No one said it was going to be easy.

Coppin State University forward Chad Andrews-Fulton scored a team-high 19 points in Monday’s thrilling double-overtime win over Florida A&M at Coppin’s PEC Arena. None more important than his layup with 12 seconds to go, which put the Eagles in front 79-78 and lifted Coppin to their first win of the season after 17 straight losses. 

The victory for the Coppin men is the first under the tenure of new coach and hometown hero Juan Dixon, who starred at Calvert Hall College High School and led the University of Maryland to national title in 2002. 

Drafted by the Washington Wizards, Dixon eventually played in the NBA and then Europe before starting his coaching career with the Terps under Mark Turgeon. Last year, in his first head-coaching gig, Dixon directed the University of the District of Columbia’s women’s team to 3-25 mark. The Coppin men also struggled last year, coming off an 8-24 record. And, in fact, Coppin’s winless mark before this week had been 20 games, dating back to last season, and the longest in the country, according to the Baltimore Sun.   

Dixon replaced Michael Grant, who had been at the helm for three seasons. Now it’s up to Dixon to try and fill the shoes of local legend Fang Mitchell, who previously led the Eagles for nearly three decades, posting 11 consecutive winning seasons during one stretch and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Despite the early struggles this season, if anyone possesses the resiliency to turn around the Coppin season—and program—it might just be Dixon.

The undersized former guard has overcome obstacles his whole life, including losing both of his parents to AIDS when he was a teenager. 

After two MEAC conference games in North Carolina, Coppin returns to Baltimore Jan. 20 and hosts Morgan State.

Check Baltimore magazine’s story on Dixon—his reconnection to his Baltimore roots, reunion with his father, and hire at Coppin State—in our February issue.

Though they may not get as much court time or mentions on the highlight reel, two Baltimore natives are making a big impact on the men’s and women’s Terps basketball teams. Senior forward Jonathan Graham and redshirt freshman forward A’Lexus Harrison both bring energy, teamwork, and defensive ability to their squads as they prepare for the NCAA Tournament.

Graham, a Catonsville native and Calvert Hall alum, is following in the footsteps of his father, Ernie Graham, who was a Terps great that also wore No. 25, a jersey that now resides in the rafters of Xfinity Center in College Park. “The more I kept hearing about his story, watching him in the early years, it really inspired me,” Graham says. “The original mission I had when I was 10 years old was to go to Maryland and break his scoring record.”

Similarly, Harrison knew from a young age that Maryland was her dream school. “When I was 12, we came to a game,” she recalls. “The intros were about to start, the lights went out, and the fight song was playing. It was mesmerizing to me. I looked up at my mom and told her I was going to play here one day.”

Of course, between the dream and reality was a lot of hard work for Graham and Harrison, would pushed themselves to the limit in high school.

“We recognized his potential right away,” Calvert Hall head basketball coach John Bauersfeld says of Graham. “He played varsity as a freshman and, by sophomore year, his numbers were tremendous. After that, he did such a good job of buying into the team player part of it, whether he was cheering on the bench or bettering himself as a defender.”

“In high school, I really learned that it wasn’t about one guy,” Graham says. “And Coach taught me how to be a good defender because I wasn’t when I got there.”

For Harrison’s part, it came down to inherent confidence and early-morning motivation. Digital Harbor head coach Patrick McDonald would pick her up at her Lansdowne home for 6 a.m. practice.

“I wouldn’t knock or blow my horn,” McDonald says. “I would flash my lights so she had to be ready and waiting. She never missed a morning practice for two years. She brought that energy to her play. She has a terrific motor and could sprint down the court so fast it made your jaw drop. She plays relentless basketball.”

Her relentless style helped Harrison lead the Digital Harbor Rams to a title her senior year and Maryland came knocking. But a setback came her true freshman year when she got appendicitis and had to sit out.

