Bernard King's little brother
We knew all about Bernard King. Out of New York and played his hoops at Tennessee. And then he was the top pick of the New Jersey Nets (1977) and played a long career in the NBA.
However, it was his little brother, Albert, who played a bigger role in Terrapin history. This King, so aptly named, came to Maryland in 1977, and to coach Lefty Driesell. Frankly, he didn’t help all that much as the Terps were barely a .500 club at 15-13.
He averaged 13.6 points a game but didn’t even lead us as that honor went to Larry Boston.
Things improved the next season as the Terps won 19 games. King’s average jumped to 15.0 a game but this time Ernie Graham was the team leader in scoring.
By King’s junior season, Maryland was clicking. We won 24 games and won the stinking ACC title. King played in everyone of our 31 games and averaged 24 points a game to pace the club. By this time, Buck Williams had joined in the fun and the Terrapins were a feared club.
As the second seed in the East, Maryland stopped Tennessee. And lost to local power Georgetown.
I was going to write that I lived in Georgetown in those days and spotted a Georgetown player (Craig “Big Sky” Shelton) walking down the street after the playoffs. I confronted him and asked how could he beat a great Maryland team. He enjoyed the conversation and was proud of the win by his Hoyas.
King was the ACC player of the year in his senior season. He was a consensus All-American that season.
Now on to the present team: Maryland is playing a little better lately following an 80-60 romp over Virginia Tech on Feb. 1. Dez Wells led the way with 19 points. Seth Allen added 16 points and Jake Layman chalked up 10 points including a thundering dunk.
Wells played a bigger role in a bigger win on Jan 29. The Terps stopped Miami in a tight battle 74-71. Wells had all of his 21 points in the second half. Layman and Evan Smotrycz both notched 15 points. The last loss for Maryland came of Jan. 25. A top 20 team, Pittsburgh, stopped Maryland 83-79.
