After losing a pair of key contributors to the pros and three bench players to the transfer portal, head coach Kevin Willard knew he had to turn to the transfer portal – and fast – to revamp the roster for year three. It made it easier that One Maryland positioned Willard and his staff to become aggressive players once the window officially opened.
"There's two big factors in the transfer portal -- money and money,” Willard said. “Last year, going into the season, we didn't have any money, so we couldn't really be overly aggressive in the transfer portal. And this year, thanks to Damon [Evans], I have a great group of guys that run the collective, we were able to be more aggressive in the portal because we had more money. So it's kind of a bad cop out, and I apologize for the excuse. I don't like it, but the reality of the situation is that we had more money to be more aggressive early in the portal than we were before. And so we were able to be aggressive with Ja’Kobi [Gillespie]. We were able to be aggressive with guys like Selton that when we got them on campus for visits, that we just didn't mess around. We could be more aggressive.”
With the backcourt a need, Willard turned to a familiar face for his first offseason pickup after former Virginia Tech guard Rodney Rice became the first portal pledge just days after the portal window opened. Rice, a former four-star out of DeMatha, left Blacksburg just weeks before the start of his sophomore season before spending the rest of the year training locally while preserving his eligibility.
“It was actually kind of tough. I really didn't like want to watch basketball because I couldn't play,” Rice said. “That was frustrating a little bit. But being able to go to the gym, workout, that helped a lot. And getting back in the flow of things, it's going to take a little bit of time, a couple [of] games or so but I’ll get there.”
After being sidelined through June into early July with an ankle sprain, as Willard described it, the DeMatha product has enjoyed playing “more free” in the Terps’ style of play.
“Where I was at before, it was more system-oriented. Now, I’m able to do whatever really. Just play my game, play freely. It’s one of the reasons why I chose [Maryland].”
While retaining Julian Reese was among the first items on Willard’s to-do list, so was finding the portal guard to replace Jahmir Young, leading the staff to Ja’Kobi Gillespie fresh off a selection to the MVC All-Improved Team in 2023-24. The Tennessee native arrived in College Park in June where he’s been able to flash as a do-it-all ball-handler, but Willard noted Gillespie didn’t arrive at Maryland to replicate Young’s production.
“You're not going to replace Jahmir and that's not Ja’Kobi’s job,” Willard added.
“The biggest thing for us was with Ja’Kobi, getting someone that shot a high percentage from the three-point line was major, and a guy that had played at a pretty good level, and had been in some – it was use of physicality, and he actually played in a very physical League, but we told Ja’Kobi that we were going to try to find someone else.”
That someone else proved to be Selton Miguel, the reigning AAC Most Improved Player in 2023-24 after shining in a sixth-man role. The veteran guard, who teamed up with Bruno Fernando at the Olympics this summer, heads to College Park aspiring to “show I can shoot higher than 40%” from three to become a key piece in the Terps’ offensive identity.
“Just to be a leader and trying to be the best teammate I can be, and definitely trying to get guys involved just because I've been in college and I know I can get mine but try to get other people involved,” Miguel added.
Maryland also turned to the portal to fill its final two scholarships in Tafara Gapare and Jayhlon Young with Young, a graduate transfer from Memphis, able to step into backup point guard duties while being an asset defensively.
But one season after being the second-worst shooting team in the Big Ten, Maryland's offensive potential isn't just limited to its portal additions as Chance Stephens returns from an injury that sidelined him for the full 2023-24 season.
“For me, individually, I’m just excited to be back out there. That’s my main thing.”
Nicknamed the ‘Sniper’, Stephens built his reputation as a three-point specialist with all but three of his 52 made shots came from deep while shooting over 37%. Heading into his second season with the program, Stephens knows his role is clearly defined: “Make shots. Shoot the ball. That’s my role.”
Maryland men’s basketball opens the season vs. Manhattan on Nov. 4.
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