Len Bias and Lefty Driesell

Just more than 28 years after his untimely death, legendary Terrapins men’s basketball forward Len Bias was selected for induction into this university’s Athletic Hall of Fame, the school announced yesterday morning. 

Bias, a two-time ACC player of the year, died of a cocaine overdose on

June 19, 1986, two days after the Boston Celtics selected him second overall in the NBA draft. Bias and seven other athletes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Oct. 3. 

Men’s lacrosse attackman Bob Boneillo, track and field athlete and football player Edward Cooke, field hockey and women’s lacrosse player Maureen Scott Dupcak, women’s lacrosse goalie Alex Kahoe, women’s basketball player Debbie Lytle, athletic trainer Sandy Worth and football player Charlie Wysocki join Bias.

After the announcement of Bias’ selection, social media was abuzz with speculation on why it took nearly three decades for one of the most dominant players in Terps history to land in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. 

The answer likely lies within the university’s delicate handling of the negative publicity brought on by Bias’ death. Pundits and fans around the country began to associate the university’s athletic department with 

drug and academic issues in the late 1980s, and the university took steps toward distancing itself from that era of basketball, most notably with coach Lefty Driesell’s ostensibly forced resignation and reassignment in the fall of 1986. 

Tension from such issues has seemingly decreased in recent years, with Driesell often returning to the campus and the team using Bias’ image in several marketing campaigns. 

RAM GIVES BACK IN INDIA

Terps guard Varun Ram has been in Chennai, India, since July 7 volunteering for Hoops Creating Hope — a two-week program that teaches students life skills through basketball. 

Ram, who transferred to this university from Division III Trinity College before the 2012-13 season, has a 3.99 GPA. He made 16 appearances as a junior this past season. 

Hoops Creating Hope runs through July 18, so Ram will likely head back to the U.S. soon. Ram’s biography on the team’s website states that his “craziest ambition” is to play for the Indian national team.

DORSEY SPURNS OFFER

Kevin Dorsey, a four-star point guard in the class of 2015 from Fairfax, Virginia, verbally committed to Minnesota on Saturday, several days after he included the Terps as one of his top three choices. Dorsey also considered Nebraska before deciding to play for the Gophers.  

It’s early in the recruiting process, but the Terps have yet to land a commitment from a player in the class of 2015. This time last summer, the Terps had verbal commitments from three class of 2014 recruits. 

Dorsey’s decision to spurn the Terps’ offer also leaves coach Mark Turgeon searching for a young point guard. When Seth Allen and Roddy Peters transferred from the program this offseason, Turgeon’s backcourt depth thinned considerably. 

The Terps will almost certainly hand the reins of the offense to incoming freshman Melo Trimble, but Trimble’s backup will be Richaud Pack, a graduate transfer from North Carolina A&T who only has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

In an attempt to land substantial guard depth beyond the upcoming season, Turgeon reportedly offered scholarships to two highly recruited guards — Prince Ali of Florida and Glynn Watson of Illinois — in the wake of Dorsey’s choice to play elsewhere.