Maryland men’s basketball is now battling through a pair of season-ending injuries after Braden Pierce joined Jahari Long on the permanent inactive list for the rest of the 2024-25 season, but head coach Kevin Willard revealed the backcourt’s depth has taken another hit as he noted the injuries have “really hurt our practice and our practice time and I think development.”
“Chance got a bad flu that has knocked him out so he’s been out,” Willard said during Talkin’ Terps on Monday. “I feel so bad for that young man, battle back and he just got COVID at the beginning of November then just got caught in the flu and just hasn’t been able to fight it off.”
It's the latest hit for Stephens, who has played more than ten minutes just once this season after missing the 2023-24 season following an injury suffered in offseason workouts. But after playing just one minute vs. Purdue in his first game back since the Marquette loss, Willard noted he expects to have a healthy Jordan Geronimo on Tuesday night.
“Jordan’s back. I didn’t want to play him that much against Purdue just because he had only practiced three days, so I wanted to make sure he was 100% healthy. He was in game shape. We’ll have a full Jordan Geronimo [Tuesday], which is exciting. I think defensively he brings so much for us. Him and Tafara [Gapare] just two different players – Tafara is a little more offensive minded and Jordan is a little more defensive-minded. So they really complement each other really well.”
While Maryland looks for its 22nd consecutive win against unranked non-conference opponents on Tuesday, Willard also noted the benefit in the Terps’ seventh Quad Four opponent in the first 11 games of the season. After all, Maryland enters Tuesday ranked inside the top-25 in NET (15), Torvik (17), KenPom (20) and EvanMiya (24) while drawing votes in each week’s updated AP Poll.
“I think it’s important being in there because you can sustain that,” Willard said. “It’s huge for seeding as you get down toward February so the metrics have been good. I think our offensive numbers have been really good. Playing some of these games at home, although it hasn’t been great for the fanbase, it’s been really good for the team. It’s helped them develop. It’s helped them gel and it also helps your metrics.”
And despite the Terps now sitting at 0-2 in Quad One games, the time off gave Willard a chance to see the positives in both losses.
“The first time was obviously a very good Marquette team but the first time for seven of those guys play in a charged up Xfinity Center. And then the Purdue game, I was really impressed with how well we sustained our composure for the first time for a lot of those guys, being in I think the second or third-best atmosphere in college basketball. For them to come out, handle the atmosphere, play as well as they did first half.”
After they look to take care of Saint Francis as a hefty home favorite, they’ll head to Brooklyn to face Syracuse as Maryland wraps up their non-conference slate. Willard noted that Maryland will “either head to Newark or head to New York again” in 2025-26 given the strength of the fanbase in the area.
“We have such a good fanbase in New York, New Jersey area. We represent well. All the people that put these games on, they love our fanbase because they show up. They’re into the games. Syracuse has a huge fanbase so, so far from what we’re hearing, it’s going to be one of the best neutral site games ticket-wise in Barclay’s history.”
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