Comcast Center

With Alex Len headed to the NBA, how will the Terps replace their 7-1 center? The Len Replacement Committee will be convening shortly at Comcast Center. For someone who has been around the Maryland basketball program, this is not like replacing  Joe Smith after he was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NBA draft. To tell you the truth, it's not like finding another Lonny Baxter after the Terps won the national championship in 2002. Both Smith (20.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks)

He pulled on a Terps visor, to the crowd's delight. He rubbed noses with Gov. Martin O'Malley. And the Dalai Lama was met Tuesday with rounds of applause from a crowd of 15,000 at the University of Maryland, College Park's Comcast Center. "Sit down," the 78-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said in a firm but friendly voice when he approached the podium and the crowd rose to its feet. "No formality! We are [the] same. … The way we are born, the way we die: no formality. " Clad in red robes and his trademark spectacles, the Dalai Lama appeared at the university to give an address on peace, compassion and fellowship as part of the Anwar Sadat Lecture Series.

More than a quarter century after he was forced to resign in the months following the cocaine-induced death of basketball star Len Bias, longtime Maryland coach Lefty Driesell was officially - and permanently - recognized Tuesday with the unveiling of a bronzed bas relief sculpture in his honor at Comcast Center. In a ceremony that attracted a few hundred friends, family and fans and brought back close to 50 players - including Tom McMillen and Len Elmore, who spearheaded the effort to get their former coach recognized - Driesell, now 81, was both emotional and typically cantankerous in accepting the honor.

The Maryland men's basketball team will play Oregon State at Comcast Center next season, an athletic department source said Thursday. The Beavers are coached by Craig Robinson, President Barack Obama's brother-in-law. The Pac-12 school played at Towson in November of 2011.

Mark Turgeon has done a pretty good job hiding his displeasure about the lack of attendance at Comcast Center since he took over last season at Maryland, making only occasional public comments on the topic. But in talking about Sunday's matchup with George Mason in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.,Turgeon's truth-serumed tongue got the better of him. Asked if his Terps might have a difficult time adjusting to playing in what might be a half-empty (or worse)

The Maryland crowd kept looking for a reason to celebrate Sunday. Restless and fidgety, the gold-clad students were like champagne bottles waiting to be uncorked. There was so much at stake for the Terps - a chance to beat a potent rival, to extend their winning streak to three games and begin to establish a foothold for an NCAA tournament berth. But the Maryland fans never got the opportunity to cut loose. Rather than seize their big moment, the Terps were oddly lethargic in falling victim to Virginia's defense and 3-pointers in an 80-69 loss to the Cavaliers in front of an announced 16,895 at Comcast Center.

Maryland junior Alyssa Thomas could not have been more pleased when her younger brother, Devin, scored a career-high 25 points last week for Wake Forest in an upset of then-No. 18 North Carolina State. What's more, Devin went on to be named ACC Rookie of the Week, an award Alyssa won a program record seven times on the way to winning conference Rookie of the Year in 2010-11. Alyssa even sent a text message to Devin congratulating the 6-foot-9 forward on his performance against the Wolfpack, which also featured team highs of 14 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals.

Johnny Rhodes has often been overlooked in the discussion of Maryland's greatest all-time players. That is not surprising, since Rhodes rarely got a ton of credit even as he helped the Terps begin their turnaround under Gary Williams during the mid-1990s. As much as Joe Smith and Keith Booth were the most celebrated players by fans and the media, and for good reason, Rhodes was just as respected by his teammates and coaches. Rhodes finished his career in College Park as one of the best all-around players in program history.

Tommy Brenton acknowledges he felt nervous the last time he took the floor at Comcast Center. It was the spring of 2007, and the senior forward had led his River Hill basketball team to the Class 3A state championship game. With a Maryland grad and "big Terps basketball fan" for a father, Brenton grew up dreaming of the day he'd play on the same court where he watched Gary Williams-coached teams grind out victories. On Friday, more than five-and-a-half years after leading the Hawks to their first boys basketball state title, Brenton will make his long-awaited return to Comcast Center, only this time the anxiety of a high school senior will be replaced by the confidence of a 23-year-old graduate student.

Maryland has told former basketball players Ernest Graham and Johnny Rhodes that they will soon join 16 other Terps whose names and numbers appear on banners hanging from the Comcast Center rafters. The players — from different eras — confirmed in interviews Thursday with The Baltimore Sun that they have been notified by the athletic department that they will be honored this season. Maryland does not retire basketball numbers. Instead, the school hangs mock jerseys from the roof and holds ceremonies for players.