“That was a big step back for me,” she says. “But I also got a year to just learn and adjust, to both college life and a faster, more physical college game.”

Graham’s basketball career also took an unorthodox path, as he played for Penn State for two years before transferring to Maryland to be with his family while his dad was going through surgeries.

“My dad isn’t the most patient guy in the world,” Graham says with a laugh. “So I wanted to help my mom out. Plus, we always dreamed about me possibly coming to Maryland.”

Now, Graham is living out that dream with successful performances like a career-high 16 points and six rebounds against his former team Penn State in February. And, now he’s looking to prepare for the men’s basketball team’s first NCAA tournament bid in five years. The team was seeded a controversial fourth and also in a tough region with Kentucky and Kansas.

“We’re definitely going in with a chip on our shoulder,” he says. “The team’s been great about that all year—playing with something to prove. We ended up second in the Big 10 behind a really good Wisconsin team. A lot of things people thought wouldn’t happen, we’ve made happen. I’m really excited for our first game against a really good Valpo [Valparaiso] team. The elephant in the room is that Kentucky is in the region, but we’re not looking too far down that road yet.”

The women’s team has had an incredible year, going practically undefeated and winning the Big 10 Championship, despite losing last year’s star player Alyssa Thomas to the WNBA. Unlike the men, they’re extremely happy with their No. 1 seed, which Harrison attributes to successful team chemistry.

“We’re more than a team; we’re sisters,” she says. “As a whole, we’re so excited for the tournament. For me, I’ve been through it, but never been able to play before. I’ve worked all year to prepare myself for this moment. And now we have a big target on our backs. Every team wants to send Maryland home.”

On the court, Graham and Harrison’s play styles are similar, with strong defense and impressive rebounds. Off the court, they both say they want to work with young children and motivate them the same way they were inspired by their parents and coaches like Bauersfeld and McDonald.

“With Maryland being close to my heart,” Graham says. “I have a little extra motivation to bring Maryland back where it belongs—to the NCAA Championship.”

Catch Graham and the men’s squad play at 4:40 p.m. on Friday on TNT and Harrison and the women’s team on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

If it’s March, then it must be time for what should be Maryland’s state sport (could they really pack 40,000 fans into Camden Yards to watch…jousting?)—and that sport, of course, is lacrosse. It’s one of the fastest—and the fastest-growing—sports in America, but that comes as no surprise to the thousands of Baltimore-area families who live and breathe lacrosse every season, all season. For those families, their only goal in life is to see Junior or Sis make varsity in high school, win the state championship, then get the grades to win a scholarship to some lacrosse-loving Division I college like the University of Virginia, Duke University, The Johns Hopkins University, or the University of Notre Dame. After that, there are adult leagues for the unrecovered grownups, and then, for the über-stars, Major League Lacrosse or an LXM Pro team. What next? They can dream of coming full circle and ending up in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (on The Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus).

So who are Baltimore’s rising stars on the high-school level for 2014? We interviewed coaches of all the top-ranked school teams and came up with a handful of young lax masters to watch. And with the help of aficionados like Baltimorean, national lacrosse star, and STX athlete Kyle Harrison, we also dug up lots of fun facts about the lacrosse crowd (i.e., a “yard sale” is not where they buy used lax gear).

And for you lucky laxites who made our list? No pressure, kids.

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Why Lacrosse?

Right now, somewhere in Baltimore, a boy is throwing a lacrosse ball to himself off a brick wall—over and over—hoping to become the next Rob Pannell.

Who? Exactly. The leading scorer in NCAA Division I history is hardly a household name. But in lacrosse circles, the former Cornell University star is a legend. Unlike other major sports in this country, lacrosse does not promise a career of fame and fortune. Even earning a college scholarship for lacrosse is difficult: Major college teams can have rosters as large as 45, with only 12 scholarships to dish out among all players every year.

So why do kids in this region continue to choose a sport with such a seemingly low ceiling?

