After Maryland basketball head coach Kevin Willard took the podium alongside Purdue head coach Matt Painter and UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, he joined the BTN set alongside Julian Reese and Selton Miguel to delve into his new-look roster, why he feels confident about this team and his new additions:
Miguel on why Maryland was the place for him out of the transfer portal
“Just coming to Maryland was the best option to come [here] because of the culture. And I look at coach Willard just like he lets the guards play. So I just feel like I wanted to win and be somewhere that used to go to the tournament. So I want to be in the tournament for my last year.”
Miguel on his relationship with former Maryland center Bruno Fernando
“We talked both times. That’s my guy, my distant brother. We talked since I came to the states. He’s a big influence [to] make my decisions. Just want to come to Maryland to continue his legacy, have two Angolans to play at [University of Maryland]. So it was big to me.”
Willard on the new-look Big Ten
“I think the league has become the best basketball conference in the country. We go coast to coast. You get from New York to LA. So I think it's new. Your rosters are new. You got guys walking around that [are] coming from different conferences, but I think the fact that we have such a strong basketball conference, we have such great players. It's exciting times.”
Willard on what Julian Reese has meant to the program and where he can improve
“I think Julian [is] one of the best centers in college basketball – not just this conference, but in all of college basketball. I think the biggest thing that he has done is he's really matured to become a leader. He's one of those guys that I can depend on in the locker room, in practice. I know what I'm gonna get from him on the court. Obviously one of the better, I think, the best center in college basketball. But I think his leadership has really been good in a time when Selton is coming from somewhere else, Ja’Kobi is coming from somewhere else. We have a whole bunch of new guys coming in. He's been a real rock on the leadership.”
Reese on how much of a focus becoming a leader has been
“With such older transfers coming in, it's kind of easy. Other guys that got that veteran role already, like Selton, like Ja’Kobi, just upperclassmen, that makes it kind of easier and also such highly talented guys like Derik being so easily coached and so much of a sponge just makes it easier on me, [weight] off my shoulder. It just makes it easier for me overall.”
Miguel on his journey through college basketball
“It’s been a motivation, it's been a roller coaster being from country to country, place to place. So I just use that as a motivation, keep going every day. My family, I talk to my family every day even though they far so. Just being able to come in every day and then be with those guys and coach Willard, and, you know, it's been amazing.”
Willard on Miguel’s journey through basketball
“I think that was one of the main things, looking back at last season, we were so young. We had six freshmen on the roster and with the guys that we had coming back, it was really important for us to get guys that were mature, guys that had been through some things but also had a great vision for where they wanted to go. And that's what I loved about Selton, is obviously, we know his background, but he has a really good vision for where he wants to be and where he wants his team to go, where he wants his career to go. And I love being around guys that have such a vision, such motivation to get to where they want to get to.”
Willard on Miguel’s skillset
“He's a bucket-getter. The one thing I love about him is he can make guys better but again, where we struggled last year with only having Jahmir trying to be the main playmaker, Selton’s a guy that we can give the basketball, don't have to call a play for. He's going to get someone either a shot or he's going to get a shot off, which, again, last year, was something that we really struggled with. And I told Selton one, the recruiting process on the portal is not overly long anymore, but like, I'm gonna let you kind of be who you are. And who he is is really good and I'm not gonna put any restrictions on him, and he's gonna get guys better. I think he has a reputation for a guy who can score, but he's also a great passer and has a great feel for the game.”
Reese on how emotion fuels his on-court performance
“Just ranging it a little bit better, handling a little bit better. That takes us back to the question about leadership. I feel like me being a leader, I got to balance those emotions and kind of control those emotions a little bit better, stay on the floor a little bit longer, and just, I feel like that's a part of the development I've been going through. And coach Willard’s been a good teacher with that and I just been learning over the summer and just getting better with it.”
Reese on whether he feels the emotion in the moment
“Yeah, definitely. I've watched a couple and-ones and saying wow, what was I doing? Just been tripping.”
Willard on Derik Queen’s first impressions and skillset
“DQ is an old school type of player. He's not going to ‘wow’ you with dunks or running the floor. He's kind of one of those guys that has an unbelievable feel for the game. He's a terrific passer, can score down a low post. And I think really what's kind of special, why I bring up leadership with Julian is Julian is kind of taking him under his wing a little bit. And kind of like, alright you’re going to get double teamed. Here's some reads where you're at. And I think Derik's one of those young men, I think everyone's going to really enjoy watching play because he plays the game of basketball with such joy and has such a great feel for the game.”
On who else could be ready for a breakout this season
“I'm excited about Deshawn Harris-Smith. I mean, he went through it a little bit as a freshman, but he had a really good freshman year. When you look at his numbers and the amount of minutes he played, he's really worked hard on his shooting in the offseason. I think he's going to take a big leap. And I'm excited about Ja’Kobi. I think Ja’Kobi Gillespie is one of those guys that's going to really help these guys make their life easier. And I think that's something that our roster is very balanced. Everyone compliments each other. We don't really have duplication. That was something that I didn't want to do in the portal. So again, I think this roster is deep. I think everyone's going to help each other get better. And obviously, they better make shots or I'll have literally no hair left.”
On how Willard approaches the longer travel during the conference slate
“I think the biggest thing I've learned in this conference, you better be ready for your two early Big Ten games where in other conferences you can play seven, eight games and kind of ease into it. You get hit in the mouth, pretty good – this conference loves me. We have three in a row on the road which is tough. The one thing I've explained to Mick – Mick Cronin and I are good friends – there is not an easy home game, an easy road game. I think it's the coolest thing about this conference is, every place you go to in this conference, it's really hard to win on the road. I think it's what makes this conference great, is that they have great fan bases, but it's also what makes it really hard to win. It is the fact that it doesn't matter what time of day, where you're at, you're going to have a sold-out crowd and it's tough to win.”
Reese on quieting opposing crowds in road games
“It’s awesome feeling the crowd, especially when the crowd is so confrontational with the players, they like getting in with the players, just get to score buckets and look at them run their face and just turn up a little bit. So, yeah, that's just one of the best feelings as a player, going to an away game, especially to back to back away games and handling business and going home on a happy flight. On the other side, being on the other side of that where guys [are] quiet on the plane, and it was just not a good feeling.”
Reese on watching Angel Reese during her rookie season in WNBA
“I got to the Washington Mystics game and I traveled to New York for one of the games. It was great seeing her at the highest level. I'm super proud of her.”
Miguel on speaking three languages fluently
“Sometimes, I speak Portuguese [with] my family and I got to speak Spanish with my family, my English the whole time because I'm in the States. So basically, sometimes I get confused because it’s so many languages.”
Miguel on the food scene in the DMV
“I get to try some kind of Portuguese food around DC area that I tried. It's really good. So I'm around some good food around there. So it's been good.”
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