July 19, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The defending national champion Maryland Terrapins basketball team has been tabbed No. 12 in an early preseason poll for 2002-03 by FoxSports.com.

It's lone returning starter, Steve Blake, is the nation's leading career assist man with 751 entering his senior campaign. A three-year starter with 107 games under his belt, Blake is the most experienced playmaker in the country. Blake has recently been identified by ESPN's Dick Vitale and FoxSports.com's Frank Burlison as a leading All-America candidate and a contender for the 2003 Wooden All-America Team.