For a long time, it seemed like local basketball fixture Kevin Broadus (Blair/Dunbar) might wind up working for every local college basketball program but Maryland.
Over the year, he embarked on a tour of the area’s colleges as an assistant coach, working at Bowie State, UDC, American University, George Washington and Georgetown (twice).
Broadus was finally able to complete the local circuit when Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon added him to the Terrapins’ coaching staff last week. There, Broadus’ numerous local connections are expected to come in handy on the recruiting trail.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Maryland basketball family,” Turgeon said in a statement released by the athletic department. “Kevin has a strong reputation as a tireless recruiter and is passionate about developing players on and off the court. He has extensive knowledge and experience as a coach and I am confident his ties to this region will be extremely valuable to our program.”
“It is an honor and a privilege to work with coach Turgeon,” Broadus said in the same news release. “I have watched him from afar and really admire him. He has been very successful everywhere he has been. I am excited to be a part of this program and continue to build on the success they have had.”
Broadus will replace Cliff Warren on the coaching staff. Warren, a star player at Paint Branch High School in nearby Burtonsville, had expressed a desire to come off the road and spend more time with his family. He assumes a new role as the Maryland basketball program’s director of player development.
“Cliff shared his desire of tending to family matters and this new position will allow him to do so,” Turgeon said. “He has been an outstanding mentor and role model to our team. Cliff will continue to play an integral role in supporting and guiding our student-athletes academically as well as helping them achieve success on and off the court.”
Broadus, 53, is probably most known for his work as an assistant at Georgetown. There, he coached and helped recruit future NBA players like Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and Otto Porter.
Broadus sandwiched two different stints at Georgetown totaling nine years around a successful but controversial two-year stint as the head coach at Binghamton. There, he led the team to the NCAA tournament in his second year. He was later forced to step down after admitting to improper contact with a recruit during a so-called “dead period.” Broadus later sued the university and the state higher education system in New York for discrimination, but agreed to resign after getting a $1.2 million settlement. An NCAA investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.
TRIMBLE’S NUMBERS: Most every story about Melo Trimble’s decision to leave the University of Maryland for the NAB after three years mentioned that he was part of 79 Maryland victories.
That got me to thinking: Where does that total of 79 victories rank among other great players who have worn the Maryland red and white?
The answer is: pretty high.
In some sense, measuring the O’Connell grad against Maryland stars of the past is comparing apples and oranges because prior to the 1972-73 season, players had to sit out their freshman seasons. Then, too, college basketball teams typically play more games now than they did 45 years ago – back when Maryland’s basketball first gained national prominence.
In 1972-73 and 1974-75, for example, Maryland reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and still played just 30 and 29 games, respectively. This past season – Trimble’s last, as it turns out – Maryland played 33 games even with its disappointing first-round NCAA Tournament exit.
That said, Trimble’s number are impressive my almost any measure. He is one of just two players in school history (Terrence Morris is the other) to play for three consecutive teams that won at least 25 games. Even if great postseason success eluded Trimble and the Terps, that run of excellence has to count for something.
Trimble’s three-season victory total doesn’t quite match that of Lonny Baxter (Springbrook/Anacostia) and Juan Dixon, who accumulated 82 victories – including the national championship – in three varsity seasons from 2000-2002.
The pair of Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas played on teams that won 78 games in their last three varsity seasons (2001-2003). Morris’ last three Maryland teams managed 73 victories, as did the 1972-74 teams spearheaded by Tom McMillen and Len Elmore. The John Lucas-Maurice Howard Terrapin squads of 1973 to 1975 accumulated 70 victories. Adrian Branch (DeMatha) helped win 69 games for the Terps from 1983 to 1985. Local legend Len Bias (Northwestern), meanwhile, won 68 games in his last three seasons in a Maryland uniform.