As the college basketball nation prepares to crown another champion, I cannot help but reflect on the progress Maryland basketball made this season. Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon now has two seasons under his belt in College Park and has a roster made up entirely of his own players. Moving from the familiar ACC to the Big 10 will certainly be a challenge and also a time for new rivalries to be born. While the loss to Iowa in the NIT FInal-Four was a disappointment, it was a nice peek into the Terps Big 10 future.

There is breaking news from the program today as point guard Pe'Shon Howard is transferring. The rising senior is likely to transfer to a school in California to be closer to a member of the family who is ill.

“It was a very difficult decision because I really enjoyed my three years as a student-athlete at Maryland, but my grandmother is sick and I feel it is best that I be closer to my family.”

Howard is the last link on the court to the Gary Williams era and had struggled recovering from serious injuries. Howard's departure means the Terps may have as many as two new starters next season.

Departures

Pe'Shon Howard PG- Probably would have remained a starter for his senior season. With his departure, none of "Gary's" players remain on the squad. Expected to spend his final season of eligibility on the West Coast.

James Padgett PF- Arrived with Jordan Williams as the future post players for the Terps. Padgett never really fit in with Turgeon's system. James went from a starter to an afterthought as the season progressed. In the final moments of the last home game (during NIT) Padgett reportedly declined participation.

Logan Aronhalt SG- Long range shooter supreme transferred in for his final year of eligibility and filled his role well. Unfortunately for Logan, he will be best remembered for rushing his potential game winning shot against UNC in the ACC tournament.

Alex Len C- Len made remarkable progress from his freshman to sophomore seasons. Learning the English language was a big help and Alex also got much stronger. Some project Len as high as a lottery pick, other have him further down in the first round. Many fans felt Alex "mailed it in" down the stretch once it became clear he was NBA bound. If Len decides to return, the Terps would have to be considered a pre-season Top-25 squad, but he is all but gone.

Newcomers

Roddy Peters PG- Peters is one of the top high school point guards in the nation and should battle rising sophomore Seth Allen for starting point guard duties. At the very least, Peters will be the top backup PG and get plenty of minutes.

Damonte Dodd C- Dodd was the "sleeper" of the 2012 recruiting class. Dominating a small school classification, Dodd opted to spend this season getting more experience at a prep school. Basically, Len's replacement on the roster.

Evan Smotrycz F- Do you think Smotrycz is having second thoughts about transferring to Maryland? After all, he came from the University of Michigan! Smotrycz is the perfect definition of a "stretch four". A big man with three point range.

Returning

Shaquille Cleare C- Cleare was a top-10 center in high school and is a wide body with loads of potential.

Charles Mitchell F/C- Mitchell is another bruiser in the paint and made great contributions as a freshman.

Jake Layman F/G- An exciting, high flying wing, Layman can take it to the rim and is a streaky three point shooter.

Dez Wells G/F- A huge late addition transferring from Xavier, Wells should be a team leader over the next two seasons.

Nick Faust G/F- The athletic Faust spent much of his first season at point guard, but has settled in as the Terps two guard.

Seth Allen G- Underrated recruit is a solid combo guard. Can play the point, but may actually be better suited as a two.

The Terps currently have nine players on scholarship for 2013-'14, with room for four more. Turgeon isn't likely to rush to fill those spots as he has had success adding players late like Len and Wells in each of his first two seasons. Maryland does already had a verbal commitment for the 2014 class in point guard Romelo Trimble. A consensus four star playing at Bishop O'Connell in Arlington, Trimble has been rumored to possibly be graduating early and joining Maryland at some point next season. We'll keep you posted on that one.

A few games into the minor league season, we thought we would update you on those prospects up to a hot start to the ssason. 

AAA

Jeff Kobernus, who Washington lost in the Rule V Draft, but gained back, is off to a hot start at AAA.  Kobernus is 8 for 14 (.571) with 6 runs scored and 5 driven in.  He has a .786 slugging percentage and a .632 on base percentage.  Corey Brown is off to a start you would expect.  He is batting .316 and has samcked 2 homers and drive in 5 runs in 19 at bats.  Zach Walters has three home runs in his first four games. 

Tanner Roark had an outstanding first start, throwing 6 shutout and hitless innings while fanning 7 batters. 

Stud Prospect Watch:  Eury Perez will have a close eye from Washington on his performance.  In the first 4 games, he is batting .350 with a double and a triple in 20 plate appearances. 

AA

Steve Souza is off to a 5 for 14 start (.357).  He has a home run and a double.  Pitcher Paul Demny had a quality first start, throwing 5 shutout innings and allowing 2 hits while fanning 6 batters. 

Stud Prospect Watch:  Anthony Rendon has 3 hits in his first 15 at bats (.200).  Brian Goodwin is off to a slow start, collecting 2 hits in his first 16 at bats. 

A - POT

Jason Martinson is off to a 6 for 12 (.500) start.  5 of his 6 hits are for extra bases, including 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs.  Martinson played in the Arizona Fall League for Washington.  He has a 1.333 slugging percentage.  Billy Burns is also off to a 6 for 12 start with a triple and a .625 on base percentage.  Taylor Jordan threw 6 shutout innings in his first start, allowing 3 hits and fanning 4. 

Stud Prospect Watch:  AJ Cole was beat up in his first start, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs over 5.1 innings.  He did fan 7 batters.  Robbie Ray had a fine first start, allowing 3 hits and 1 run over 5 innings with 5 strikeouts. 

A - HGR

Mike McQuillan is off to a 4 for 11 start with 2 runs and 2 RBI.  Brandon Miller is 5 for 16 with 2 doubles and a home run. 

Stud Prospect Watch:  Tony Renda is off to a 3 for 15 start with a double and 2 runs.  Brett Mooneyham allowed 3 hits and a run over 4 innings in his first season start. 

The Alexander Ovechkin of former years, you know, the one that scored gobs and gobs of goals, well, he is surely back.  Ovechkin scored two goals yesterday to help lead the Caps to a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and to lift them to sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division.  The surging Caps remain undefeated in April, at 4-0, and have won 8 out of their last 10 to surge to a 2 point lead over the Winnipeg Jets in the Southeast Division. 

As for Ovechkin, you can count it a 5 goal weekend.  One day after scoring a hat trick against the Florida Panthers, Ovechkin put two more markers on the box score, scoring an equalizer in the second period and an empty netter at the end of the game.  The once left for dead Ovechkin now is tied for first overall in the NHL with 25 goals, tied with Tampa's Steven Stamkos.  He also continues moving up the leader board in overall points, now resting at sixth overall in points.  Ovechkin's tear goes way past a 5 goal weekend romp.  He has scored 7 goals in four games in the month of April.  Of the four games, three of them were multi-goal games.  He has scored 15 goals in his last 12 games and out of those 12 games, he has a goal or more in ten of those games.  

Ovechkin's marker in the second period tied the game up at 1-1 after a first period goal by Vincent Lecavalier gave the Lighting a 1-0 lead after the first period.   Ovechkin's tally was assisted by Jack Hillen and Nicklas Backstrom.  Speaking of hot players, how about Nicklas Backstrom.  In the four games in April, Backstrom has recorded 9 assists and has 3 goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games.   The fact the one-two punch of Ovechkin and Backstrom have went on a tear is the critical cog of the surging Washington Capitals.  After Tamps took a 2-1 lead on a Alex Killorn goal, John Carlson blasted a rocket past Tampa's goalie Ben Bishop to knot the game at 2-2 in the second period.  Carlson's blast was assisted by Joel Ward and Hillen.  The Caps would take a 3-2 lead in the the second intermission after Joel Ward charged the net and scored his 8th tally of the season.  His marker was helped by Mathieu Perreault and Jason Chimera. 

The only goal of the final period came with 5 seconds left in the game when Ovechkin scored with an empty Tampa Bay net.  It was his 25th of the season and moved him into a tie with Stamkos for the NHL lead in goals. 

Kuydos goes out to a well played game by net minder Michal Neuvirth.  Neuvirth started his first game since March 16, giving a much needed break to starter Barden Holtby.  Nuevirth stopped 28 of 30 shots and made some tough, bail out saves to help preserve the Caps win. 

The win moves the Caps to 20-17-2 with 42 points, 2 points ahead of Winnipeg. 

MultiPoint Scorers:

Jack Hillen, 2 assists

Alex Ovechkin, 2 goals

Joel Ward, 1 goal, 1 assist

Here are the highlights. SEE FULL GAME REPORT HERE.

Player of the game is obviously this guy. 37 points, 16-25 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 1 amazing block of the 7'2" Roy Hibbert.

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) dribbles up court against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at the Verizon Center

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall (2) attempts a shot against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at the Verizon Center.

