Maryland men’s basketball is just days away from kicking off year three of the Kevin Willard era with experienced portal additions paired up with the returners and freshman phenom Julian Reese.
While the backcourt turned heads in the second and final scrimmage of preseason vs. Seton Hall last weekend, a lot of eyes will be on the Terps’ new frontcourt tandem this season with Derik Queen and Julian Reese anchoring the paint. On3 ranked the former St. Frances teammates among their top 125 players heading into the 2024-25 season.
It was Queen who checked in as the highest-ranked Terp at 41st overall to Julian Reese at 93rd, but the two are set to anchor the Terps’ frontcourt with Tafara Gapare, Jordan Geronimo and Braden Pierce rounding out the rotation. Still, Reese has been a consistent omission from preseason recognition despite nearly averaging a double-double as a junior after averaging 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds while Queen was previously recognized as one of the most impactful freshmen heading into the season.
Queen also checked in as the 61st-best player across the country in ESPN's top 100: Queen is one of the more unusual big men in the country, with excellent passing and ballhandling ability for a 6-10 center. He can score around the rim or facilitate offense for others while facing up, showing a tremendous skill level. Can Kevin Willard find a way to get the best out of Queen and fellow big man Julian Reese?
Willard noted finding shooters to complement the frontcourt was the focus this offseason with Ja’Kobi Gillespie set to fill the shoes left by Jahmir Young as the new point guard, giving the offense options to get create off pick-and-rolls with both Queen and Reese.
Fans, though, look ahead to watching the former St. Frances duo share the floor inside the Xfinity Center as Willard previously noted the two will likely see “12 to 15 minutes a game” together on the floor.
“Luckily Derik’s been on campus since June and obviously has been here the whole time. You know what's really what's really been interesting was one we had them on the court at the same time, unfortunately someone's got to guard either one of those. No team has played two bigs. And so the mismatches that we've been able to create, the way they've been able to work high-lows. They've been able to work very well together. Just understanding, they're both very smart basketball players, extremely smart. And so kind of the talking to each other about, I got this mismatch. You have this mismatch. Let's do some roll, replace, get some guys ducking in. They really worked well together and the true part is they're probably not going to be on the court together all that much. Obviously starting the games, big guys get in foul trouble, big guys have to get subs.”
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