

“I like to play in big environments,” said Diamond Stone, shown taking the Xfinity Center court in November. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

When Diamond Stone returned to his home town of Milwaukee for a four-day holiday break late last month, his father was nervous. Bob Stone was determined just to get the 18-year-old in and out of the city without incident.

The Stone family kept a low profile and enjoyed a temporary reprieve from a hectic year. There was relief when the prodigal son returned without incident Christmas Day to continue his freshman season as a center for the Maryland men’s basketball team because the family knew Diamond would be back 14 days later to play as an enemy of the state university.

Less than a year ago, he was a consensus national top-10 recruit with Wisconsin and Maryland among his final college choices. On Saturday, he will step onto the court at Kohl Center in Madison for the third-ranked Terrapins’ game against the Badgers.

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Stone’s competitive return promises to be controver sial. It has been brewing since April, when he found himself embroiled in a social media storm shortly after he committed to Maryland. One Badgers fan told him to eat shrapnel. Others flung obscenities in his direction. Even the daughter of Bo Ryan, the legendary Wisconsin coach who retired last month , took a stab at Stone on Twitter .

So expect boos and ugly chants to rain down Saturday, the kind of treatment that Bob Stone warned his son of while growing up. If he was going to be a star and play on the brightest stage, he must be able to endure the ugly side of the spectacle.

“Like any away game, the crowd is going to be partisan,” Bob Stone said. “And he’s a bad guy this week.”

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Diamond Stone led Dominican High School in Wisconsin to four consecutive Division 4 state championships. (Andy Manis/Associated Press)

Safe harbor

There was one place in Milwaukee that Bob Stone didn’t have to worry about his son over the holiday break. The Dominican High varsity team was about to open a late December practice when Diamond, the best player in school history, walked through the gymnasium doors.

“As soon as he walked in the door, everybody just kind of stopped for a moment, and all eyes were on him,” Dominican junior guard Jake Bennett said in a phone interview. “As soon as he got in there . . . even just the energy at practice changed as well, just having his presence there.”

Stone helped guide Dominican to four state championships during his high school career. Only one other school in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s 100-year history has accomplished that feat. Stone quickly outgrew the competition at the high school level. He participated in hundreds of practices with his teammates, yet none could guard him. One of the team’s taller assistant coaches had to defend the 6-foot-11 teenager most of the time.

Now Stone was lifting his alma mater by standing off to the side and merely watching, a college basketball star who hadn’t forgotten his roots.

The visit brought back a flood of memories for Bennett, who would regularly watch Stone sign autographs outside the team locker room for 15 minutes after each Dominican game. Bennett never heard Stone talk about the colleges he might attend — his final list came down to Wisconsin, Connecticut and Maryland — and none of his teammates bothered him about attending his home state school.

Stone’s teammates at Dominican were among the first to support him as he endured vitriol for committing to Maryland. Maybe that’s why he was itching to return to the school, texting Dominican Coach Derek Berger in early December to begin planning a reunion. Once he returned, Stone stayed after practice to catch up with each of his teammates. There was no pressure there, nobody to challenge or threaten Stone.

“The whole time he just had this big smile on his face. He was really happy,” Berger said. “He loved being there.”



Five days after returning to campus from his Christmas visit with family, Stone had a record-setting performance vs. Penn State. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

‘Stay humble’

Five days after Christmas, Stone came off the bench and turned in one of the most memorable performances in Maryland history. He finished the 70-64 victory over Penn State with 39 points, the most in a game by a Maryland freshman, and set program records for free throws made (19) and attempted (25). The home crowd chanted his name as he walked off the Xfinity Center floor.

But he didn’t hear from his father until the next morning. Bob Stone wanted the hoopla to die down before he sent a simple text message to his son. “Stay humble,” it read.

Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon admits he is harder on Stone than any other player because the freshman has the furthest to develop. Stone didn’t receive that treatment well at first. Sometimes he hung his head after committing his first foul in each game, and it would affect his confidence on the offensive end. Turgeon made an unconventional move in early December: He took Stone out of the starting lineup and made him the team’s sixth man.

It was weird for Stone to accept at first, but he opted for humility. That was one of the principles his father and mother, Cynthia Oliver-Stone, worked to instill in their son. It was never more important than in December. Diamond changed his practice habits, refusing to rely solely on his talent. Sitting out early in games allowed Stone to stay out of foul trouble and clear his head, and he quickly transformed into perhaps the most dominant sixth man in the country.

Stone is averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, which only partially illustrates his progress as a freshman. His play on defense, considered his most difficult task in adjusting to the college game, also has improved. Stone has grown more comfortable in chasing guards and switching screens on the perimeter, and he has become more disciplined when he bangs his body against other low post players on the block. He has committed just nine fouls in his past five games — compared with 17 in his previous six— including just one in each of the last two.

Stone also has been whipped into shape. He arrived in College Park weighing a doughy 270 pounds. He has dropped nearly 20 pounds and trimmed his body fat considerably. His father was reminded of the transformation recently when he watch a tape of one of his son’s high school games.

“I’m like, Jesus, he was fat when he was in high school,” Bob Stone said. “Maryland, they’ve done everything they said they were going to do with him. Mark said he was going to hold him accountable and he was going to push him . . . and he has done that.”



Stone is averaging 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and has made significant progress on defense. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

‘I’m ready to play’

Turgeon and Diamond Stone sat side by side as they met members of the media Thursday afternoon, a session that carried more tension than normal given the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s game. Stone did not directly acknowledge that there will be hostility Saturday, nor did he touch on the controversy surrounding his choice to attend Maryland.

“If the crowd is loud, then that’s the environment I like to play in. I Iike to play in big environments,” Stone said. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a sold-out game, and I’m ready to play.”

Stone expects to hear from teammate Rasheed Sulaimon before the trip. Sulaimon, who became a mentor to Stone in College Park shortly after he transferred from Duke in August, was in a similar position when Maryland played at North Carolina earlier this season.

Stone also can revel in the fact that he’s already dominated against a team he considered joining. After Stone finished a 76-66 win over Connecticut on Dec. 8 with 16 points and nine rebounds in his second game off the bench, Turgeon said Stone was fueled by the fact that the Huskies had recruited him hard. It was an example of how aggressive Stone can be when he plays with emotion and might have been a glimpse of his potential once he takes the floor this Saturday.

On Thursday, he was more concerned with speaking about the family and friends who will travel to see him when he returns to his home state for the second time in two weeks. For all of the people who view him as a villain, there are plenty who have celebrated his unconventional move to attend Maryland.

“Milwaukee always is going to be home,” Stone said, “but Maryland is my new home.”