The Washington Wizards continued their hot streak at home and point guard John Wall continued his his hot streak of, well, everything. Together, it was enough for the Wizards to crush the the Indiana Pacers, the third-best team in the Eastern Conference, 104-85. The win improves Washington to 29-48 and drops the Pacers to 48-29, two games behind the NY Knicks for second place in the conference standings. Washington has now won 9 straight at home, is 22-17 overall on its own floor and 18-4 in the Phone Booth when John Wall plays.

Speaking of Wall, he played like a champion on a night when the Wizards honored their sole NBA championship team, the 1977-78 Washington Bullets. As a can-carrying Wes Unseld, Elvin "Big E" Hayes, Bobby Dandridge, Wizards TV broadcaster Phil Chenier, Kevin Grevey, coach Dick Motta  and others from that great club gathered in the Verizon Center to be cheered by a worshipful crowd, John Wall put on a show guaranteed to convince many of them that he's the one to lead the franchise back to the promised land.  

The Indiana Pacers lead the NBA in defensive efficiency, but they couldn't do anything to stop Wall, who has now torched Indy, the Chicago Bulls and the Memphis Grizzies, arguably the three best defenses in the NBA. Wall erupted for 37 points on 16-25 shooting, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and only two turnovers. Wall now has only 6 turnovers in his last four games, a total he used to regularly put up in one game. 

Localy product Roy Hibbert paced the Pacers with 25 points on 11-17 shooting, but he didn't do much damage in the fourth quarter, when Indiana needed him the most. Hibbert was also on the receiving end of one of Wall's highlight defensive plays, when the 6'4" guard blocked a shot from the 7'2" center, drawing cheers of awe and appreciation from the partisan home crowd. 

Crucially, the combination of Martell Webster and Trevor Ariza shut down All Star forward Paul George, who missed all 8 of his shots and managed only two points from the free throw line all game. Indiana's other fine forward, David West, scored 12 points -- 5 below his average -- and needed 14 shots to do it. West and Hibbert both had 10 rebounds.

Apart from his defense, Webster scored 13 points on 7 shots and dished 3 assists. Off the bench, Kevin Seraphin had a strong game, scoring 15 points on 7-10 shooting and grabbing four rebounds. He and Webster were the only Wizards players to score in double digits apart from Wall and his 37 points. 

It was a tough night for Wizards big men Nene and Emeka Okafor, who struggled with the size and physicality of Indiana's front court. Nene scored only 7 points and spent most of the evening in foul trouble. Okafor, who had a hard time matching up with the colossal Hibbert, missed 10 of 13 shots, scored only 8 points, but did pull down 9 rebounds. 

John Wall got the Wizards up early in the first quater, scoring 13 points over the first six minutes and outscoring the Pacers to that point, as the Wiz led the visitors 22-12 on the strength of Wall's 6-7 shooting start. 

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Alexander Ovechkin is one of the hottest players in the NHL, period.   Criticized heavily in the beginning of the season, he has dominated the ice over the past 11 games, having now tallied 13 goals over an 11 game period.  Tonight was no different.  Ovechkin tallied up his second hat trick of the season, his twelfth of his career, to lead the Capitals to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers.  

Ovechkin's first goal came on the Washington power play in the first period.  The Caps got a 5 minute major power play after new Cap Martin Erat was hit against the boards.  Erat left the game with a ginger knee.  Erat would not return to the game.   Ovi made the Panthers pay for the penalty, burying his 21st goal and his NHL leading 3th power play marker on a nifty feed by Mike Ribeiro.  His goal was assisted by Ribeiro and Nicklas Backstrom.  The Caps out shot the Panthers 11-9 in the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. 

Mike Ribeiro did not take along in putting the Caps up 2-0.  He scored just 43 seconds in the second period to give the Caps a 2-0 lead.  Mike Green and Ovechkin on the assists.  Less than two minutes later, Ovechkin would bury his second goal of the game to give the Caps a 3-0 lead.  His goal was assisted by Backstrom and Marcus Johansson.   Ovi would complete the hat trick past the 14 minute mark, scoring on a Johnansson shot rebound to give the Caps a 4-0 lead.  The Ovechkin hat trick tally was his 23rd marker of the season, putting him just 2 goal behind NHL leader Steven Stamkos. 

Florida would score three unanswered goals in the third period, but the Caps held on to preserve a huge win to keep them atop the Southeast Division.  With a 4-1 Winnipeg win Over the Flyers, it was a must win for the Caps to keep the division lead. 

The Caps win kept them undefeated in the month of April, improving them to 3-0.  They have now won 7 of their last 9 as they continue their charge to the NHL playoffs.   

