ATLANTA -- Call it the Shaq syndrome.

Maryland center Lonny Baxter is a big guy, 260 pounds big. But he doesn't always get a lot of respect from the refs.

First, there was last year's semifinal against Duke where he went 2-10 from the field and fouled out on a questionable call. Then there was Saturday's game versus Kansas where he got into early foul trouble and spent much of the first half on the bench.

	Lonny Baxter's double-double was part of the trouble for Indiana in the paint Monday night.

"He's so big and so powerful that it's hard," Terrapins guard Drew Nicholas said. "Sometimes his fouls aren't really fouls. He's just that big of a person." Not that Baxter is one to complain. He's not the most talkative kid. In fact, he barely says much at all.

"Lonny listens," Terrapins assistant Jimmy Patsos said. "He's the old 'God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason'. He believes that. But behind it is the competitor. Coach (Gary) Williams can yell at him all he wants. All Lonny does is put his head down and play harder." On Monday night, faced with his final shot at a national championship in his final college game, that's exactly what Baxter did. In 32 minutes, LB scored 15 points, grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds and blocked three shots including two roofings of Indiana's Jared Jeffries.

And he didn't commit his first foul until the 5:55 mark of the second half. It was a fitting ending for a guy, who like his teammate Juan Dixon, arrived in College Park with very little hype. Baxter anchored the Turtle's frontcourt his freshman year after Obinna Ekezie ruptured his Achilles tendon, then had a solid sophomore season averaging 15.6 points and nearly nine rebounds. But by January of this year, his own coaching staff was questioning whether Baxter was improving.

As sophomore Chris Wilcox rapidly molded into a favorite of NBA scouts, Baxter's game seemed stagnant. Then Williams' staff took a second look at the stat sheet. All along, Baxter remained pretty consistent. Going into the Final Four, his scoring average (15.6) was exactly the same from his sophomore to junior to senior seasons. And his rebound numbers were around eight per contest. That's no small feat when you consider that Baxter's role in the Terps' offense is pretty basic.

"Lonny has yet to show his full potential and he can't really show it in our system," Terps' point guard Steve Blake said. "He's 6-8 and has to play center. All he does is post up, but in pickup he can almost play the three man. Y'all don't see that though." What we did see Monday night in the ATL was another dominating performance by Maryland's big men. As Dixon raced to the tournament Most Outstanding Player, it was the play of Maryland's "four horsemen" (as Ryan Randle says they call themselves) frontcourt that held down the inside and let Maryland's perimeter players lock down the Hoosier shooters in the second half.

And while Dixon hit two clutch shots, a three and then a two, to help the Terps regain and maintain a slim late second-half lead, two of the biggest plays involved the horsemen.

First, an entry pass from Tahj Holden to Baxter for a flush and then another assist from Holden to Nicholas off a save by Byron Mouton. The latter play made the score 55-49 with 3:33 left and IU wouldn't score another basket until the final shot of the game.

By then the 165-pound Dixon was converging on LB, wrapping up his fellow senior and wrestling the big guy to the Georgia Dome floor. Finally, Baxter was going to get some respect. The quiet kid was silent no more.

After the game, Baxter was the last Terp to entertain questions outside the Maryland locker room and his words were short and to the point.

"A lot of people didn't think Juan and I would be any good at Maryland," he said. "To come out and win the national championship, it's like I'm still dreaming."

We hear ya, Lonny.

John Gustafson writes for ESPN The Magazine.