Best Maryland basketball players: Terrapins all-time starting lineup

Maryland basketball has an illustrious history on the hardwood but which five players would make up the Terrapins’ all-time starting lineup?

There have undeniably been peaks and valleys for Maryland basketball throughout the history of the program. Prior to 1980, the team only made the NCAA Tournament three times, though the Terrapins did make the Elite Eight in two of those appearances (1973 and 1975). However, they’ve been a relatively consistent force in the ACC and then Big Ten since then.

Since 1980, they’ve made it into the Big Dance 25 times. Over that span, they’ve made the Sweet 16 on 11 different occasions and made the Final Four in back-to-back years under Gary Williams in 2001 and 2002. In the latter trip, the Terps made it to the mountaintop as they captured the only national championship in Maryland basketball history.

Given the level of success that the Terrapins have enjoyed over the past 40 years or so, it figures that they’ve seen some tremendous players come through College Park. While some high-profile players haven’t totally lived up to the hype, others have. Enough players have risen to the occasion for Maryland that narrowing down the Terps’ all-time starting lineup is no easy task.

But it is the task at hand. Subsequently, we’re going to look at five of the best players to ever suit up for Maryland basketball, the best at each position, to determine the greatest starting five possible for the Terrapins.

Before we get into the all-time Maryland basketball starting lineup though, there are more than a handful of players who deserve a nod for their contributions to the Terrapins in their college careers.

Honorable mention to Len Elmore, Steve Blake, Len Bias, Buck Williams, Johnny Rhodes, Derrick Lewis, Anthony Cowan Jr. and John Lucas II for their contributions.

But now it’s onto the all-time starting five, beginning with the small forward, one of the more shallow positions in the history of the program.