A solid start for Maryland’s Kizer

Lynetta Kizer fancies herself a pretty wicked dancer. A lot of people aren't aware of that.

The University of Maryland freshman is so well known for her basketball prowess that her moves off the court sometimes fly under the radar.

Kizer's hoops skills, however, are no secret.

After graduating from Potomac High School as the second-leading scorer in Prince William County girls' basketball history, the 6-foot-4 center arrived at Maryland with the daunting assignment of having to replace Crystal Langhorne in the starting lineup.

That was like asking Kizer to post up with a club mix of Beyonce's "Halo" blast-ing from the Comcast Center speakers.

In 29 games for the Terrapins, the McDonald's and Parade All-American led all Atlantic Coast Conference freshmen in rebounding (7.4 per game) and was second in scoring (11.7). She recorded eight double-doubles, scored at least 10 points in 24 starts and went on to become the third Maryland player in five years to earn ACC Rookie of the Year honors—joining Marissa Coleman (2006) and, coincidentally, Langhorne (2005) as the conference's top fresh-man.

"When we recruited Lynetta we made it clear that we were expecting her to come in and play a major role from day one and that is exactly how it worked out," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "We really needed her to be an inside presence and a threat to score and she was able to provide that. As a person, she also adds a ton of fun to our team with her terrific sense of humor. She helps keep us loose."

And, perhaps more importantly, she arrived in College Park with a desire to win.

Kizer was part of the U.S. squad that captured the 2008 FIBA U18 World Championship in Bue-nos Aires, Argentina and she won a gold medal at the 2007 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival.

So she adapted quickly to the college game—finding a comfortable rhythm alongside established stars like Coleman and ACC player of the year Kristi Toliver.

Kizer scored 12 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in her collegiate debut and wound up being the Terps' third-leading scorer as Maryland captured the ACC regular season title for the first time in 20 years and then beat Duke in the conference tournament finals.

"What's great about Lynetta is that she really is a team player. As a freshman, it never bothered her that Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver were scoring the most points. She'll do whatever it takes to help us win," Frese said. "She had a great opportunity to learn from two terrific seniors and she embraced that. In the next three seasons, more of that responsibility will be on her."

Kizer's best game of the season came against Georgia Tech on Feb. 19 when she scored a season-high 22 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), pulled down 10 rebounds and grabbed a season-high five steals. The Terps won 87-79.

"We really pride ourselves on recruiting terrific players and giving them a chance to shine right away. Lynetta seized the opportunity and what's even more exciting is she can be-come even better. She shoots the ball better than most post players do already and she never really shied away from contact," Frese said. "We've already started workouts and Lynetta is working hard, trying to take the next steps, because she knows that we're going to have to rely on her even more next season."