The Maryland and Georgetown men’s basketball teams don’t get to face off as frequently as some would like. Although the Terps lead the all-time series 34-15, the two local foes haven’t played since 2016 and have only met four times since 2001.
It won’t be a battle between the current programs, but the Alumni Basketball League hopes to bring fans the next best thing. Squads of Maryland and Georgetown alumni will square off at Xfinity Center Aug. 6 in the first event put on by the newly founded league.
Former Terp Travis Garrison, now the general manager of the Maryland alumni team, joined Glenn Clark Radio July 20 to discuss the new venture.
“I’m excited about this because I want to give back to the fans and give them something exciting,” Garrison said. “This is not a game of former players coming together just to play. This is a real thing. The players are getting paid to play. And obviously we still have the bragging rights going on between Maryland and Georgetown.”
The league was founded by former Missouri star and Los Angeles Laker Kareem Rush, who organized an alumni exhibition contest between his Tigers and former conference rival Kansas in 2019. From there, after seeing its success in Missouri and Kansas, Rush wanted to expand his idea and turn it into a nationwide league.
Garrison was put in charge of putting the roster of Maryland alumni together by Jason Conley, the league’s senior vice president. After asking Garrison if he’d be interested, his next question was who would be a good opponent. Garrison knew he wanted to rekindle a local rivalry.
The game was originally supposed to take place in 2023, so Garrison thought he had some time to make calls and construct a team. A few weeks after the initial call earlier this summer, Conley got back to Garrison with an update.
The timeline was moved up, from the anticipated date of 2023 to early August of this year, just six weeks away.
Fortunately, building a team with such short notice wasn’t challenging. The Maryland team — named the “College Park Boys” — features a mix of recent alumni with stars of the past. Anthony Cowan Jr. and Melo Trimble, two All-Big Ten selections in the 2010s, headline the lineup that also consists of Ekene Ibekwe, Damonte Dodd, Byron Mouton, Terrell Stoglin and Sean Mosley.
Mouton was a member of the Terps’ 2002 national championship team and played professionally in several leagues overseas. Ibekwe averaged nearly 9.0 points per game in 127 games for the Terps from 2003 to 2007 and was an All-ACC defensive team selection as a senior.
Georgetown’s team, named DawgTalk, will have the advantage in the form of NBA experience with players like Chris Wright, Greg Monroe, Greg Whittington and Henry Sims.
“You leave college and you remember the time back when we played, the excitement that it had and playing in front of the fans,” Garrison said. “And now these guys get a chance to go back and do it again in front of those same fans they haven’t seen in some time and they haven’t seen them in some time. And it’s pretty cool because we’re going back to the Xfinity Center. A number of players have told me how excited they are. They’re looking forward to it, to come back home and play for their fans.”
As for Maryland’s current program, Garrison is encouraged by what new head coach Kevin Willard has done in the early months of his tenure to steer the team back in the right direction. Garrison appreciated Willard’s efforts to bring alumni back to campus for the current players to see.
Garrison hopes Jahmir Young, an incoming transfer who will be the first DeMatha graduate to play at Maryland since Garrison, will lead the way for the two schools to reconnect in recruiting. And Garrison knows new assistant Tony Skinn well and looks forward to seeing him in action.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about [Willard],” Garrison said. “I know it’s going to be great to get the fans back in there and see what’s going to happen. I experienced that when I was at Maryland, we did amazing things. We have so much talent in this area and I know the Maryland fans are tired of missing out.”
Willard hopes to reenergize the Maryland fan base. So does Garrison. In bringing beloved Terps of the past back to College Park, Garrison not only aims to get fans back in the seats, but to also give former players another chance to experience their illustrious college careers.
Most players taking part in the league did not have long, if any, NBA careers. Most played some in foreign leagues, and some never played professionally.
“A number of these guys maybe didn’t play in the NBA,” Garrison said. “The whole thing was to bring these guys back and playing in front of fans that supported them for so many years.”
For more from Garrison, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics