to be on the grounds enjoying Masters week – and they do an absolutely first class job with everything – I also felt a bittersweet notion of knowing that so many people would like to come here, be here, and perhaps even play here someday and that it cannot happen – not without money or connections or both – and that’s a shame. It’s also what makes Augusta, Augusta.

Here’s a big thanks to Sindler for the badges and McGee for the hook-ups. It was an unforgettable sports experience. Hope you enjoyed the babble.

GA

Written April 8-10, 2007

Terps Get Back to the Tourney, You Gotta Be Happy

It’s Tournament Time, Lets Get Happy

To begin the column this week, I thought I would quote verbatim from a voice mail left for me by my friend Ron. Ron and I shared season tickets to Maryland basketball for many years. Some would say Ron is a pessimist. He likely prefers “realist.”

On Sunday night just after 6 pm., the brackets came out. Maryland was announced as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest with a first round tilt against Davidson. My first thought, Interesting, Lefty’s old school. My second thought, Dell Curry’s kid plays there … just read an article about him … No ACC school wanted him … scores a lot of points … I am already worried.

My cell phone rang. I let it go to voice mail, wasn’t ready for banter just yet. Plus, I wanted to hear what Ron would say, but didn’t necessarily want to talk. Not yet.

At first, he was all excitement and hope, speaking for every Terp fan when he said:

“You know, it’s exciting to be a part of this again, isn’t it? Really, the Terps can’t ask for anything more than they got. Two winnable games and then you take your shot at Florida (pause). I think we have to be happy.”

And then comes the reality check from my realist friend, who spoke again for most fans when he worried aloud, “I just hope we don’t lay an egg.”

Amen to that.

Whatever happens, like Ron said, it is exciting to be part of this again. Back in the brackets. Back in the conversation. I think he said it just right – “I think we have to be happy.”

See, there’s been a lot of unhappiness or discontent or whatever you want to call it around Maryland basketball the last couple of years. Taking the long view, missing out on the tournament twice in 14 years (Kevin – please double-check this stat, I think that’s right but not 100 percent sure) is not cause for alarm. Not hardly. Not even close. Most programs would take that in an instant, never mind the two Final Fours and, oh yeah, a national championship. But that was then. Everyone started freaking out when Maryland went 3-6 in the ACC this year, and started thinking ‘here we go again,’ and counted this team out with plenty of games to go.

But in the span of three fabulous weeks in February, Maryland emerged as the team we’d hoped they’d be for quite some time.

And yes, it is exciting. And, yes, we have to be happy. Well said Ron, really.

Getting over the ACC Tournament

How to explain Maryland’s awful performance in the ACC tournament? How do you lose to Miami? Again?

Here’s what I think … Let’s give the Terps a pass for that one. You have to think that playing for their postseason lives every game for three weeks took an enormous emotional toll.

And so, when Maryland went to Tampa (Tampa!?) for the ACC tournament (where is it next year, Hartford?) they were flat, had already locked up the season’s No. 1 goal, and faced a Miami team that for some reason, has their number. Maryland relaxed, made a nice comeback, but got beat.

(Was that one hard to watch or what? Excruciating.)

Frank Haith and the Hurricanes went 12-20 this year, losing to Buffalo, Cleveland State and Northwestern along the way, but somehow beat Maryland not once but twice, forcing the Terps into two of the ugliest games of the year.

For everyone’s mental health, let’s just chalk that one up to a bad match-up for whatever reason and move on with our lives.

How Far Can They Go?

Let’s cut to the chase already and talk about the only thing most Maryland fans care about when it comes to the NCAA tournament: How far can the Terps go? Let’s break it down:

Round one in Buffalo, Maryland plays a feisty Davidson team that is (wow!) 29-4 and has won (brace yourself) 25 of its last 26 games, many of them blowouts. These guys are a little scary. Their best player is the above referenced Stephen Curry, son of 16-year NBA veteran Dell, who averages better than 21 points per game and, guess what, he can shoot it. Stephen Curry has jacked up 285 three-pointers this year, making 117 (41 percent).

Something tells me D.J. Strawberry might be chasing this guy around quite a bit. Here’s the thing – there’s no big drop-off from the Majors to the Mid-Majors anymore. You think this kid Curry couldn’t score some points in the ACC? Of course he could.

