Kevin Willard and his staff didn’t have much time to dwell on the team’s NCAA tournament loss to Alabama last season.
“We were working the portal that night,” Willard said at Tuesday’s on-campus media day.
Maryland men’s basketball greatly exceeded expectations in the coach’s first year at the helm. The Terps were projected to finish 10th in the conference in the Big Ten media poll. They ended up winning 11 league games and 22 overall, good for a top-five conference finish. Jahmir Young put together an All-Big Ten second team season, while Julian Reese burst onto the national scene as an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
But Willard knew the roster he pieced together for his initial season wasn’t up to the standard required to compete among the nation’s best.
Maryland fought tooth and nail to earn an eight seed in the NCAA tournament. It squeaked past West Virginia in the first round, 67-65. The Terps were then physically outmatched by the Crimson Tide in the Round of 32, losing 73-51 in a showing that exposed the roster’s true deficiencies.
“That team gave me everything that they could possibly give,” Willard said. “We kind of hit the ceiling against Alabama.”
Maryland was out-rebounded 44-to-32, shot 35 percent from the field and allowed Alabama to attempt 28 free throws in the game that ended its season. The Crimson Tide, who went on to lose in the Sweet 16, boasted three players standing at least 6-foot-9 in their starting lineup, all of whom made the jump to the NBA following the season — including first round picks Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney.
In addition to size issues, Maryland often ran just a six or seven man rotation throughout the season, an unsustainable level of depth for a grueling Big Ten season.
That’s why Willard, looking to add to his returning core and incoming freshman class, dove into the portal immediately following the Alabama loss. He searched for a new level of athleticism to add to his roster.
Willard came out with Jordan Geronimo, the prized jewel among a group of three transfers.
Geronimo is a 6-foot-6, 225-pound redshirt junior who Willard called “as athletic a player as I’ve seen in a while.” The forward comes to College Park after playing sparingly in three seasons at Indiana. But the coach believes in his potential as a “swiss army knife” who can guard all five positions.
Willard said he has experimented a small ball lineup with him playing center. Geronimo himself feels comfortable playing either forward position or being the big man.
“[Playing] different spots, different positions on the floor, it’s just allowed me to really expand, test the waters and see how versatile I really am,” Geronimo said. “I’m still figuring it out with that. I could defend and play those positions.”
Geronimo’s presence should allow for more lineup versatility in the frontcourt, especially if he can improve on his career 31 percent three-point clip. Willard has empowered Geronimo to take jumpers when he’s open.
“He’s saying that I’m more skilled than I was able to present [at Indiana],” Geronimo said. “I believe that’s true as well.”
Willard also brought in 6-foot-11 New Mexico State transfer Mady Traore. He, along with another year of development for returning big man Caelum Swanton-Rodger, will offer more size in the rotation and insurance behind Reese.
Perhaps the biggest additions to the roster come in four-star freshmen Jamie Kaiser Jr. and DeShawn Harris-Smith.
The 6-foot-6 Kaiser has good size for a wing and is known to be a knockdown shooter. Harris-Smith, listed at 6-foot-5, 215-pounds, is “by far the most talented player, probably the most physically gifted basketball player” Willard has ever coached.
Harris-Smith offers a new wrinkle to the guard rotation. Young and Jahari Long were the only primary ball handlers for the Terps last season. But the freshman combo guard will create new lineup opportunities, allowing Willard to mix-and-match the three in any combination.
“What I love about this roster is … the same five guys aren’t gonna be out there all night long,” Willard said. “We were kind of stuck a little bit last year with a six, seven man rotation at the most. This year, I could see it going nine, 10, 11 [players deep] at times.”
