Sports

Maryland Basketball Star Refuses Chance At History To Display Incredible Sportsmanship

#Maryland Terrapins
by
Diggy Coit / Maryland Terrapins

© Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images


The Maryland basketball team beat Big 10 rival Penn State on Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Diggy Coit had a monster game.

The veteran finished one point shy of the Terrapins‘ single game scoring record. He passed up a number of late opportunities at history in order to let his teammates shine.

The Terps hosted the Nittany Lions in conference action over the weekend. Maryland entered the contest at 7-10 and winless in league play.

While the season’s already been lost for many, Coit showed that there’s still plenty to play for in his most recent showing. He erupted for 30 first half points on his way to a 43-point outing.

That nearly broke the school record of 44, set by Ernie Graham in 1978.

Coit was 14-for-23 from the field. That included nine makes on 15 three-point attempts to tie a program mark.

Who is Diggy Coit?

The senior is with his fourth team in five college seasons. He started his career in JUCO at Atlantic Cape CC. There, he led the NJCAA Division III in scoring and was named conference player of the year.

He buoyed that production into a D1 offer. Coit played two seasons at Northern Illinois. He scored 20.8 points per game as a junior. Again, he used that output to take a step up in competition.

Coit signed with Kansas last year. There was a notable dip in scoring as he averaged 5.1 points across 34 games with three starts.

In the offseason, he left the Jayhawks for Maryland. It’s been a great fit which allows Coit to shine on offense.

His 43-point showing vs. Penn State was his fourth 30-point game of the year. It broke his previous season-high of 41 points, which at the time set a Xfinity Center venue record.

Coit now owns the two best offensive outputs in arena history. He nearly made school history on Sunday. Some might’ve been more selfish in the same situation. He chose to put the team above personal achievement.

Coit is a class act.

Diggy Coit was one point shy of the Maryland program scoring record for the last 4:39 of regulation. He went 0-2 on a pair of late three-pointers. He had more opportunities to score but passed them up for teammates.

Coit played unselfishly over the last few possessions despite having a chance to make Maryland basketball history. His positivity carried over into the postgame.

The guard gifted his game-worn shoes to a young fan celebrating a birthday.

Coit made the fan’s day with the gift. He made plenty of other Terps happy with his 43-point performance. Maryland won the game, 96-73.

Despite being on the verge of history, he chose to value his teammates. He could’ve chased a record. Instead, he shared the moment with those around him.