Alex

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports. Is Alex Len definitely leaving for the NBA and has his status gone up after he finished the season strong in the NIT? Don Markus: While the sophomore from the Ukraine has not given any indication of what he plans to do, Mark Turgeon and the Maryland coaching staff have assumed all season that this would be Len's last in College Park.

A four-year starter and captain, the All-Metro catcher had a near-perfect week at the plate to lead the No. 1 Cardinals (5-1) to four wins. Murphy was productive in 15 of his 16 plate appearances during the four games, going 10-for-11 (.909) with four walks and a sacrifice fly. He had six extra-base hits - three doubles and three triples - and 13 RBIs. In Thursday's 15-5 win over Archbishop Spalding, Murphy was 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple and seven RBIs. Murphy, who has committed to Wake Forest, is batting .714 with a 1.357 slugging percentage so far this season.

Alex Len played it coy Wednesday when asked if he'd return to Maryland for his junior season or declare for the NBA draft. The Terps' 7-foot-1 center actually prefaced his remarks by saying he hadn't thought about it, which is hard to believe, given he's projected as pretty much a consensus lottery pick if he goes pro. "I'm just trying to go ahead day by day and play every game," he told reporters in Greensboro, N.C., where the Terps will...

Maryland center Alex Len said it's too early to say whether he will return for his junior season or  opt for the NBA draft. “No, I  haven't thought about it,” the seven-footer from Ukraine  said after the Terps practiced at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum for Thursday night's ACC tournament game against Wake Forest. “I'm just trying to go ahead day by day and play every game. Right now, I'm focused on Wake Forest and I'm just going to think about it after the season.” Len is averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

It's not that top-ranked Maryland hadn't played well enough to win in recent days. For a team intent on bringing another national title back to College Park, however, uneven performances against Hofstra and UMBC left much to be desired. For the Terrapins, Saturday's game against No. 9 Penn State presented the ideal opportunity to make a statement. "We felt like we had something to prove today," senior Alex Aust said. "We really wanted to come out and play better than we played last week.

When Salisbury takes the field Wednesday against Washington & Lee since losing a 31-game winning streak in a 13-12 setback to Lynchburg last Saturday, coach Jim Berkman will pay a good deal of attention to the middle. Junior goalkeeper Alex Taylor, who anchors the defense, and senior Tyler Granelli, who headlines the faceoff unit, slogged through surprisingly poor showings in the loss to the Hornets -- a result that will surely drop the Sea Gulls from the top spot in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association preseason poll.

Mark Turgeon can barely bring himself to utter the words NCAA tournament these days. The superstitious Maryland basketball coach will begin shaking his head before a reporter can complete a question about Maryland's chances of advancing to what Turgeon has euphemistically referred to as the “four-letter word” tournament. While Turgeon considers it premature to speculate on Maryland's prospects, he knows that the team suffered a setback when it lost Tuesday night, 69-58, to a Boston College team that shut down Maryland center Alex Len. “I just don't get it,” Turgeon said afterward.

This one was ugly, an 80-69 beatdown at the hands of Virginia that made that patch of gray in Mark Turgeon's hair practically double in size. A few more losses like this and he'll need the Just for Men even more than I do. The big question for Maryland on Sunday was this: where was Alex Len? The big sophomore center finished with nine points, but four came in the last 1:18 when Comcast Center was emptying and the cleaning crew was getting the mops and brooms ready. OK, Len finished with seven boards and blocked a few shots.

The college basketball season comes with all sorts of tests. For Maryland center Alex Len, one came in last Saturday's game against Wake Forest in the form of a forearm to his chest. With Maryland leading early in the game, Len bumped with Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas as the two looked to establish position. Thomas, the brother of Maryland women's basketball star Alyssa Thomas, raised a forearm that grazed Len's torso. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said he was telling his 7-foot-1 center from the bench: "Don't back down, don't back down.

COLLEGE PARK - A few weeks ago, Tuesday night's game against Boston College at Comcast Center appeared to be a breather for the Maryland men's basketball team, the young and undersized Eagles wedged between road trips to North Carolina and Duke. It nearly turned out to be a lot more for the struggling Terps. Going down to the last minute before an announced 13,941 that included 2002 NCAA championship stars Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter, Maryland escaped with a 64-59 victory that helped the Terps avoid their fourth loss in a stretch of five games.