What does the future of Maryland men’s basketball look like?

By: Sierra Green

Exterior of the Xfinity Center, UMD's Home Basketball Stadium (Ashly Cifuentes)

The Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team had an impressive season and March Madness run, but what can fans expect from a completely different team next year?

The 2024-2025 team was led by Coach Kevin Willard in his third season, alongside talented players on both sides of the ball. 

For most of the season, Willard stuck with the same starting lineup, the “Crab Five,” a popular nickname admired by fans. The “Crab Five” consisted of Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel, Rodney Rice, Julian Reese, and Derik Queen. 

This group had a mix of returning and transfer players. Both Miguel and Reese were returning players, finishing their senior year out with the Maryland team. The sophomores both transferred from previous schools: Gillespie from Belmont University and Rice from Virginia Tech. Lastly, Queen was a freshman recruit, surpassing most to begin his college career. 

The team ended their season with a 27-9 record and went 14-6 in conference play, which landed them second in the Big Ten. 

They were then the No. 4 seed for March Madness, making it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen conference for the first time since 2016. 

In the first round, Maryland defeated No. 13 seed Grand Canyon. Then, they narrowly beat No. 12 seed Colorado State 72-71 in the second round, with a game-winning buzzer beater from Queen. From there they faced off against the No. 1 seed, Florida State, in the Sweet 16. 

After the season ended, many changes were made. 

Willard announced he was stepping down from his head coaching position. The news broke days after their Sweet Sixteen loss. The departure from the team was messy, and the way Willard left upset many fans. 

It was later announced on March 30 that Willard would officially become the head coach at Villanova University. 

With this also came several player changes. The “Crab Five” would no longer exist. This was Miguel and Reese’s last year on the team, as they are anticipating graduating at the end of May. Gillespie returned to his home state of Tennessee to play for the university’s program on April 4. 

On the other hand, Rice stayed in the transfer portal until last week, when the guard announced his commitment to the University of Southern California (USC). At this point, not a single player from the 2024-2025 roster had stayed. 

Now, you might be wondering what happened to the superstar forward, Derik Queen. The freshman announced on April 5 that he would officially be entering the NBA draft. 

Throughout the season, he was the top scorer and had the highest field goal percentage amongst the team. Queen also became the all-time freshman scoring leader for Maryland in the program’s history. 

With all of this being said, Queen is projected to be selected in the top ten, even the top five, in this year’s NBA draft. If that happens, he will be the most highly drafted player from Maryland in history. 

Shortly after the departure of Willard, it was announced that Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams would take his position. 

Williams addressed the public in his press conference, where he recognized the high expectations put in place for him. As a coach, he is highly qualified, with success at Marquette University, Virginia Tech, and Texas A&M University. 

Throughout his speech he constantly reinforced the word “team,” which is a key aspect of his distinct coaching approach. He views the efforts of the whole team as vital for overall success. 

Williams has brought several players with him from his previous program. Out of the eight total players coming in from the transfer portal, half are from Texas. Williams has worked hard to put together a brand-new team of players from different schools. 

With only eight players on the roster, his team is not complete, but it should be exciting to see the rest of the incoming transfer players and hopefully even freshman recruits. 

In the meantime, the team is experiencing a complete rebuild, and their future may seem uncertain. Yet, there is a lot to look forward to next season with new coaching and talent.