The difference is that while Maryland was making its run against Duke, North Carolina, Clemson and Florida State, Davidson was whipping Furman, The Citadel and North Carolina-Greensboro. So who do you think is tougher?

Maryland wins it, but I’ll be very surprised if it isn’t a close game.

Moving on, the Terps would then face the winner of the bracket buster special, Butler vs. Old Dominion. No idea who will win that one, but regardless, Maryland will face a small conference team with big dreams.

To be honest, I hate the draw. It’s sneaky scary, and if you lose to Davidson, Butler or Old Dominion, well… you just lost to Davidson, Butler, or Old Dominion.

Hmmm… I realize I am a homer, but don’t see the Terps losing in the first or second round. Think of it this way, when Maryland got to Tampa for the ACC tournament, they took a deep breath. They had made it. They knew. Sure, it would have been great to improve their seed, but they didn’t have enough to play for, just one guy’s opinion.

Now?

Everything is on the line. These next few games will define the legacy of this group, especially the seniors, who haven’t been to the tournament since the John Gilchrist show in 2005. I see Maryland winning two games and running into Florida in the Sweet 16.

What will happen then? If you want an objective answer, you’re asking the wrong guy. C’mon Terps, it’s tourney time.

I think we have to be happy.

Terps Win, Duke Loses, Now We're Talkin

Finally, A Win on the Road in the ACC; Can Terps Go on a Roll?

By Greg Abel

Two great things happened for Maryland men’s basketball fans this weekend: The Terps won and Duke lost. I don’t know about you, but that’s my favorite combo in sports.

On Saturday night, Maryland got a desperately needed road win, a 79-72 victory over Wake Forest to improve to 3-5 in the league, 17-6 overall.

On Sunday night, right around the same time that Peyton Manning changed his legacy for forever, Duke (18-5, 5-4) lost its second straight league game, this time at home, 68-67 to a very dangerous and talented Florida State (17-6, 5-4) team.

So it goes in this year’s ACC. As soon as you think you have it figured out, the next set of games changes perceptions. Look at Saturday’s results – on that day, of the five ACC ballgames, only Maryland won on the road. Elsewhere, UVa took care of its sixth straight win by beating Miami in Charlottesville, while three unranked teams won at home over three ranked teams.

Georgia Tech beat suddenly reeling Clemson in Atlanta, 80-62 (Clemson is 1-5 since staring the season 17-0); in Boston, BC drilled Virginia Tech, 80-59; and the most surprising result of the weekend came from Raleigh, where N.C. State beat mighty UNC, 83-79.

Now, I know most people who follow college hoops saw those scores. But what I want to underscore is what they mean, and that’s this – no one – not you, me, Dick Vitale, or Digger Pheps – has any idea (after North Carolina) which are the “really” good teams in the ACC.

It’s safe to say North Carolina is the best team in the league, this weekend’s defeat notwithstanding. What the Tar Heels have done this year that no one else in the league has done with regularity, is beat good teams by wide margins on the road and at home. Need proof: Carolina beat Florida State 84-58. Maryland has a decent tema, but they could play Florida State 20 times this year and not beat the Seminoles by 26 points.

The Heels are the class of the league, even if they are technically in third place as I write this on Sunday night.

And then there is, literally, everyone else. Yes, I know that UVa is hot, Boston College looks tough, and Florida State has some serious talent. But are you telling me that Maryland or Clemson or Georgia Tech or Duke could not beat any of them on any night? Of course they could. It’s the season of parity in the ACC, where Carolina will likely win the league with a record of 13-3 or so, and then my bet is that we’ll see 6-8 teams with records from 6-10 to 10-6, without much difference in talent between them.

So, where does all this leave our beloved Turtles?

Well, thanks to the road win Saturday night (whew!), they are at least back in the conversation to get back to the NCAA tournament. If nothing else, the win at Wake gave the Terps a dose of confidence heading into a HUGE week with home games against UVa on Tuesday night and against Duke on Sunday. And if we have learned nothing else this season, we have learned that junior James Gist just might have turned the corner from good to great.

The starting seniors – D.J. Strawberry, Mike Jones, and Ekene Ibekwe – have all had their moments, but none has proven to be consistent or talented enough to lead Maryland to elite status. Gist might just have that star quality we’ve been waiting and hoping for. He is averaging 22 points in his last three games and has started taking and making outside jumpers, including some three-pointers. Here’s hoping Gist keeps it up.

