Rick Snider: Madness makes welcome return

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Madness returns to the area and for once it’s not Congress.

Maryland’s women’s basketball team celebrates its national championship at Comcast Center on tonight while the men’s team tries to regain momentum after missing two straight NCAA Tournaments. Meanwhile, George Mason’s madness celebration will be televised by ESPNU.

It’s hard to believe more than six months has passed since the Maryland women grabbed the trophy three days after Mason was a stunning Final Four participant. And it’s hard to believe it all begins again.

Washington is a Redskins town, but basketball may be the bigger sport. The Wizards draw their 15,000 fans nightly. Maryland’s men draw 17,950 with a waiting list and the Terps women’s team could reach 10,000 this season. Mason, Georgetown and George Washington have serious followings while small schools like Navy, American, Howard and Catholic sport their own faithful.

There’s just something about college basketball that truly sparks the imagination. While the NBA has the real talent, it’s hard to muster as much emotion for any Wizards game compared to Maryland-Duke or Georgetown-Syracuse.

There’s something special over seeing rising stars on college teams or amateur players working together for the fun of the game. Who wasn’t thrilled over Mason beating Connecticut in the NCAA region finals at Verizon Center?

So now the basketball faithful return. Comcast Center will be filled for five hours and there is no game to watch — just scrimmages and alumni contests. And yet, it’s a heckuva great time.

“To get that many people here says something about our fans,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams on Thursday. “There are so many entertainment options.”

Mason was the “feel good” story last season while Georgetown and George Washington enjoyed fabulous seasons. But let’s be serious — Maryland remains the kingpin of local basketball. Always has been, always will be partly because the Terps play in the best basketball conference nationwide. Maryland has been down the last couple seasons, but it still far outdraws other local programs and is a national TV presence.

Off-court problems tainted the team in recent years, though. Three departing seniors were arrested during their four seasons for alcohol-related events and none graduated.

Williams noted players need to be better “citizens” — a shocking reference to past problems. He said the team must play with more emotion after being his worst defensive unit ever last season.

Williams shouldn’t be blamed for the now-gone players who failed not only themselves, but Maryland’s fans. However, he needs to be the solution this season and it all starts Friday night.

Madness? Oh yeah ... but it’s all good.

Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at rsnider@dcexaminer.com.

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