More than a quarter century after he was forced to resign in the months following the cocaine-induced death of basketball star Len Bias, longtime Maryland coach Lefty Driesell was officially - and permanently - recognized Tuesday with the unveiling of a bronzed bas relief sculpture in his honor at Comcast Center. In a ceremony that attracted a few hundred friends, family and fans and brought back close to 50 players - including Tom McMillen and Len Elmore, who spearheaded the effort to get their former coach recognized - Driesell, now 81, was both emotional and typically cantankerous in accepting the honor.

With Alex Len headed to the NBA, how will the Terps replace their 7-1 center? The Len Replacement Committee will be convening shortly at Comcast Center. For someone who has been around the Maryland basketball program, this is not like replacing  Joe Smith after he was the No. 1 pick in the 1995 NBA draft. To tell you the truth, it's not like finding another Lonny Baxter after the Terps won the national championship in 2002. Both Smith (20.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 blocks)

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.

When Maryland opened the season five months ago against defending national champion Kentucky at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Terps were full of the hype and hope that comes when many expect a team to find its way to the NCAA tournament. After a down-to-the-buzzer loss to the Wildcats that preceded a school record-tying 13-game winning streak, Mark Turgeon's team lost its way. There were times last month when even a National Invitation Tournament bid seemed in doubt.

Think seeding is important? It sure is in the National Invitation Tournament, where top-seeded Alabama will get to host second-seeded Maryland on Tuesday night for the right to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on April 2. The better seed gets the home game in the NIT.   Alabama defeated fourth-seeded Stanford, 66-54, on Saturday to advance. If the Cardinal had won, the Terps would have hosted the quarterfinal game at Comcast Center. Maryland has won four of five games since the regular season ended -- two in the ACC tournament and two in the NIT. Alabama and Maryland last played in Puerto Rico early last season -- a 20-point Alabama win. The Crimson Tide hasn't lost at home since Dec. 30 -- a 53-50 loss to Tulane.

COLLEGE PARK - It was growing late in the first half and Maryland trailed Niagara by six points. The sparse, fidgety Comcast Center crowd had to be wondering when and if the Terps would check in mentally for their National Invitation Tournament opener. Led by Nick Faust, second-seeded Maryland woke up and used its press and fast break effectively in a second-half surge to rout seventh-seeded Niagara, 86-70, and advance to the second round before an announced 4,053. Faust (City)

(All games at University of Maryland's Comca s t Center ) Thursday Class 3A No. 4 Milford Mill (24-2) vs. Urbana (21-4) Time: 3 p.m. Outlook: After a one-year hiatus, the Millers return to the state tournament in a bid to capture the program's third championship in four years and sixth overall. First up is an Urbana team from Frederick County that brings athleticism and physical play. Milford Mill counters with superior quickness and basketball savvy, led by guards Justin Jenifer (13.5 ppg)

The boys state basketball semifinals and finals, which have been played at Cole Field House since 1956, are expected to move into the $108 million Comcast Center next year. "We have every intention of going and they [Maryland officials] have told us they would love to have us," said Ned Sparks, executive director of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. Sparks said the only roadblock would be the cost. "We realize there might be a slight increase because of the new facility," Sparks said, "and we know they're trying to accommodate us."

Coach Mark Turgeon is hoarse with a bad cold, scoring leader Dez Wells has been nursing a sore knee since midway through the ACC tournament, and Maryland has had to get over playing four games in seven days and not making the NCAA tournament. Despite all that, the Terps (22-12) were getting motivated to play basketball again, beginning with a home game Tuesday night against Niagara (19-13) in the first round of the NIT. If they win, they would play the Ohio-Denver winner. The future schedule has not been finalized, but that second-round game would likely be at Comcast Center on Thursday.

The 12th-ranked Maryland women's basketball team drew the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament's Bridgeport (Conn.) Region when the field of 64 was announced Monday night. The Terps will play Quinnipiac in the first round Saturday at Comcast Center. The Terps are making their 21 appearance in the NCAA tournament and ninth under coach Brenda Frese, who was named Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year after directing Maryland to a tie for second place in the ACC during the regular season despite a rash of injuries that severely depleted the roster.