The last time Maryland played UVa, the Cavaliers sprung 103 points on the Terps in Charlottesville, in a game that sent the Cavs on their current win streak. Some payback would be nice, especially if Maryland can figure out a way to slow down Virginia’s spectacular backcourt of Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, both of whom average close to 19 points per game.

The good news is that UVa is not a very good road team, 3-5 on the year, though they have won their last two in conference at N.C. State and at Clemson.

It’s a great opportunity for Maryland to get an important league win against a good team. If they can do so, they will face Duke on Sunday with a chance to get back to .500 in the ACC.

Speaking of Duke, let’s take a look at this year’s squad and whether or not they measure up to the powerful Blue Devils squads that we have gotten so used to hating over the years. Short answer: they aren’t all that. For the first time in a while, there isn’t one player on Duke who is, for lack of a better word, scary.

Junior guard DeMarcus Nelson leads the team in scoring at around 14, and he’s a nice player, but he’s not anything like the assassin that J.J. Redick was in college. Point guard Greg Paulus does a very nice job running the Duke team and can score (he had 22 against Florida State), but again, he’s won’t single-handedly beat Maryland or anyone else.

Up front, it’s all about sophomore Josh McRoberts for Duke, who averages 13 points and 8 rebounds. And to that I say, so what? Those aren’t much different than Ibekwe or Gist’s numbers. McRobert is a solid player, he can handle the ball and get his opponent in foul trouble, but again, not a guy who makes your heart sink when he touches the ball. Bottom line: Duke can be had this year, no doubt about it.

Overall, my theme for this week’s column is this: things are not that bad for Maryland, there is plenty of season left, there is time to make a run, time to get back to the tournament. Sure, the losses on the road have hurt, and nothing hurt more than the inexcusable home loss to Miami, but Maryland has two chances this week to get their season pointed back to the NCAA tournament.

UVa at home on Tuesday, Duke at home on Sunday. Two wins and you might even see Maryland back in the top 25. A split and we’re still thinking about a bid and grinding away on the road the following week. This much I can say for sure: I have no idea what will happen, but it will be nerve-wracking and fun to watch.

"Starbury" Feature for Sports Business Journal

Marbury’s new shoe rewrites the rules

By GREG ABEL
Correspondent

Published December 25, 2006 : Page 03

One of the feel-good stories of the year, about how a high-performance basketball shoe backed by Stephon Marbury arrived on the shelves of discounter Steve & Barry’s stores for $14.98, started in the mind of the Knicks point guard but took its first steps to reality at a lunch meeting with modest intentions.

Stephon Marbury’s dream became a reality in August.

It was a spring day in 2005 when sports marketers Jordan Bazant and Peter Raskin, partners of The Agency Sports Management in New York, met with Howard Schacter, a former colleague from their days at SFX Sports who now is chief partnership officer for Steve & Barry’s.

There was no agenda, no specific deal to work out as they sat down at Pershing Square, a casual spot across from Grand Central Station.

Since The Agency had recently signed Marbury for his off-the-court initiatives, the group got to talking about how they might work together. Marbury’s shoe and apparel contract with And 1 had ended, and the Coney Island playground legend turned NBA all-star was looking for something new and different.

Having already made tens of millions of dollars playing ball, Marbury told his new reps that he wanted ownership in a brand that would make shoes and gear that were both cool to wear and affordable for any family’s budget. As the sixth in a family of seven kids, Marbury grew up wanting things his family often couldn’t afford. When he talked to Bazant, he talked in terms of a commitment to a “movement,” not the next big check from a sneaker company.

“He told me he wanted to change the world,” Bazant said.

Hitting the market

Bazant and Marbury had already shopped the concept to a few potential partners — licensees and holding companies — but they hadn’t found the right fit.

At lunch, with Marbury’s vision on his mind, Bazant listened to Schacter explain how Steve & Barry’s key challenge was evolving from a college T-shirt store into a serious retailer with the depth to appeal to a mass market. The company had made its name with low prices — at the time, nothing in the store sold for more than $10 — but it needed a better image.

