The Retrievers with their burgeoning basketball program got more than lucky when the Northeast Conference decided to bring them in as their tenth and final team this season foregoing the pollster college of Quinnipiac in Connecticut.  This could be a short stay as these Retrievers are on the move up the ranks of college basketball and after their incredible upset last year might be able to jump to another conference quite soon.  The one thing is for sure is that these Retrievers will not stay put as they move forward in their plan to not only shock the world but change the world while they are going down their path.  It’s a ‘whole new ballgame’ in Baltimore as the Retrievers were no longer playing their big city brethren in the lower level Mason-Dixie league battling for bragging rights with Mount St. Mary’s, Towson, Loyola of Maryland and the University of Baltimore. All of these schools had left for the D-1 play except UB and when UMBC got that late call up that were eager to take advantage of.  Last year’s big upset over the Cavaliers of Virginia in a Hawaii tournament was something of an anomaly.  After all they finished with less then ten wins in a league that is not exactly the ACC.  But, the Retrievers did show that on any given day in this crazy world of college basketball, every dog has it’s day.  Now, the question is will the Retrievers be ready to use the attention they got last year and bring some kids in that can help this program leap into the big time world of college basketball.. 

Billy Jones is a legend around these parts as he was the first black basketball player who was allowed to compete in the ACC, for the Terrapins of Maryland.  The Retrievers could not have made a better choice than the confident Jones to lead them into the world of Division One.  After all he had just recently (two years ago) taken his team to the Division Two national tournament where they made quite a splash.  But D-1 is a world away from D-2 and though he is bringing most of his players with him he knew last year would be a challenge to say the least.  The Retrievers started the season much better than anticipated due in part to a friendly schedule that included five of their first six games in the friendly confines of the Retriever Activities Center or the RAC.  The 4000 plus seat arena on the campus of UMBC which is actually located in Catonsville Maryland which if you are a Baltimorian you know is a bedroom community and part of the large B’more metropolis area.  UMBC hosted cross town rival Towson State to open the season and their Division One status at the RAC in front of a SRO mainly black and gold clad crowd and pulled out a two point victory in overtime.  They followed that with another overtime victory over the Big South’s Coastal Carolina this time by three points.  The confident Retrievers would not travel a few miles down the turnpike to College Park for their biggest game of the year to take on the mighty Terrapins in their nearly 18,000 seat Xfinity Center, by far the biggest crowd these boys would play in front of all year.  The Retrievers actually ran out to a half time lead before the powerful Turtles turned the tables with their superior size and skill in the second half to win by 11.  The loss did not diminish the team’s confidence and they won another tight one at the RAC again in overtime this time over Delaware.  One more overtime victory against fellow Marylandians and NEC member Mount St. Mary’s had the fans of the Retrievers in almost disbelief with their 4 and 1 record to start off their new world.  And in the words of BTO they had not ‘seen nothing yet.’  The next game was hosting another ACC team, this time the Virginia Cavaliers and seven four superstar Ralph Sampson.  The Retrievers were forgive the pun heavy underdogs as they had no one on their roster bigger than six eight and the Cavaliers were a preseason top 25 team.  The Retrievers shocked the world as they ran out to a 20 point lead midway through the second half before the Cavaliers came storming back and tied the game on a last second three by Buzz Wilkinson.  The game went four overtimes and it looked like the Retrievers would win after they made a shot with 2.1 seconds left.  Somehow the Cavaliers got the ball to half court and called a timeout with .8 seconds left and then Sampson pulled a rabbit out of his hat.  The great big man caught an inbounds pass and turned and fired one from 22 feet away in one motion.  The ball somehow crawled over the rim and 4500 fans (it will be 45,000 in 20 years) had seen one of the greatest shots (and games) of the year.  The attention the Retrievers received even in losing was remarkable.  Still, like those fans, this loss seemed to take wind out of the team’s sails.  Including the loss to Virginia they would lose 8 in a row and until game 12 against Saint Francis of Pennsylvania had not played a game outside the state of Maryland.  A win over fellow newby Central Connecticut State in a NEC game was short lived as they would then lose another 8 in a row.  This game was noteworthy as it was the only game all year the Retrievers would win that did not go to overtime.  They did win two more at the RAC over Northeast Conference foes Wagner and St. Francis of Brooklyn but that was all they had in the gas tank and these kids faded bad at the end of the year.  They lost a few games badly as teams loaded up on the defenseless team one of which was the Blue Devils of CCSU who had a woody for the Retrievers after their in state partners from Quinnipiac got passed over for membership by the league in favor of the Baltimore boys.  They won the rematch by 16 but that was nothing compared to some of the losses this team with all of the early recognition had to endure by their ‘jealous’ new NEC brethren.  They actually lost 9 league games by double digits, the most of the any team in the country as this season which started out so magically turned ugly real quick.  They finished dead last in the NEC with a measly 4 and 14 record and after losing in the first round of the conference tournament finished 7 and 22 overall.  That is bad but does not seem that bad until you realize that the Retrievers started 4 and 1 and played two ACC schools competitively and almost pulling a Buster Douglas on Virginia!  As bad as it was though this has to go down as a successful season as Coach Jones did get a chance to find some new players who had some talent could also bring along some of his carryovers from the lower Division powers who might not have D-1 pedigree but learned they could indeed compete at this level with their hard work and desire! 

