Maryland is off to their best start by record since the 2020 season that ended due to COVID. That said, the win-loss and efficiency numbers appear to be better than they actually may be. Their nonconference schedule was an absolute joke - the weakest in the entire country. Their best win was on a neutral court by one point over a mediocre Villanova team. They have yet to win a true road game, though to be fair, two of their losses were on their west coast trip and the other was at Purdue, in a much more competitive effort than what we provided. They were actually beating Purdue by 5 with 8 and a half to play, before giving up a 20-5 run over the next 5 minutes.
On offense, Maryland likes to play very fast. They are even stronger than MSU when it comes to transition offense, so we should be prepared for that coming off our last game. When they are not in transition, their first look will be to post up one of their big men, or to run PnR with a big man rolling to the hoop. The good news for us is that they do not have a quick PG who will drive to the rim or kick it out for a 3, they play two starters who aren't threats from 3, and they don't get to the FT line very often. Where they are at their best is when Reese or Queen find an open shooter for a 3, which is a concern for me. Defensively, if we can avoid turning the ball over, they aren't that great. Despite having two big men, they don't rebound very well, nor do they defend shots at any level particularly well. They manage to force a lot of turnovers without fouling, and they are very patient on defense, so they aren't super aggressive trying to strip the ball, but rather sit back and look for an opportunity to jump a pass and start a transition sequence.
Maryland's depth is pretty weak, compared to other teams. There's a significant drop-off after the starters, and they only play about 8 guys per game. When their subs do get into the game, they usually defer to the starters for shots. So let's go in-depth on their guys.
Starters
PG, #0, 6'1" Ja'Kobi Gillespie. Played two years at Belmont before transferring to MD this year. By far their best 3-point shooter and their best passer, also their best ballhawk and likely their most indispensable player. He got in foul trouble against Washington and only played 18 minutes before fouling out in a game they lost by 6. He scored 27 against UCLA last week and has shot 45% from 3 in their last 3 games. On the season he's averaging 13.9 points, 4.3 assists, 1.6 turnovers, 1.6 steals and 2.3 rebounds.
CG, #1, 6'4" Rodney Rice. Played 8 games two years ago before redshirting last year at Virginia Tech, then transferred to MD. Displaced returning starter Deshawn Harris-Smith after 4 games this season. Rice is likely their worst defender on the team, but he's on the court to shoot the ball, and that's what he does. He's had an up-and-down season so far, but he doesn't turn the ball over, and he's deadly on midrange shots. He shoots a lot of 3s, and is shooting 34% on the year, but is only making 28% of them in conference play.
CG, #9, 6'4" Selton Miguel. A 5th-year grad student, spent 2 years at Kansas St and 2 years at South Florida. He is their 2nd-best 3-point shooter behind Gillespie, though he's cooled off in recent games after a blistering start. He is...extremely similar to Rice in pretty much every aspect, except for the fact that his shooting percentages inside the arc are pretty bad. Maybe a slightly better defender? Both Miguel and Rice average double-digits in points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal per game.
PF, #25, 6'10" Derik Queen. A 5-star local freshman, Queen is one half of one of the most dominant big man duos in college basketball. If he gets to the rim, he's likely going to score, and probably slam it home to boot. One of the best rebounders in the country, yet not even the best on his own team. Averages 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal per game, though he does have two weaknesses - turning it over, averaging 2+ turnovers per game, and trying to shoot 3s, where he shoots 10% (yes 10%).
C, #10, 6'9" Julian Reese. Somehow this guy is still here playing for MD, and he's the only starter who was actually on the team last year. Last year we frustrated him into two of his worst games on the season, as he averaged just 11 points, 7 boards, 1 assist, 5 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 0.5 steals and 4 fouls per game. Here's hoping we can do it again this year. Reese's game is the same as it's always been - he won't shoot 3s, he can score at the rim or midrange, he rebounds very well, blocks a decent amount of shots, and gets to the line frequently where he shoots poorly.
Reserves
Wing, #5, 6'5" Deshawn Harris-Smith. His 2nd year at MD. Despite being a highly touted recruit, he's just...not that great at anything in particular. Last year against us he had no points and fouled out in 28 minutes in one game, and scored 14 points while going 1-5 from 3 in the other. I guess maybe he's a decent defender? Anyway, he's rightly seen his playing time decrease this season.
PF, #6, 6'9" Tafara Gapare. A Kiwi who's at his 3rd school in 3 years. Gapare is from Wellington, New Zealand, and his best contributions this season have been in blocking shots, where he averages more than 1 block per game despite playing only 13 mpg or so. He has developed a bit of a 3-point shot this year though, after going a miserable 16.7% last year at Georgia Tech.
CG, #8, 6'2" Jay Young. Also on his 3rd school in 3 years, Young is a dangerous catch-and-shoot guy from long distance, but he is anything but that inside the arc. He's actually shooting better from 3 than 3 this year (42.9% to 42.1%). He's also a solid defender who gets steals without fouling.
