Guard Johnny Rhodes, left, played for the men’s basketball team in the early 1990s and will be honored tonight.
Johnny Rhodes, perhaps more than any other Terrapins men’s basketball alum, is still dedicated to the program he helped thrust into the national spotlight nearly two decades ago.
At every home game, the former guard is somewhere in Comcast Center, committed to “root[ing] and cheer[ing] and scream[ing] my brains out for the Terps.”
Years after setting the ACC record for career steals, bringing the Terps back to the NCAA Tournament and creating a powerful basketball culture in College Park, Rhodes will finally be honored by the program in which he’s invested so much.
Tonight, Rhodes’ No. 15 jersey will be raised to the rafters of Comcast Center before the Terps (15-11, 5-7 ACC) take the floor against Miami (16-9, 7-5).
“It’s going to be awesome,” Rhodes said in a telephone interview yesterday. “I guess when you get older in life, the more you appreciate things. This is one of those moments. I’m just very, very thankful and blessed to be honored with those other guys that are hanging from the rafters. I don’t know, man. I’m at a loss for words.”
Rhodes played a crucial role in the revitalization of a Terps program torn apart by sanctions in the early 1990s. He started all four years under former coach Gary Williams and, alongside future NBA forwards Keith Booth and Joe Smith, guided the Terps to the Sweet 16 in 1994 as a sophomore.
He helped the program finish in the top 10 as a junior for the first time since 1980, and his three NCAA Tournament appearances started a string of 11 straight for the program from 1994 to 2004.
“We were the team that kind of turned the program around after all those sanctions,” Rhodes said. “That’s what I’m grateful for.”
Rhodes is most known for his defensive presence, something he said sprung from his time at Washington’s Dunbar High School and then cultivated under Williams in College Park. The guard set a conference record with 344 career steals, a mark that still stands to this day nearly 16 years after he exhausted his eligibility.
Playing off the ball, Rhodes filled the stat sheet with his scoring (14.3 points per game) and rebounding (5.7 per game) while dishing out at least 90 assists in each of his four seasons. Though he never received a chance in the NBA, Rhodes played semi-professionally stateside, professionally overseas and for the Harlem Globetrotters.
For everything Rhodes did for the program as a player, he’s continued as an alumnus. Every year, the former Terp keeps in close contact with all the current players and is always seen on the sidelines of Comcast Center.
“I love these guys,” Rhodes said. “I have all the guys’ numbers. I owe it to the guys before me. We had guys that came back and were kind of the mentors to us. That’s what we have to do better as alumni is to come around and just help these guys deal with certain situations with their careers and their school and everything.”
And even with the team sliding into obscurity after a disappointing loss at Virginia this weekend, Rhodes has high hopes for the program in the coming years.
“I really believe that Maryland basketball at its finest is right around the corner,” Rhodes said. “It’s going to be real scary.”
That time is still reserved for the future, so for now, the Terps will pay homage to a player who helped bring the program to a place they can one day hope to get back to. And for Rhodes, this day has been a long time coming.
“I’m one of those guys that I truly believe that stats don’t lie,” Rhodes said. “Not only me, but there have been other guys that have been overlooked for some things they’ve done during their careers. I’m just very, very thankful that this is all coming to an end. I’m just excited.”
ceckard@umdbk.com
