COLLEGE PARK - Ever since he began to participate years ago in the summer basketball camps run by coach Gary Williams at Cole Field House, John Gilchrist had pictured himself one day running the offense in a Maryland uniform.
But Gilchrist never dreamed how the past and the present would converge, putting him in such a unique place and time. Nearly eight months after the Terrapins finally reached the pinnacle by winning the first national championship in school history, and days before the program officially celebrates its debut in the sparkling Comcast Center arena, Maryland's freshman point guard tried to grasp what the future holds for him and his fellow recruits.
"We have to worry about this year, but it's hard not to look to the future. I just want to keep things moving forward, keep my position going forward. There is a lot to hold up here," Gilchrist said. "The nature of college basketball is to build teams around a core of players. I'm excited about that. Me and the other guys talk about it all the time."
Gilchrist is one of a gang of four that constitutes the foundation of the next era in Maryland basketball. He joins three other prized freshmen, shooting guard Chris McCray, small forward Nik Caner-Medley and power forward Travis Garrison, who make up what is widely perceived as the best recruiting class ever assembled in College Park.
Each player was rated a consensus top 100 prospect. Each plays a different position. Each chose Maryland for the same reasons. The Terps are among the elite in the high-profile Atlantic Coast Conference. They are playing in brand new digs. And the school has a way of sending players to the NBA. Three from last season's historic squad (Lonny Baxter, Juan Dixon and Chris Wilcox) are in the big leagues.
Say hello to the program's new cornerstones.
There is Gilchrist, a tough-minded, thickly built, 6-foot-1 court general and two-time Virginia Player of the Year at Salem High School in Virginia Beach. McCray is a skinny, 6-4 guard from nearby Fairmont Heights High in Prince George's County who is shy - except when given the green light to shoot. Caner-Medley, 6-8, an aggressive left-handed shooter with touch and exceptional leaping ability, was Mr. Basketball in Maine. He led the state in scoring in his last two seasons.
Garrison, out of neighboring DeMatha High, where he learned under the recently retired Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten, is the lone McDonald's All-American of the class. At 6-8, 234 pounds, Garrison is blessed with a muscular body for an 18-year-old.
"All four of those freshmen will add quality depth to the program, and as this season goes on, I think their roles will increase and they will improve. I think it's Gary's best class," said Bob Gibbons, a North Carolina-based recruiting specialist who publishes the Bob Gibbons All-Star Report. He rates the group among his top five collections of incoming freshmen in the country.
Williams, Maryland's 14th-year coach, grimaces at the thought of rating players before even their first regular-season game.
He fondly remembers the incoming 1992-93 class, led by Duane Simpkins, Johnny Rhodes and Exree Hipp - which, with huge help from 1993-94 freshmen Joe Smith and Keith Booth - led Maryland back from probation and into the NCAA tournament, where the Terps have been a fixture since 1994. He looks at the Dixon-Baxter axis, which carried Maryland to back-to-back Final Fours.
"You see it all over the country, where big-name recruits wind up not playing and guys never heard of become the best freshmen. It happens every year. It happened here with Joe Smith. Nobody ever thought Juan Dixon would do what he did," said Williams, who conceded that Maryland's elevated position in the basketball world, coupled with its new arena, has raised the program's recruiting possibilities significantly.
"When you win, you get good players, and having a new building really helps," he added. "We knew we were going to need players this year, and we tried to get players at each position, tried to have balance. It's attractive to play here, knowing we've won a national championship. It's also attractive when [as an incoming freshman] you know who's leaving. They saw who we were losing."
And what the Terps are getting this year is a quartet of talent that has a sense of its mission and already is forming a group identity. All of the recruits had met previously on the competitive trails of summer basketball, be it on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit or at camps run by the likes of Nike.
Friendships had formed over the years. McCray and Garrison - who attended high schools in the same county - have known each other since competing in middle school recreational leagues. Gilchrist, who said he started a string of visits to the annual Gary Williams camp at the age of 9, has known McCray and Garrison for some time.
The gang of four goes everywhere together. One of the favorite stops is a group meal in nearby Suitland, where Garrison's mother prepares home-cooked dinners. McCray's mother provides an occasional meal as well.