Multi-Point Scorers:

Alex Ovechkin, 3 goals, 1 assist

Nicklas Backstrom, 3 assists

Marcus Johansson, 2 assists

Mike Ribeiro, 1 goal, 1 assist

Dave Sheinin has a must-read piece in the Post about Washington's lone NBA champion, the 1977-78 Bullets team of Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes [both Hall of Famers], Bobby Dandridge, Phil Chenier, Kevin Grevey, Mitch Kupchak and head coach Dick Motta. The great Bullets teams of the 1970s had been to two NBA Finals earlier in the decade, but had been swept out both times. The third time would be the charm in a brutal slog of a 7-game Finals against the Seattle Super Sonics. 

The franchise is making an effort to properly honor that team 35 years after its greatest achievement. As the article notes, the team has not done much to celebrate it's sole NBA champ and the actual Finals trophy was only recently recovered from the closet of a deceased team employee. As the aging veterans of that team -- all but guard Charles Johnson, who passed away from cancer -- look back on what they accomplished, they now appreciate the memories far more than they once did. 

Go read the whole article. 

Bullets Fever.  And this year’s the one

Bullets Fever. Got the Doctor and the Iceman

Bullets Fever.  Seattle was stunned

You’ve gotta be a fan from old DC

To know what the Bullets mean to me

To see them get up and go all the way

For me Bullets Fever is here to stay

Bullets Fever!  Happens to me every year

Bullets Fever.  And this year’s the one

Bullets Fever. Got the Doctor and the Iceman

Bullets Fever.  Seattle was stunned

C.J. and Larry, Greg, Joe and Mitch

Ran the Bomb Squad into a ditch

C.J. Tom and Larry are fast as light

Kevin, Bobby and Elvin they shoot out of sight

Aint it beautiful how Bobby D plays so great

With the Big E!

(inaudible) …we blew the Sonics out

Now all the world knows what our team’s about

Bullets Fever!  Happens to me every year

Bullets Fever.  And this year’s the one

Bullets Fever. Got the Doctor and the Iceman

Bullets Fever.  Seattle was stunned

With all his heart Wes fought the west

Now every Bullet wears a champion’s ring

They’ve got our town screaming and stompin’

They turn it into a family thing

Come on coach Motta

King of basketball chess

Come on now fans support them every test

Bullets Fever!  Happens to me every year

Bullets Fever.  And this year’s the one

Bullets Fever. Beat the best in the world

Bullets Fever.  Now we’re number one!

Bullets Fever.  Come on Bobby D

Bullets Fever.  Put in a swish for me

Bullets Fever.  Let’s see that turnaround, Mr. Hayes

Bullets Fever.  See your play is amazing

Bullets Fever.  Hey Dick and Bernie, we’re pulling for you

Bullets Fever.  Dreams come true

Number one, number one…

Left for dead a few weeks ago, don't look now, but your Washington Capitals sit atop the Southeast Division.  The Caps defeated the New York Islanders tonight in a shootout, 2-1.  That win, combined with a likely Winnipeg loss, puts the Caps in a tie for first place.  Winnipeg fell to Montreal 4-1.

Alex Ovechkin scored a shootout tally, while Braden Holtby shut down all three Isles' shooters to lead the Caps to the win.  With the win, the Caps move over .500 for the first time this season, improving to 18-17-2.  

Mike Green scored the only regulation goal for the Caps with just 12 seconds remaining in the first period.  It was Greenie's 8th goal of the season and was assisted by Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom.  Green is now second overall among all NHL defenseman in goals this season.  It was also the fourth consecutive game Green has scored a goal, he has five goals over the last four games. 

Kyle Okposos tied the game up in the third period at the 15:01 mark, a score that would ultimately lead to the shootout. 

Matt Hendricks and Mike Ribeiro missed their shooutout opportunities, but Ovechkin buried his past Evgeni Nabokov for the only shootout conversion of the game.  Braden Holtby stopped an impressive 35 of 36 shots including a late barrage of shots in the last two minutes of regulation. 

In one night, the Capitals jumped from the tenth spot in the Eastern Conference to the third spot. 

The Washington Capitals defeated the New York Islanders tonight 2-1 in a shootout overtime on a goal by Alex Ovechkin. The win puts the Caps in first place in the Southeast Division.

Apr 4, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) singles against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at Nationals Park.

GAME LINE: 3-3, 2 RBI, double, walk. Zimmerman is 5-5 with one walk in his last six at bats.

SEASON LINE: Avg .500, OBP .545, SLG .800, OPS 1.345, 5 hits, 3 RBI