As Maryland forward Jalen Smith walked off the court at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., after Maryland’s 69-67 loss to LSU in the second round of the NCAA tournament, a reporter who covered the Tigers had a question.
Watching Smith’s gut-wrenching reaction to the last-second defeat, tears falling nearly from the moment the buzzer sounded after Tremont Waters scored under the 6-foot-10 forward’s arms, the reporter assumed Smith had played his last college game.
“Is he a senior?” the reporter asked.
“No, he’s a freshman who think he just caused his team to lose the game,” he was told by a counterpart who covered the Terps.