Wing, #22, 6'6" Jordan Geronimo. Another "how is this guy still here" player, Geronimo is in his 5th year in the Big Ten, 2nd at MD. Despite being a starter last season, he's seeing the fewest minutes since his freshman year, and seems to have fallen out of the rotation in recent games. Last year he had one solid game against us, with 12 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks, but in the other he did nothing. When he does get on the court, he's effective defensively, but we'll see if he plays much at all.
On offense, Maryland likes to play very fast. They are even stronger than MSU when it comes to transition offense, so we should be prepared for that coming off our last game. When they are not in transition, their first look will be to post up one of their big men, or to run PnR with a big man rolling to the hoop. The good news for us is that they do not have a quick PG who will drive to the rim or kick it out for a 3, they play two starters who aren't threats from 3, and they don't get to the FT line very often. Where they are at their best is when Reese or Queen find an open shooter for a 3, which is a concern for me. Defensively, if we can avoid turning the ball over, they aren't that great. Despite having two big men, they don't rebound very well, nor do they defend shots at any level particularly well. They manage to force a lot of turnovers without fouling, and they are very patient on defense, so they aren't super aggressive trying to strip the ball, but rather sit back and look for an opportunity to jump a pass and start a transition sequence.
Maryland's depth is pretty weak, compared to other teams. There's a significant drop-off after the starters, and they only play about 8 guys per game. When their subs do get into the game, they usually defer to the starters for shots. So let's go in-depth on their guys.
Starters
PG, #0, 6'1" Ja'Kobi Gillespie. Played two years at Belmont before transferring to MD this year. By far their best 3-point shooter and their best passer, also their best ballhawk and likely their most indispensable player. He got in foul trouble against Washington and only played 18 minutes before fouling out in a game they lost by 6. He scored 27 against UCLA last week and has shot 45% from 3 in their last 3 games. On the season he's averaging 13.9 points, 4.3 assists, 1.6 turnovers, 1.6 steals and 2.3 rebounds.
CG, #1, 6'4" Rodney Rice. Played 8 games two years ago before redshirting last year at Virginia Tech, then transferred to MD. Displaced returning starter Deshawn Harris-Smith after 4 games this season. Rice is likely their worst defender on the team, but he's on the court to shoot the ball, and that's what he does. He's had an up-and-down season so far, but he doesn't turn the ball over, and he's deadly on midrange shots. He shoots a lot of 3s, and is shooting 34% on the year, but is only making 28% of them in conference play.
CG, #9, 6'4" Selton Miguel. A 5th-year grad student, spent 2 years at Kansas St and 2 years at South Florida. He is their 2nd-best 3-point shooter behind Gillespie, though he's cooled off in recent games after a blistering start. He is...extremely similar to Rice in pretty much every aspect, except for the fact that his shooting percentages inside the arc are pretty bad. Maybe a slightly better defender? Both Miguel and Rice average double-digits in points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal per game.
PF, #25, 6'10" Derik Queen. A 5-star local freshman, Queen is one half of one of the most dominant big man duos in college basketball. If he gets to the rim, he's likely going to score, and probably slam it home to boot. One of the best rebounders in the country, yet not even the best on his own team. Averages 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal per game, though he does have two weaknesses - turning it over, averaging 2+ turnovers per game, and trying to shoot 3s, where he shoots 10% (yes 10%).
C, #10, 6'9" Julian Reese. Somehow this guy is still here playing for MD, and he's the only starter who was actually on the team last year. Last year we frustrated him into two of his worst games on the season, as he averaged just 11 points, 7 boards, 1 assist, 5 turnovers, 0.5 blocks, 0.5 steals and 4 fouls per game. Here's hoping we can do it again this year. Reese's game is the same as it's always been - he won't shoot 3s, he can score at the rim or midrange, he rebounds very well, blocks a decent amount of shots, and gets to the line frequently where he shoots poorly.
Reserves
Wing, #5, 6'5" Deshawn Harris-Smith. His 2nd year at MD. Despite being a highly touted recruit, he's just...not that great at anything in particular. Last year against us he had no points and fouled out in 28 minutes in one game, and scored 14 points while going 1-5 from 3 in the other. I guess maybe he's a decent defender? Anyway, he's rightly seen his playing time decrease this season.
PF, #6, 6'9" Tafara Gapare. A Kiwi who's at his 3rd school in 3 years. Gapare is from Wellington, New Zealand, and his best contributions this season have been in blocking shots, where he averages more than 1 block per game despite playing only 13 mpg or so. He has developed a bit of a 3-point shot this year though, after going a miserable 16.7% last year at Georgia Tech.
CG, #8, 6'2" Jay Young. Also on his 3rd school in 3 years, Young is a dangerous catch-and-shoot guy from long distance, but he is anything but that inside the arc. He's actually shooting better from 3 than 3 this year (42.9% to 42.1%). He's also a solid defender who gets steals without fouling.
Wing, #22, 6'6" Jordan Geronimo. Another "how is this guy still here" player, Geronimo is in his 5th year in the Big Ten, 2nd at MD. Despite being a starter last season, he's seeing the fewest minutes since his freshman year, and seems to have fallen out of the rotation in recent games. Last year he had one solid game against us, with 12 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks, but in the other he did nothing. When he does get on the court, he's effective defensively, but we'll see if he plays much at all.
