{"id":11567593,"date":"2025-07-18T21:22:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11567593"},"modified":"2025-07-18T21:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:22:03","slug":"maryland-alumni-team-diamond-stone-juan-dixon-chases-tbt-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/18\/maryland-alumni-team-diamond-stone-juan-dixon-chases-tbt-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland alumni team led by Diamond Stone, Juan Dixon chases $1 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

HARRISONBURG, Va. \u2014 You could hear the squeaking of shoes Friday inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center on James Madison\u2019s campus. Every coaching command was audible, as were player gripes to the refs. Those in the arena \u2014 from the players to the fans \u2014 could best be described as basketball sickos.<\/p>\n

Count former Terps standout Diamond Stone among the hoops obsessed.<\/p>\n

The AUBC hosted a regional of The Basketball Tournament<\/a>, a 64-team event that hands out a $1 million prize to its winning team. Filled with current professionals, excluding NBA talent, the tournament has required solid play to win since its inception in 2014.<\/p>\n

Shell Shock, the No. 2 seed in the James Madison regional, is one step closer. The team, composed mostly of former Maryland players like Stone, won its first-round game, 75-74, over Love Virginia.<\/p>\n

Stone scored 15 points and added seven rebounds in just 19 minutes of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiamond is a problem,\u201d coach Juan Dixon, a former Terps star who coached Coppin State from 2017 before his firing in 2023<\/a>, said after the win. \u201cHe\u2019s a heck of an offensive talent. He can shoot it from deep. He can play off the dribble. We all know that he\u2019s a force in the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n

The past few years have affirmed how much Stone loves the sport regardless of outside recognition. Friday was another example. Stone, a former five-star recruit who played for the Terps in 2015-16 and became the Big Ten\u2019s Newcomer of the Year in his lone college season, was picked in the second round of the 2016 NBA draft. His NBA career was short-lived, however.<\/p>\n

Stone bounced around G League teams before making his way overseas. Now, he\u2019s one of the best players for the Zavkhan Brothers, a team in The League, a professional league in Mongolia. He made his presence known offensively Friday.<\/p>\n

Dixon says that Diamond\u2019s minutes were limited, especially late, because of Love Virginia\u2019s guard-heavy lineup and a few defensive lulls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe needs to guard better so he can get extended minutes,\u201d Dixon said.<\/p>\n

Shell Shock was without a few key contributors in its win, as Melo Trimble missed the game with a knee injury. Trimble, a former top-50 recruit, was a standout for the Terps from 2014 through 2017. After going undrafted, he spent a year in the G League before heading international, too. He\u2019s now playing a starring role for CSKA Moscow in Russia. His status for the rest of the tournament is to be determined.<\/p>\n