After Dion Glover, Georgia Tech's star sophomore, tore a knee ligament on the opening day of basketball practice last October, Maryland coach Gary Williams knocked on the conference table in his Cole Field House office.
When North Carolina State went through a horrible run of injuries last season, Williams counted his blessings.
For much of the last eight seasons, Williams and the Terps have enjoyed a healthy run in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
There were no serious injuries that disrupted his team. The good fortune extended beyond the trainer's room, as there were no academic dismissals to note, and only a rare early exit to the NBA, like Joe Smith's.
Williams' 10th Maryland team has accomplished much this winter, as only a handful of teams in the nation have more wins.
The Terps will take a 21-4 record and No. 7 ranking into tomorrow's home game against North Carolina, but they are also dealing with the worst adversity that has hit the program in years.
Senior center Obinna Ekezie underwent surgery yesterday, and his college career is over. The ruptured Achilles' tendon came at the end of a trying 10 days for the Terps.
"This has probably been the hardest two weeks of my life," said Terrell Stokes, no small statement considering he barely escaped the mean streets of Philadelphia to run the point for the Terps.
Stokes' grandmother died before Maryland went to Wake Forest, and he has spent an inordinate amount of time recently driving up and down I-95 to attend services and be with his family. He missed both practices before Maryland went to No. 1 Duke.
Stokes broke in a new starting center when Ekezie was benched for Lonny Baxter last Saturday, then held together a team that had gotten used to having a senior in the middle. Stokes said the Terps have to find new ways to win, and the first twist saw him score 14 points at N.C. State on Wednesday night.
Ekezie, Stokes and wing Laron Profit entered Maryland together in 1995, and with the big man in civvies, it will be a poignant Senior Day at Cole on Feb. 24 against Clemson.
Profit said he was "in shock" after Ekezie injured himself at practice Tuesday. Profit said he spent the next 24 hours thinking about the plight of Ekezie and the team, and how Maryland must remember that it just has to continue doing what it has done throughout his career -- not rely too heavily on any one player.