Bazant started to think. “What if…?” Raskin was on the same page. As the conversation evolved, Bazant recalled, “Peter and I were just winking at each other thinking, ‘This is the company.’”

By the end of the lunch, Bazant introduced the concept of working with Marbury. Schacter took it back to his office and handed off to Aaron Spiewak, then the company’s licensing director. In the ensuing months, Spiewak developed a relationship with The Agency, working on several deals while brainstorming about how to make something work with Marbury.

In a series of follow-up meetings, The Agency stressed the unique opportunity of working with a point guard in the prime of his career who also was from New York, had “street cred” and believed personally in the “low cost, high quality” mission of the company.

“Above all point guards, Steph resonates with people who have the game close to their hearts,” said Spiewak, who left Steve & Barry’s for a licensing job with ESPN in August 2006. “For a New York company, there is no better person than Stephon Marbury.”

“Plus,” he added, “big men don’t sell shoes.”

Spiewak and The Agency put together the basic structure of the deal and won the support and enthusiasm of Marbury and Steve & Barry’s President Andy Todd. To get everything rolling, they called a dinner meeting at Mr. Chow’s in midtown Manhattan in late summer 2005.

At the table were Bazant and Raskin, along with Marbury and his wife, Steve Shore (the Steve of Steve & Barry’s), Todd, Spiewak, and a few others.

Marbury and Steve & Barry’s President Andy Todd at a tour stop in Minnesota.

During the meal, Todd told Marbury what Steve & Barry’s was all about, at one point using the words, “change the world.” Marbury stopped him midsentence.

“He said, ‘That’s it, that’s what we’re going to do. We are going to change the world,’” Todd said. “We saw what a genuine person he was. It was so personal to him that it made sense.”

“Steph told us he wanted to do the deal before appetizers were served,” recalled Spiewak.

Said Marbury, “I basically said if they can make affordable things for people to have and it’s the same quality, I’m all down for it because that gives everyone an opportunity and that’s what the movement is about.”

Creating the buzz

Not long after, a contract was signed, one that pays Marbury based on sales, not a flat endorsement fee. According to Todd, the Steve & Barry’s team went to work before the ink hit paper, contracting New Hampshire-based design firm Rocket Fish to create what would become Starbury One, a product that derives its name from Marbury’s longtime nickname.

To drive momentum, the team members gave themselves a series of tight deadlines. They wanted a shoe out before the 2006-07 NBA season. Along the way, the core team met at Marbury’s Westchester, N.Y., home, sitting around a big couch where the NBA star provided input on everything from design to fit to marketing.

As the shoe’s design and development evolved, Bazant said he and Marbury often kidded each other that there was no way the concept could really happen: a sleek, high-performance shoe that looked good enough and performed well enough for the starting point guard of the New York Knicks to wear it in games but that could be sold at a profit for less than $15. But it was beginning to take shape.

When they were presented with the final design of the shoe, “We went nuts,” Bazant said, “They really did it.”

Less than a year after the dinner meeting at Mr. Chow’s, the public and the media went nuts, too. The press release hit on Aug. 16, 2006, with a headline that read: “Entire Line of High Quality Clothing and Footwear Will Enable Kids and Parents to Purchase NBA-Quality Sneakers for Under $15 and Create Entire Wardrobes for Under $100.”

A launch party in New York brought the buzz to a fevered pitch.

The story first hit with an interview on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” It then appeared on “Good Morning America.” The Associated Press, USA Today and others seemed to follow in lockstep, gushing over the price point and Marbury’s involvement.

Product display at a Steve & Barry’s store

Steve & Barry’s brought in other partners to assist in the launch. The Mastermind Group, a marketing firm that The Agency recommended, led by former Jordan Brand director Erin Patton, coordinated advertising, public relations, online and other marketing services.

But it was Marbury who had the other key idea that fueled the successful launch. He came up with the idea for a road show: a 17-day, 40-stop tour that took Marbury and his new line to malls and basketball courts in the key Steve & Barry’s markets and stores around the country.

“I just thought, ‘It would be crazy if we went on tour,’” he said. “When I saw how people were reacting, I just wanted to go grassroots and let people see the product and touch the product.”

In September, in city after city, town after town, mall after mall, people lined up in the hundreds to buy the $14.98 shoes, to thank the player who brought them to life and to heap “much love,” as Marbury would say it, onto what he calls “the movement.” TV cameras and reporters followed, as if on cue, bringing reams of positive PR to the marketplace.

