COLLEGE PARK -- It's a simple basketball game that Maryland plays.

Get the ball out of the opposing point guard's hands. Create havoc and easy baskets. Win.

That philosophy made the Terps one of the nation's top five teams for much of this season, and allowed them to establish school records in three team defensive categories. Up-tempo tactics that were three decades in the making for coach Gary Williams have never been this fully realized.

Maryland is the South Regional's No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Some pundits proclaim that March means a slower game, with an emphasis on half-court play, but many 1990s champions, from UNLV in 1990 to Kentucky last season, were built for speed.

Williams can throw a pretty good 400-meter relay team at Valparaiso, the Terps' opponent tomorrow (12: 20 p.m.) in the first round at the Orlando (Fla.) Arena.

Maryland is quicker with the ball than without it. The Terps are at their best when two players trap a ball-handler, and others close off passing lanes. Turnovers come in bunches, and transition opportunities become lay-ins, the reason Maryland (.501) is among the handful of teams nationally to have made more than half of its field-goal attempts.

It will be the game plan against the Crusaders, who start freshmen Greg Tonagel at the point and Milo Stovall at shooting guard. Valparaiso has a bigger front line than Maryland, and the objective is to make their 6-foot-11 and 6-10 teammates handle the ball in the open court.

"We like to see other people [besides the point guard] handle the ball," Williams said. "You practice it, you trap the point guard, and you don't let the ball get back to him."

Terrell Stokes, a three-year starter at the point who's often responsible for peeling back and denying his counterpart after a trap, said he needed seasoning to appreciate that nuance.

"It took me my whole career to really understand that," Stokes said. "It's like a quarterback reading defenses; it takes awhile to understand. Somebody has to stay with the point guard after he's given up the ball. Every player has to be able to rotate, and everyone on this team is good at it."

One of the reasons Duke twice handled the Terps' pressure is that the Blue Devils don't need William Avery to break a press or start their offense. Trajan Langdon has played some point, and Shane Battier, Chris Carrawell, Nate James and Corey Maggette are interchangeable parts who can all score off the dribble.

The system is also susceptible when the Terps can't press off an inbounds pass. When they went stone cold in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Saturday, they fell behind North Carolina by 23 points.

The resultant comeback that shaved the deficit to four points, however, showed just how difficult it can be to get the ball over the time line and get a decent look against Maryland when the Terps are energized and on their game.

Where did Williams' penchant for pressure over pounding the ball inside, and quickness over bulk, originate? He goes back to Woodrow Wilson High in Camden, N.J., and American University, the first two programs he headed.

"It began in high school, really," Williams said, referring to a roster cutdown he made in 1970. "We had 50 guys come out at a good basketball school. There were more good players who were small than tall. The tendency was to keep big guys who weren't as good players, and that always bothered me.

"I just gradually got to thinking, you play your best players, put your best people on the court."

That tenet came in handy at programs where Williams had to play catch-up.

"The thing I learned at American was matchups," Williams said. "We played four guards quite a bit. We had trouble with big teams, but they couldn't cover us either. In pressing, size doesn't matter until the ball gets down close to the basket. With pressure, you can be any size and press any size team."

That is considered in evaluating talent. Maryland goes after lean bodies who can get to the ball in a hurry, and recover when they don't.

"A lot of coaches recruit players based on where they're ranked nationally," assistant Billy Hahn said. "We go after kids who we know are going to fit into the system. You still need the big horses, but look at our guys. Terence [Morris] is skinny, Juan [Dixon] is skinny."

Look at some of the players committed to Maryland. Tamir Goodman is an open-court talent, a "Gary player." So is Steve Blake, the point guard for Oak Hill Academy, the unbeaten No. 1 in the USA Today national prep rankings. Ditto for New Jersey forward Tahj Holden, who compares his frame to Morris'.

When Obinna Ekezie went down a month ago with a season-ending injury, the Terps lost an established low-post scorer. His absence finally became a factor against North Carolina, but with Lonny Baxter starting at center, Maryland became even quicker and its traps became more important and potent.

The Terps attack in their own way. After Laron Profit jumps at a perimeter shooter, instead of boxing out, he heads upcourt and hopes for a transition chance. Maryland gives up too many second chances, but conversely, the opponent isn't getting as many first tries to begin with.

Maryland opponents average 22.4 turnovers a game. It established an ACC record for steals in a season (402) and Steve Francis is the fifth Terp in sixth seasons to lead the conference in steals. The second-team All-American doesn't always see the ball when they're playing half-court defense, but his instincts are such, he must smell it.

The pressure has a cumulative effect. The Terps' work in the half court is underrated, and Valparaiso's problems won't end at the time line. Maryland's quickness seals off plenty of entry passes.

"Pressure is not something that is always going to steal the ball," Williams said. "What it does, hopefully, is wear people down. Mentally, you get tired. Physically, you get tired. At the end of the half and the end of the game, there are a lot of times when teams don't make the same plays against the pressure."

The Terps also take full advantage of their times.

Watch a college game from the 1980s on a classic sports channel, and it's downright dainty compared to today's. The way Francis, Profit and Stokes bump and run, they might as well be defensive backs. How would you like to be an average-sized point guard and see 6-foot-8 Danny Miller rushing at you with larceny on his mind?

"Maryland just makes people hurry," Clemson coach Larry Shyatt said. "They really try to throw tempo at you. They not only get after it, they enjoy it. The best thing you can say when you watch them play, they enjoy the way they play. A lot of teams don't do that."

Next for Terps

Opponent: Valparaiso

When: Tomorrow, 12: 20 p.m.

Where: Orlando (Fla.) Arena

TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WBAL (1090 AM)

Seeds: Maryland No. 2, Valparaiso No. 15 in NCAA South Regional

Line: Maryland by 19 1/2

Getting defensive

Fifth-ranked Maryland has achieved a number of defensive superlatives this season:

Category Stat Skinny

Steals 402 ACC record

Blocks 191 School record

FG% def. .389 Best since '60-61

3-pt.% def. .307 School record

Pub Date: 3/10/99