Kevin Willard headlines Terps honored in NABC awards

Three Terps were named NABC First-Team All-District on Tuesday in addition to head coach Kevin Willard being honored as well.

Willard was named co-coach of the year alongside Darian DeVries, who was announced as Indiana’s new coach on Tuesday afternoon. This marks the seventh Coach of the Year honor for Willard during his career.

Maryland's 25 wins so far this season are tied as the sixth-most in program history and the most since recording 27 in 2015-16. The total also ties his 2015-16 season at Seton Hall for his career-high in single season wins. Additionally, the Terps had eight Quad 1 victories on the year and five wins over AP Top 25 teams. Maryland drew a four-seed in Seattle and will face 13th-seed Grand Canyon on Friday, marking the program’s best NCAA Tournament seeding since 2015.

Willard’s 63 wins over the last three seasons also mark a program-best, topping 54 by Lefty Driesell and 49 by Gary Williams. Willard’s 32 conference wins is tied with Bud Millikan for the most in a three-year span.

Willard wasn’t the only one to be honored, though, after Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Derik Queen and Julian Reese were named First Team All-District.

Gillespie averaged 14.7 points and nearly five assists during his first season with the program, sitting second all-time in career three-point field goal percentage and fifth in made threes in a single season (80).

Queen, also named an honorable mention AP All-American, leads the team in scoring (16.3) while his 11 20-point games mark the second-most in program history.

Reese, meanwhile, put together a strong senior season after averaging over 13 points, just shy of his career-high, and nine rebounds per game. Reese sits top ten all-time in 14 different categories between career and single-season records as he leads the 'Crab Five' into the NCAA Tournament as the lone starter with tournament experience.

NABC District Coaches Of The Year:

Central District Coach of the Year: Dennis Gates, Missouri

East District Co-Coaches of the Year: Darian DeVries, West Virginia & Kevin Willard, Maryland

Great Lakes District Coach of the Year: Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Gulf District Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

Mid-Atlantic District Coach of the Year: Phil Martelli Jr., Bryant

Mountain District Coach of the Year: Richard Pitino, New Mexico

North Atlantic District Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, St. John's

Pacific District Coach of the Year: Eric Olen, UC San Diego

Southeast District Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Auburn

South Atlantic District Coach of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke

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