Basketball season kicks off with Maryland Madness

For five months, Terrapins men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon couldn't wait for Friday night.

He wanted to actually see with his own eyes the basketball atmosphere that those around him — coaches, boosters, friends — had hyped up since he took the coaching position in May.

Ever since he left a basketball-crazed Kansas program in 1992, Turgeon has searched for a place with a similar passion. He may have found it in College Park.

"I know how much people care," Turgeon said in an interview earlier this month. "I have a feeling this is at the Kansas level."

In front of eager students, alumni and season-ticket holders at a half-full Comcast Center, the Terps welcomed back several members of the 2002 national championship team and a handful of high-profile alumni as they kicked off the 2011-12 season with their annual Maryland Madness.

"I wanted to be at Maryland for all the great coaches," Turgeon said to the crowd at the end of the night. "But the No. 1 reason I wanted to come to Maryland was because of you."

The night marked the first official practice for both the men's and women's basketball programs, whose pyrotechnic-heavy introductions preceded a brief scrimmage. The women's team also performed a choreographed dance routine.

But the night's festivities were highlighted by a star-filled alumni game. Former Terps Steve Blake, Chris Wilcox, Byron Mouton, Greivis Vasquez, Johnny Rhodes and Steve Francis all returned to play.

"It's nice to be back," said Blake, a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. "It brings back a lot of nice memories and I'm just happy I could be a part of it. It makes me feel young again."

"I love my fans," Vasquez said. "That's why I'm always going to come back. I was telling my boys back in Venezuela, ‘You have no idea how Maryland fans support me and the chants that they do for me.'"

Even former coach Gary Williams made an appearance, with his signature fist pump capping the alumni game's introductions.

"I'm just here for the alumni game, because all my guys are here," Williams said. "I don't get a chance to see Steve Blake and Steve Francis and those guys enough."

Blake connected with Wilcox for an impressive alley-oop, while former Terps guard Eric Hayes and Vasquez both drained a number of 3-pointers in the laid-back, 20-minute exhibition.

"I really just want to eat popcorn and watch that game," guard Pe'Shon Howard said before the scrimmage. "I really don't have to do anything else."

The Terps practiced for an hour and a half Friday before Maryland Madness and went back to work at 10 a.m. Saturday. But Friday night's festivities were for them.

"We want to keep people on the edge of their seats," guard Sean Mosley said. "We just want to have fun tonight."

"I thought it was a great night, getting all those former players back and Coach [Gary Williams] back," Turgeon said. "I thought it was a great crowd, a great first night."

TERPS NOTE: Turgeon said afterward he still hadn't heard from the NCAA regarding center Alex Len's eligibility status for the season.

ceckard@umdbk.com