The Xmas Working day enjoying encounter: The 1984 Terps’ vacation absent from the mainland

Scooters, snorkeling, and Xmas Working day basketball.

It was 1984 and Maryland men’s basketball was off to Honolulu, Hawaii, to participate in in the Rainbow Vintage match, the place it would experience Iowa on Dec. 25 — the only time in plan record the Terrapins have played on the holiday break till this year.

Back again then, the crew however flew commercial, which, to say the the very least, is not perfect for tremendous tall basketball gamers on an 10-hour extended flight. The 1984-85 squad highlighted Maryland legend Len Bias, Adrian Branch, Derrick Lewis, Keith Gatlin and Jeff Baxter, amongst many others.

When they landed, Johnny Holliday, the voice of Maryland Athletics, precisely remembers head coach Lefty Driesell telling players it was a business journey, not a trip. But unbeknownst to Driesell, the assistant coaches, or Holliday at the time, the Terps obtained into lots of antics all through their keep in Waikiki Beach front.

“They turned us free in Hawaii,” Lewis advised Testudo Moments.

Gamers really don’t try to remember significantly from the Christmas Working day sport alone, a 70-68 extra time victory in excess of Iowa, but all people has a clear memory of a person factor of the vacation: moped scooters. It was Adrian Branch’s plan, Lewis said — “He was the ringleader.”

The players experienced witnessed folks using all over the island on scooters and were intrigued. Department discovered out they only needed their IDs to rent them and it was go-time from there.

“I bear in mind just us terrorizing the island residents using scooters all in excess of the area,” Lewis reported jokingly. “That was the spotlight of the journey.”

“We were being all up and down the streets. We experienced a ball!” Gatlin extra.

Imagine a string of 12 basketball players all driving in a unit throughout tropical paradise, all the while holding up autos at each individual halt indication and light. The group eventually induced an genuine site visitors jam.

Picture courtesy of Derrick Lewis

However he isn’t confident how, Baxter explained an assistant mentor uncovered out about their antics next the incident. He’s convinced anyone from the lodge need to have alerted them. So they struck a deal.

“Okay, if y’all really don’t enjoy perfectly or get, we’re going to tell mentor,” Baxter recalled the assistant telling them. Positive more than enough, Driesell never ever identified out.

Born on Christmas, the head coach was celebrating his 53rd birthday (Gatlin’s birthday also fell throughout the excursion on the 23rd). Driesell was not large on celebrating his day, although he was far more concentrated on winning, Baxter explained.

The Terps did just that with the overtime victory above the Hawkeyes. Bias led the crew with 24 details, followed by 21 factors and 7 rebounds from Branch. Lewis experienced 9 rebounds and two blocks — equally staff highs — and Gatlin led with 6 helps.

Courtesy of Iowa

“At the conclusion of the working day, it was small business when we bought on the court docket,” Baxter stated.

When they weren’t on the courtroom or cruising around town, gamers stated they spent their spare time at the seaside hanging out, joking all over and making an attempt to impress ladies. They soaked in the sand and warm temperature, encountering a landscape they had only witnessed right before in commercials or videos.

Baxter and Bias snuck off to go snorkeling 1 day. They obtained gear from people today doing work at the seaside and plunged into the waves, while Baxter explained he was a little bit additional hesitant than his teammate.

“Lenny went down…and he arrived up and informed me a little something about a fish of a shade (he does not recall which). I did not go that deep,” Baxter instructed Testudo Periods. “Literally, I stayed actually close to the land. I was like, ‘I’m not heading that deep.’”

On Christmas early morning, the crew gathered for a distinctive breakfast, the place they obtained some NCAA-authorised presents from Driesell. Baxter remembers acquiring some contemporary Maryland equipment, which was thrilling mainly because Nike was new on the scene and all the rage at the time. “They were being on fire,” he mentioned.

Subsequent their earn over Iowa, coaches and players experienced a late holiday break supper with each other at the resort. They defeated Hawaii, 79-71, the subsequent day, before falling to No. 10 Georgia Tech, 70-69, in the final game of the event.

“Just to have a great time out there with all the fellas, it was actually distinctive,” Gatlin claimed.

The Terps spent both equally Xmas and Thanksgiving on the highway that season, in which they concluded with a 25-12 document and a Sweet Sixteen visual appearance soon after facing what was deemed the hardest timetable in the country. They traveled to Alaska previously in the yr for The Alaska Shootout, a Thanksgiving match however, that journey was not as perfect of a weather.

Alaska was incredibly chilly and darkish in the course of that time of year, with only a couple of hours of daylight a working day. The crew stayed in the hotel most of the time, as there was not significantly else to do.

“When we bought there they kept expressing, ‘Change your blinds because you are heading to wake up at 8:30, 9 o’clock in the early morning and it is likely to be pitch darkish.’ We was like, ‘No way!’” Gatlin stated when laughing. “And confident enough, we obtained up, it was like, ‘Man, this is ridiculous!’”

The Terps defeated Alaska-Anchorage, 54-52, and blew out Tennessee, 72-49, in the ultimate two game titles of the tournament. Coincidentally ample, in the 1st contest, the Terps confronted a Kansas team that highlighted current Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon at position guard.

“I just recall we won, that’s about it. And Lenny Bias strike his head on the backboard when I was out on the courtroom,” Turgeon stated. “We both equally had truly very good teams, so I really do not know why they…performed us in the first spherical in opposition to each and every other.”

Now the head mentor of the Terrapins, Turgeon will guide his crew from the Purdue Boilermakers Friday afternoon, marking just the second Xmas Working day matchup in system record.

“Obviously, we’re gonna be fired up to play and we’re searching ahead to the activity,” Turgeon mentioned. “Playing on Christmas Working day is fairly specific.”