Shack Stanwick, a senior at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, is the youngest of eight kids, all of whom played collegiate lacrosse. And a backyard lacrosse game is to the Stanwicks what football was to the Kennedys. “Lacrosse gives me so many things in return,” says Stanwick, 18, who plans to play at The Johns Hopkins University next year. “I’ve made so many friends through the sport who
I’m still close with today. It’s allowed me to share a special connection with my siblings, and it has also helped me and my dad strengthen our relationship.”

“Some parents are understanding that while there’s not a whole lot of athletic scholarship dollars at the end of the rainbow, lacrosse can help in terms of admission,” says Steve Stenersen, president and CEO of US Lacrosse. “If a child’s academic standing isn’t quite good enough, lacrosse could be a determining factor.”

“It’s just fun,” says Bob Shriver, coach of Boys’ Latin. “It’s a great game to practice; it’s not the drudgery of football. It has more scoring than soccer, more people than basketball. It just gets in your soul.”

Devotees of the game say the lessons learned on the lacrosse field stay with you for a lifetime. To look into that, we tracked down a Baltimore veteran of the sport, Richard Mollett, who was something of a local lacrosse star in his day, playing first at Boys’ Latin, then at Towson State University, where, as a senior, his team won the 1974 college-division national championship. He played or coached club lacrosse for 20 years after that, but is best known as the founder and owner, along with wife Dort, of Antrim 1844, Taneytown’s award-winning historic country inn (and five-star restaurant).

“In business, I’d say lacrosse gave me the ability to know not to ever give up, and to never stop trying to get to the next level,” says Mollett. “And it ingrained in me that once you reach that next level, you can’t be satisfied with that. After you face challenges on the field for so many years, you know you can face challenges in business.”

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HISTORY LESSON

Native Roots

Flash back to the New World, dateline 1636: That’s when a Jesuit missionary first documented the Native American, all-male game of lacrosse. It got its modern name from a French word referring to “a curved stick,” but was known to most Native Americans as “little brother of war.” The first white men to adopt the game were English-speaking Montrealers, who wrote a set of rules, which led to the formation of lacrosse clubs.

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Face Off!

Did somebody say rivalries? Here are the teams to watch in the new season:

GIRLS:

Maryvale vs. Notre Dame Prep

When they meet up, forget the nice-Catholic-girl thing.

Bryn Mawr vs. Roland Park Country

They’re within spitting distance of each other (so to speak).

Anybody vs. McDonogh

They’re the team to beat!

BOYS:

Gilman vs. Boys’ Latin

Both of these teams have deep benches.

Calvert Hall vs. Loyola

Calvert Hall Coach Bryan Kelly: “A healthy rivalry dating way back, but good friends on both teams.”

St. Paul’s vs. Boys’ Latin

“They’re similar in size and compete at the same level in every sport, so it’s a natural rivalry”, says the BL coach.

McDonogh vs. Gilman

There are plenty of Division I candidates on both sides

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LOCAL LEGEND

For local lax intel, we consulted with Kyle Harrison, one of the most recognizable names in the sport. The Baltimore native graduated from Friends School and The Johns Hopkins University, earning just about every lacrosse accolade possible, then played in Major League Lacrosse before co-founding the LXM Pro League. Harrison, 30, also just launched his third-generation STX equipment line called K18.

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OFFICIAL LAXICON

LEARNING THE LINGO ON AND OFF THE FIELD

This sport, like any, has its own slang, and the faithful will find ways to work lacrosse metaphors into ordinary conversation. So, go ahead: Try to make a sentence using all of these.

Illustrations by Peter Mac

Around the world: Taking the stick around your far shoulder and behind your back on a pass or shot.

BTB: Passing or shooting the ball behind your back.

Flow: A term for boy lacrosse players who have hair coming out of their helmet—it is their flow.

Lax bro: Think lacrosse thug, with no other discernible interests or skills.