Jones goes into the new season with no seniors on his roster but he does have a group of juniors with which had helped make the Retrievers a viable D-2 program.  Included in these were a trio from Parkland High School who had played together seemingly forever.  Well that is not exactly true.  John Goedeke and the Kane brothers had indeed played together at Parkland but Jack and Howie had taken different routes to get back to Baltimore.  Howie, the older sibling, enrolled at American University but decided last year to transfer to UMBC to play his final two years with his younger brother.  With the transfer rule in place then (not now) the older Kane is now in the same class with his brother Abel er Jack.  John and Jack (they call them JFK around here) enrolled here together and came into this year as the starting point guard and center.   Their hard work and dedication to this program were the cornerstones of what this team was able to accomplish and Jones was not going to leave them out in the cold as this team jumped to D-1.   Goedeke is a smooth six seven lefty who can stroke it from mid-range and can also go inside.  He is not your prototypical D-1 post player but he does bring a tenacity and a willingness to do what it takes you don’t often see with someone as smart as this big fella.  He did lose some minutes as the year progressed and Jones brought in some more athletic bigs but he started every game and was the glue to this team.  Kane is a solid point guard who can score a little but is better at setting up teammates for better looks.  Jack is best at defense as he is a true ballhawk who gets in the pocket of other guards and makes their life miserable.  Howie is a wing who can flat put the ball in the basket.  He missed a season transferring in but will have a significant role for Jones and with his younger brother. Contrary to the jokes, there is no Abel for these siblings as though of course there is competition in practice, on the court they play together like two peas in a pod.  The Kane brothers are legendary in this neck of the woods and have two more years together to thrill the Retriever fans with their brotherly love.  A solid group of junior big men also started the year rotating in for playing time but soon lost time to the new players Jones brought in up front.  Emmerson Smalls, Jimmie Drew and Henry McCaskill were a huge part of the startup of this program and were solid contributors to the D-2 team but were a little out of their depth at this level and ended up as practice players by the end of the year. 

The sophomore class for the Retrievers are looked at as the pillars of the transition.  Primarily a trio of players who had stepped up and become the cornerstone of the transition.  They will be counted on not only to lead but eat up huge minutes ad produce big numbers especially on the offensive end.  Guard Larry Simmons, wing Reggie Nance and post player Rick Moreland had terrific first years for Jones and the Retrievers.  Simmons was a big time recruit from Indiana who started from game one as a true swing guard.  This kid can really shoot and if he was a bit taller (six one) might have been playing for some bigger college in Hoosier land but there loss was the Retrievers gain.  Simmons has a truckload of responsibility on this team as he traded off between the one and two spots (Lawrence Welk would be proud) as he was the only player on the team to average over 30 minutes a game.  He also led the team in scoring, assists, steals and was second in three pointers.  Jones loved being able to have Simmons as his main man and gave him absolute freedom to do what needed to be done.  Larry did above and beyond what was expected and has a stellar future in Baltimore.  The only thing that needs to be decided is whether or not Simmons is a point or shooting guard and with his ability to let it fly from behind the arc (or the line for that matter as he shot almost 90 percent from the line) the answer seems obvious.  Of course that is better said than done!  Moreland was the best post player the team had at the end of last year and at six seven has a complete game.  He is more athletic than he seems and can defend the rim fairly well (block a shot) but is best on the offensive end.  Moreland makes his break and butter posting up on the blocks but can also take it outside to about fifteen feet with a nice jumper.  Solid on the boards, he led the team in rebounding.  He is as important to the future of this team as Simmons as he is not only consistent but much better than you would expect.  Nance is the best athlete on the team and can do a little bit of everything.  He defends so well that he actually led the team in blocks and can guard quicker athletes on the wing.  He runs the court well and can finish but though he is inconsistent can heat it up from the perimeter.   Two other sophomores got some time up front and had solid contributions though neither got the minutes they wanted.   Breck Robinson (a popular name in the Baltimore area though he has never played third base in his life) is a solid center who got some minutes rotating behind Moreland and Goedeke.  He is a good shot blocker and solid on the boards but not quite the athlete you need for D-1.  

When you are the last team invited to the Dance after only having just learned to two step a few years back, there is no embarrassment from being a wallflower!  To put it bluntly the University of Maryland-Baltimore County could have been just happy being in Division One especially when most everybody on their roster was underclassmen.  Coach Billy Jones could have been content trying to find some kids off the streets or through the transfer system to upgrade his talent but he, with a few notable exceptions, decided to build the beast with guys he had recruited for D-2.  Well this was D-1 and something odd happened along the way.  The Retrievers shocked the world by getting off to a crazy fast start which included a 4 and 1 record and a solid showing versus the only Maryland big six school.  Yes, they did not fear the Turtle and played their home state team tough in College Park but that was nothing compared what they almost did to the Virginia Cavaliers in their own tiny RAC arena.  They nearly upset Ralph Sampson and company in a quadruple overtime thriller in an outcome which would have been akin to the great Buster Douglas thrashing of Mike Tyson.  The Retrievers got much attention for that one but they did eventually come back to earth and their new Northeast conference foes took them to the woodshed.  They finished dead last in the league and only 7 and 22 overall but Jones has a plan for the future and though they might have jumped the shark early on are on track to becoming a legitimate D-1 program.  These Retrievers might have to bounce around a bit before they find a home but they have made the biggest step they will ever to take.  Yes, UMBC is a real D-1 program and will continue to show the fans of Baltimore basketball they are for real!