EAST LANSING, MICH. — Richaud Pack grew up rooting for Michigan State in basketball. Evan Smotrycz spent the first two years of his college basketball career taking great pride in beating the Spartans as a member of their archrival, the Michigan Wolverines.
Today, the two seniors who transferred to Maryland will try to help the No. 12 Terps make a successful debut in the Big Ten here at the Breslin Center. Pack's love for Michigan State has long since dissipated, while Smotrycz's disdain for those wearing green-and-white might not be as strong as it once was.
Both Pack and Smotrycz need to play well for Maryland (12-1) to continue its remarkable season with a sixth straight victory.
Pack, who gained instant eligibility after transferring from North Carolina A&T following graduation last spring, has been a key addition to the Terps. He gives Mark Turgeon another experienced guard to complement senior Dez Wells. He also filled a leadership void during the month Wells missed with a fractured wrist.
Smotrycz, who sat out a year before becoming eligible as a junior last season, is starting to regain his timing and touch after missing a month with a broken foot and then having to sit out a few more games when he reinjured the foot in his second game back.
Pack said playing against a school that didn't recruit him out of high school in suburban Detroit might have been more nerve wracking earlier in his college career. Having 40 or more family members and friends in the arena, as he expects this afternoon, would not have helped quell his nerves.
"[As] a freshman, I probably would have had to come out and tried to jack shots up," said Pack, who started his college career at Florida International. "Now I just want to go in there and get a good road win and whatever happens, happens with that."
Asked if he needs to not make this a personal battle for being snubbed in the recruiting process, Pack said, "Kind of every game is personal. I think this game maybe will be a little more personal. It's at home [near where he grew up], I'm going to just try to have fun, like I do every game, play as hard as I can in front of the loved ones coming to see me."
Smotrycz has already played at the Breslin Center a couple of times, the only member of the Maryland to have that experience. Of the four games overall he played against the Spartans while at Michigan, Smotrycz celebrated victories twice, including a 14-point, three-steal performance in Ann Arbor as a freshman.
Asked Monday if there's any difference between the Big Ten and ACC, Smotrycz said, "I don't think so. I guess the flights are a little longer, but most guys sleep."
Smotrycz has seen his own role change since last season. With junior Jake Layman taking his place at power forward, Smotrycz is averaging a little over five points and four rebounds in about 18 minutes a game after averaging 11 points and six rebounds in about 28 minutes last year.
Known for his ability to hit 3-point shots, the 6-9, 230-pound senior has struggled with his consistency from the perimeter. He has missed seven of 10 from 3-point range, including all three in Saturday's 72-56 win over Oakland. He has been better driving, as well as passing and playing defense.
"It's coming, a little improvement every day," he said. "Timing, my legs go a little quickly right now, so I'm trying to get some endurance back, my muscles as well as my lungs."
For Pack, the biggest adjustment is a decreased role and playing time. After playing 30 minutes or more in six straight games and in eight of Maryland's first 12 games, Pack played just 24 on Saturday, partly because because he started each half with a turnover and partly because Wells returned.
What should keep Pack in the rotation – and probably in the starting lineup – is his defense and reliability. It is evidenced by the fact that the 6-3, 185-pound senior has been one of the top players in the Big Ten this season in plus-minus ratio.
"To me it means a lot, because it's not what everyone tries to get, a lot of people think about only points or only this or that matters, assists, it just shows you can contribute on the floor without having big statistics," said Pack, who is averaging 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game. "It kind of makes me feel like I'm doing a good job, something must be right when I'm on the floor."