Craig "Sky" Shelton walking down my street
My black friend, Harry Weaver, found it rather amusing. My friends and I lived on Whitehaven Parkway in Georgetown in the late 70s and early 80s. Get it? White-haven?
Anyway, it was the soon after my Maryland team with Albert King and Buck Williams went down in flames against John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas.
Actually it was March of 1980. It was the second round of the NCAA playoffs. And Eric “Sleepy” Floyd and Craig “Sky” Shelton stopped the Terps, 74-68.
Sure, I was disappointed. I loved those Terps’ teams. One day the weather was kind of nice when this tall fellow comes walking through our neighborhood. Oh, yeah, it was Shelton. All 6-foot-7 of him.
So naturally I stopped him that day since he was on White Haven Parkway. “How dare you beat my Maryland team,” I said. “We had Buck Williams and Albert King. He was amused and said quite clearly that his Georgetown team was better than Maryland. Well on that day they were.
So the present Maryland team didn’t make either tournament this year. Sure that’s disappointing. Especially for a club that beat top-seeded Virginia and gave Duke and Syracuse a run for the money. Heck, at least the Terps finished with a winning record.
And the good news is everyone is coming back next year. And with some luck (like draft a big center), the Terps should be an improved club next season.
