Fulfillment--at last.(Brief Article)

Maryland, its reputation tattered and torn, found the courage it had lacked

Standing at the intersection of "We're Doomed" and "This Sucks" after a loss at home to lowly Florida State back on February 14, Byron Mouton went incognito on the Maryland campus. Juan Dixon spent hours staring into a mirror. Lonny Baxter didn't speak to a soul for days.

The Terrapins, mired in a 1-5 slump, knew they had the talent to be great, but they were missing heart. Unless they found it, reaching Minneapolis would be unthinkable.

"We were saying, `We have so much talent, we can't be no story,'" Mouton recalls. "We can't end up on ESPN Classic as the best team never (to make the Final Four)."

The poster child for this team of redemption was wearing a red No. 44 jersey Saturday afternoon in Anaheim. After the Terps beat top-seeded Stanford to advance to their first-ever national semifinal, enigmatic senior Terence Morris finally could savor the decision he made two years ago to stay in school. "There have been a lot of people who would have run," backup point Drew Nicholas says. "He made a great decision, but maybe the payback hasn't been as rewarding-until now."

Even Maryland's wonderful postseason hot streak has been oppressive for Morris. He bombed against George Mason in the first round. After playing well in the second round against Georgia State, he had an embarrassing 1-for-11 shooting performance against Georgetown. Needing encouragement, he got it from Dixon, who has been the Terps' steadiest player the past two years, and Dixon's brother, Phil. The message? Forget about the past. We know you'll show up when we really need you.

Improbably, the Terps--whom nobody liked and everybody bashed at midseason--won the West by finally showing their grit. And helping to lead the way against steady, veteran Stanford was Morris, who scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.