"The seniors are the leaders of this team, but it really is a new beginning for the program. People are going to remember Comcast as we [freshmen] make it," said McCray, who recalled making Maryland a target several years ago, envisioning himself as the heir apparent to Dixon. McCray was the first recruit to give the Terps an oral commitment in spring 2001.
"It seems not real sometimes," McCray said. "At Midnight Madness, people were giving us [freshmen] so much love just because we're on the basketball team. We haven't scored or done anything yet. It gives you nervous energy."
Caner-Medley experienced the same thing while piling up points as the main attraction at Deering High in Portland. The team went 40-5 during his final two seasons. Caner-Medley averaged 36.5 points as a senior.
"If you're from a place like Maine and you have any reason for a team to be your favorite team, you jump on the bandwagon," said Caner-Medley, who stands a good chance of being the only freshman starter.
"There were a lot of Maryland fans where I live, because they knew I was going there. Watching their championship run was exciting. The community came together. People were congratulating me, even though I didn't do anything."
The gang of four is expected to do much in the coming months and years, and the players have done much to prepare for the big stage.
Garrison, who is expected to assume a steady substitute role in Maryland's four-man post rotation, led DeMatha to a 31-3 record as a senior by averaging 17.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks, as the Stags won their second straight D.C. title.
"It's a big adjustment. You have to be more physical at this level, and if you don't know the plays, you're going to mess everything up and Coach is going to get on you," said Garrison, who decided during his junior year that Maryland was the place for him. "With the loss of Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox, a lot is expected of me. Once I get acquainted better, I'll be all right."
Wootten compared Garrison to an elite group of players he has produced - including pros such as Adrian Dantley and Danny Ferry.
"You could tell Travis was special, a pop-out guy, as a sophomore. In four years, no pouting, no bad body language, a dream to coach," Wootten said. "He always had such a great feel for the game. As a senior, he was doing all of the subtle things that make other players better. In the city championship game, he was shooting poorly, so he grabbed over 20 rebounds. Before it's over, he is really going to help Gary."
Scott Shibles, the athletic director at Deering High, said the same thing about Caner-Medley, who caught Maryland's eye on the summer ball circuit. By signing with Maryland, he shed light on a state that never would be mistaken for a basketball hotbed.
"All kinds of people from the bedroom communities of Portland would come and watch Nik play. We'd get five or six slam-dunks a night. He was kind of an enigma for Maine basketball," Shibles said. "I've known Nik since the fourth grade, and you could tell he was special basketball player even then. He made quite an impact as a freshman here."
Fairmont Heights coach George Wake said he has never coached a better shooter than McCray during his 30 years in the profession. Wake recalled McCray as an unselfish player who made 40 percent of his three-point attempts last season and one who had to be goaded into passing less and firing more. McCray will play behind senior Drew Nicholas this season.
"I call Chris the silent assassin," Wake said. "Sometimes I would have to tell him to take over a game. I remember he scored 50 points against Gwynn Park as a junior after only taking three shots in the first quarter. He feels he can score against anybody."
Just as Gilchrist feels he can play with anybody. As one of the more physical guards Williams has recruited, Gilchrist will play behind senior Steve Blake. And when the Terps go to a three-guard alignment, look for Blake and Nicholas to operate in shooting roles while Gilchrist distributes the ball.
"You couldn't find John anywhere when he was young without a basketball in his hand, like it was attached to him," Salem coach Bill Cochrane said. "John has won AAU and Junior Olympics titles. You can't intimidate him. He'll show the total package before he leaves Maryland. He'll figure out what needs to be done and he'll be successful."
When asked to contemplate the future and his place in it, Caner-Medley first saluted the five seniors who are making the freshmen's transition so smooth. Then there is the daunting challenge of taking the torch and living up to the program's lofty expectations.
"Coach Williams stresses that we shouldn't think too much about the future, to act like you don't have four years here, to love the game every day. Think about what you need to do in the next practice," Caner-Medley said.
"The seniors don't even have anything close to an ego. They want to win, and they want to teach us how to win. It's like we're coming in on top. People over the past few years have paved the way for us. I feel very fortunate to be here."