Said Todd, “Being on tour so crystallized what a fantastic thing we were doing. Parents were hugging us and saying they can afford $10 for a jersey and $15 for shoes. It was already great; the tour made it legendary.”

Marbury also used the tour to train every day with the shoes on, playing against local high school teams and preparing for training camp.

He bristles at any discussion that the Starbury shoe line is a PR move to improve his image. He had a very public flap with former Knicks coach Larry Brown last season, and the Knicks are mired in more misery this season.

“When I did this project, the thing that upset me is people saying I did it for my image,” he said. “I know what I do. I help people. I take care of people and put them in situations where they can prosper. This isn’t about me. This is about everybody else.”

‘Best experience of my life’

The Starbury line includes more than shoes. It started with 50 items and plans to increase to 200. Steve & Barry’s is expanding as well, now up to 195 stores from just 60 when the company struck its deal with Marbury in 2005.

Because Steve & Barry’s is privately held, the company would not disclose sales figures. What Todd would say is, “[Sales] have been through the roof. We get them in, they go right out. Last week [in early December] was the first time where we might have enough shoes in stock.”

The launch shows no signs of slowing, either. Earlier this month, the Starbury One was named shoe “launch of the year” by Footwear News.

“It was really about providing a great product at a good value,” Bazant said. “We think that this ‘movement’ rings true with most people.”

It’s unclear what response, if any, could be forthcoming in the marketplace from competing shoe companies to the buzz generated by the Starbury One. Todd, though, feels the product could have a lasting impact on the business.

“The way people shop for NBA-endorsed products is going to change, and I think we are changing it,” he said. “It’s the movement: People are voting with their pocket books. The time has come for us not to pay $200 for sneakers. They don’t cost that much to make.”

He also credited Marbury for the role he played in the process.

“With Stephon, it’s about the kids,” he said. “I’ve done hundreds of interviews, and every time I say, ‘It’s about the kids,’ people go, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ But with Stephon, I am telling you, it was and is about the kids.”

Marbury said this is no short-term deal for him.

“You can ask me anything. There is not a move that’s made without me involved,” he said. “I am 100 percent into this, 100 percent involved, and it’s something that I’m committed to for the rest of my life.”

Of the tour, Marbury added, “That was the best experience of my life. When you see someone crying and laughing at the same time, you don’t even know how to feel.”

Greg Abel is a writer in Baltimore and can be reached at gregoryabel@yahoo.com.

Terps Nation #1 for 2006-2007 Season

Greetings Terrapin Nation and welcome to the first installment of the 2006-2007 season.

Before I get to breaking it down and babbling at full throttle, I have a few administrative announcements to make.

Ravens Game Watch Party for a Good Cause

First, I would like to invite everyone on this list to a Ravens game watch party this Sunday, November 12^th at Shuckers Bar in Fell’s Point.

What: This is a charity event to benefit the Derek Meizlesh Foundation and the Greenebaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland.

Where: Click HERE for a map and info

When: Sunday, 11/12, 12 noon – 5 p.m.

How much: It’s easy on the wallet people. $40 for one person, $75 for two.

Why: Good times, great cause and because you’re going to watch football anyway, why not do it with friends in Fells?

You get lots of food and at least two drinks, big screens for the game. Shuckers is a great place, nice and open, lots of room to hang out. If you plan to come, please do me a quick favor a reply with a headcount so the official organizers know how many to expect.

Here’s a sample for how you might choose to reply if you are one of those people who is soooooo busy.

Click “reply”

Type: “in”

or

“in +1”

Click “send”

Note – you don’t have to use the quotation marks.

Time required – 2-3 seconds*

Fun to be had – lots

*your speed may vary depending on factors including, but not limited to, need to inform/request permission from your significant other, availability on Sunday afternoon, level of ‘cool factor’ still left in your old, weary bones.

Random aside

I went to CVS this morning to buy some glass cleaner. I walked up to the register and a woman rang me up. She was about 60 and skinny, kind of hunched over and grand-motherly looking with a hair net and skinny glasses resting on the brim of her nose.