Phantom check: When a player drops the ball without being touched by a defender.

Popcorn: When a goalie makes an easy save on a high shot.

Put on skates: When a defender gets outwitted and looks like he or she is slipping on ice skates.

Top shelf: When someone scores anywhere in the top portion of the goal.

Turf monster: Usually yelled out when a player trips or stumbles without being touched.

Twig: It would be easier to just call a thing by its real name, right? Wrong—it’s slang for the stick.

Upper 90: When you shoot the ball and it hits the top corners of the goal

Yard sale: When a player’s stick gets checked out of his or her hands.

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INJURY REPORT

The most common mishaps in lacrosse*

1. Separated Shoulders

Common from a sideways fall directly on the tip of the shoulder, injuring the acromioclavicular joint.

2. Broken Wrists

The natural reflex to break a fall is to stretch out your arm so you don’t fall on your head. If the force is too great, the wrist breaks.

About 40% of lacrosse injuries are non-contact.

3. Concussions

Contact sports always include blunt-force injuries to the headthat can cause concussions.

4. Broken Thumbs

Whacks on the hand from a stick can break the thumb and is one of the most common injuries for goalies.

A broken thumb can take up to 3-4 months to heal.

5. Sprained Ankles

Rapid cuts while changing directions and dodging movements commonly cause ankle sprains.

* Courtesy of Baltimore orthopedist Dr. Spiro Antonaides.

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HANGOUTS

Where do the stick kids of Charm City gather to talk shop?

Photography by Amanda White-Iseli

Towson Hot Bagels

Starbucks

Hopkins Game Days

Rita’s Ice

Smoothie King

Orioles (or Ravens) Games

Chipotle

Bill Bateman’s Bistro

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DRAFT

Which Ravens or Orioles would excel in lacrosse?

We asked area high-school coaches to speculate on which pro ballers would tear up the turf——some interesting answers, and one name came up more than any other!

TORREY SMITH
Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver

“Torrey Smith, with his speed and elusiveness and his ability to control his body, would make a pretty good lacrosse player,” says Brent Ritz, coach of the C. Milton Wright girls’ team.

LARDARIUS WEBB
Baltimore Ravens Cornerback

“Lardarius Webb would be just incredible because of his speed and his ability to break down opponents,” says Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly. “The more powerful, explosive speed you have, the better.”

RAY RICE
Baltimore Ravens Running Back

“Ray Rice is pretty shifty,” says Jessica Vitrano Randisi, coach of Maryvale Prep. “Speed is number one, because you can’t teach speed,” says Becky Groves, coach of the Century High girls’ team.

MATT WIETERS
Baltimore Orioles Catcher

“Matt Wieters has unbelievable hands and a cannon for an arm,” Ritz says. “He seems to react and read things quickly, so I think he would be a
great feeder on the team.”

ADAM JONES
Baltimore Orioles Outfielder

Traded to the Orioles from the Seattle Mariners for the 2008 season, outfielder Jones was one of the coaches’ picks as a potential lax star.

CHRIS DAVIS
Baltimore Orioles First Baseman

His 130 career home runs (he surpassed Brady Anderson for the O’s record of most home runs in a single season) would translate well to the lacrosse field, say coaches.

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TEAMS TO WATCH

2014 IT’S THEIRS TO LOSE

Here are some of the teams that did especially well in the past season in various leagues*

GIRLS

• McDonogh School
• Marriotts Ridge High School
• Good Counsel School
• Mt. Hebron High School
• St. Paul’s School
• C. Milton Wright High School
• Broadneck High School
• Century High School
• The Bryn Mawr School
• Maryvale Preparatory School
• North Harford High School

BOYS

• The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland
• Westminster High School
• Gilman School
• Loyola Blakefield
• Hereford High School
• McDonogh School
• St. Paul’s School
• Calvert Hall High School
• Severn School

* According to Baltimore-based US Lacrosse.