She said “3.35.” I gave her a Five, a quarter and a dime. She put the quarter and the dime down, put the five in the register, and gave me back a dollar and 65 cents. I said, “Oh. I gave you $5.35 so I could get two dollars back.” Then I pointed to the quarter and the dime on the counter.

She looked at me, looked at the coins, while still holding my change in her hands… then she picked up my coins, put them together with the 65 cents in her hand, and handed it all to me and said, “oh, ok, here honey, here’s $1 and another dollar in change… Two dollars.” She wasn’t being mean or sarcastic, she was just trying to give me two dollars like I asked. OK then.

Burying the lead

A few of you on this list already know this, but many do not, and I am here to make an announcement… I got a paying gig this year to be a Terps commentator on the radio… after a campaign that bordered on harassment and what I can only suspect is a combination of apathy and submission on the part of the station manager, I have been hired to be YOUR host of Maryland basketball pre and post game coverage on THE Terrapin Sports Radio Network.

Now, there’s a lot I can say right now about how it came about and how it’s going so far after 2 preseason games (luckily and sketchy), but I am excited about the opportunity and tonight -- in case your mind was too focused on elections, Ravens, Redskins, and your own personal life and career -- is the first regular season Maryland basketball game. Terps play Hampton at 8:30 in the second half of the coaches vs. cancer classic. If Maryland wins tonight and tomorrow against the winner of the Vermont/New Orleans game, then they’ll go to NY next week for the semifinals and finals.

About my show… I’m the guy who does a half hour of pre game starting one hour before tip. I then hand off to Johnny Holiday and Chris Knoche, who do the final half hour of pregame and, of course, the actual broadcast. Unfortunately, my portion isn’t on in DC, but it is carried on 1300 AM and 105.7 FM in Baltimore and I think the FM signal travels pretty nicely down to DC.

So… if you have a moment and are so inclined, check it out. Tonight, my good friend and NBA player representative Doug Neustadt will join me to talk about former Terps in the pros (Doug represents Sarunas, Drew Nicholas, and others) (OK, the “others” are Mike Mardesich, somewhat MIA, and Terrence Morris, currently looking for work).

Weekly column in PressBox

My other media gig for the season is writing a weekly college hoops column, focusing mainly on the Terps in the new PressBox newspaper in Baltimore www.pressboxonline.com

My first column debuts this week, where I quickly break down the Terps and throw a bone of coverage/thoughts to the other programs in the Baltimore area. I can’t be as irreverent as I am on these Terp Nation emails, but I am trying to still keep it loose and entertaining.

Because there are only so many hours in the day and I do have an actual job, I am just going to paste my first column that will run in PressBox this week below so that everyone on this list can read it first. That’s right people, you are getting exclusive content.

Very Quick Thoughts on the Terps

I am going to keep this quick because I basically wrote what I wanted to say in the column below but not as explicitly as I’ll say it here… I am not sure if Maryland will be any good or better than they have been for the past three years this year. Pretty dramatic statement right? I mean, if Ibekwe, Jones, Gist, and Strawberry haven’t taken Maryland to where we expect Maryland to be for the past 2 seasons, I am not sure why we should think this year will be a lot different.

That said, at least there’s some exciting new blood in the program. Best player is likely Greivis Vasquez. Whose name, I actually just confirmed with the basketball SID, is officially pronounced GRAY-vis. Here’s the actual exchange (more exclusive content people);

OK, on to this week’s column, here it is, enjoy:

GA

Terps Hoping New Faces Mean Return to Winning Ways in College Park

By Greg Abel

Don’t look now, but while we’ve been watching the Ravens run out to a 6-2 record, and the Terps football team summon the early Fridge years, college basketball season crept up and joined the party.

Yup, college hoops tips off in earnest this week in College Park, with Maryland playing host to the first and second rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The calendar says Election Day, November 7th, and Maryland is playing a real game, the earliest start to a season ever.

With a fresh start, you can be sure that Gary Williams’ Terps hope to reestablish themselves in the ACC and nationally as an elite program.

In the three seasons following the departure of every meaningful player from the 2002 national championship team, Maryland has gone 19-11 (7-9), 16-12 (7-9), and 19-12 (8-8). That might pass for reasonable at Clemson, but not at Maryland, where Williams spent a long, long time squeezing every last drop of effort and potential out of his players while building the program from bad, to better, to good, to great.

Eleven straight NCAA tournament appearances came to an end following the 2004-2005 season, and if not for an out of body ACC tournament by then sophomore John Gilchrist, Maryland would be working on a three-season drought from the Big Dance.

So, what’s in store for this year’s Terps? Most importantly, some new faces and new energy. Not that Nik Caner-Medley didn’t have some great moments (he was the class of his class), or that Travis Garrison didn’t want to win (he certainly wanted to shoot… from outside anyway), but when the curtain fell on the 2005-2006 season, the Terps were last seen losing at home to Manhattan in the NIT. Not good. Chris McCray had already been lost to grades and John Gilchrist had long since said “Shalom” to the program, having taken his game to the pro leagues in Israel.

Now it’s time for the core foursome of D.J Strawberry, Mike Jones, Ekene Ibekwe, and James Gist to take their turn at the helm, so we’ll see what they can do as leaders.

They will have help. Maryland has five newcomers, led by freshman point guard Eric Hayes and freshman guard/forward Greivis Vasquez. Both can and will play the point, with Hayes getting the early nod as starter. But Vasquez, a native of Venezuela, will get as many minutes as anyone and will rotate from point to shooting guard, to small forward.

At 6-5, rangy and talented, Vasquez is fun to watch -- the kind of player who demands attention, because he is highly skilled and charismatic. Hayes is all business, a steady coach’s son of a point guard from Potomac, Va. Hayes will remind fans of Steve Blake in composure and build, though he might have a tad more muscle than Blake did when he arrived to College Park.

Regardless, the duo gives Gary exactly what he lacked last year – depth at the point, where Strawberry struggled through an awkward season handling the ball and nursing a few injuries. Now healthy and back at his natural role on the wing, look for Strawberry to have a solid senior season. You can definitely say this about D.J. -- no one plays harder or cares more.

The other newcomers are 6-7 swingman Landon Milburne, a left-hander who will get minutes out on the wing and can do a bit of everything; Bambale Osby, a chiseled 6-8, 250-pound transfer from Paris (TX) Junior College who carries a delightful afro and gives the Terps some much-needed bulk; and freshman Jerome Burney, a 6-9 shot blocking specialist, currently nursing a left foot injury and expected to get back on the court shortly.

As for the returning players, it’s time to get it done already, right? We have seen flashes from Ibekwe, Jones, and Gist, but none of Maryland’s upper classmen have ever demonstrated the consistency of a true, big-time player, capable of throwing a team on his back.

Here’s hoping this is the year Maryland turns things around.

Looking Around the Region
In other area hoops news, it will be interesting to see if any genuine rivalries emerge now that the Baltimore area has three well-known coaches patrolling the sidelines in Pat Kennedy at Towson, Jimmy Patsos at Loyola, and Todd Bozeman attempting to resurrect his once promising career at Morgan State.

Or, forget rivalries, it would be fantastic for Baltimore hoops if just one of those programs – and you can add UMBC and Navy to the list – would jump out and establish themselves as something other than a middle or bottom-of-the-pack finisher in their respective conference.

At Towson, it’s about time for Kennedy to show that his best basketball days aren’t behind him by having his Tigers inject a little magic into the Towson Center. Kennedy can be excused for an awful first year two years ago – 5-24 with someone else’s players – but now he’s had two seasons to recruit and turn things around with his own guys.
The Tigers improved to 12-16 last year, and there's cause for optimism this year.

The Tigers boast the region’s best NBA prospect in shooting guard Gary Neal, a 6-4 transfer from LaSalle who is the NCAA’s leading returning scorer after putting up 26.1 points per game last season. Any true hoops fan in the area should make their way to Towson this year to see Neal and to take in a few games in the highly competitive and entertaining Colonial Athletic Association.

After all, from the CAA came the best story last season in the form of the George Mason Patriots and their pied-piper coach, Jim Larranaga. The Patriots, you may recall, defeated (ahem) North Carolina, Michigan State, Wichita State, and (hey now!) UConn to reach the Final Four. Interestingly enough, Mason features two Mount St. Joseph products in junior forward Will Thomas, a left-handed, 6-7 baby hook artist, and 6-6 freshman Louis Birdsong.

The Patriots come to Towson on January 11th, now that’s worth circling on the calendar.