Will Kevin Willard's unusual new rule for Maryland basketball's recruiting mean fewer local stars for Terps?
Kevin Willard vowed at his first press conference as Maryland's basketball coach to bring local recruits to College Park. And he has, but some of those DMV high school products haven't lived up to expectations and he has a new rule
Kevin Willard vowed at his first press conference as Maryland's basketball coach to bring local recruits to College Park. And he has, but most of those DMV high school products haven't lived up to expectations.
Four players have transferred out of Maryland and three others haven't played a significant role. Derik Queen is Willard's only high school recruit who has thrived at the collegiate level. But after last season, Willard changed his recruiting philosophy. The 49-year-old has been a head coach for 16 seasons. He's no longer focusing on large recruiting classes of high school prospects, which could mean fewer local stars and more out-of-area imports from the portal, like Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Selton Miguel.
"To load up on freshmen is, it just doesn't make any sense anymore," Willard said. "Two or three freshmen is going to be the limit of what we add."
The explosion of Name, Image and Likeness deals have also added a stark reality. High school players are garnering record-level deals. For example, 2025 top-recruit AJ Dybantsa is rumored to be commanding nearly $7 million.
"We won't take any more than three freshmen a year. And everyone says, 'Well, why?' I tell them, you have to pay freshmen. They haven't scored a bucket for you. They're unproven, as good as they are and I think I have one of the best freshmen in the country," Willard said. "[But] they still haven't scored for you. So, you're going to go out there and you're going to have to commit money to them and then at the end of the year, really, they're all going to transfer because it's the only way for them to find out what their true value is to go in the portal."
Maryland basketball's 2023 recruiting class was the low point. Willard brought in a four-man class: DeShawn Harris-Smith, Jahnathan Lamothe, Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Braden Pierce. Harris-Smith is the only player who has played significant minutes, and he's struggled mightily to live up to his top-25 ranking coming out of Paul VI (Va.). Kaiser transferred after a rocky freshman season, Lamothe barely played last year before leaving for North Carolina A&T and Pierce redshirted last season before suffering an eye injury this year.
Willard's excelled at finding quality players in the transfer portal, though. Jahmir Young, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel and others arrived from different schools. Most of them have had career seasons in College Park.
There are benefits to both approaches. It can work building a young core filled with players who understand a program's systems and culture. Teams like Michigan State and Purdue have rarely used the transfer portal, instead relying onhigh school recruits like Braden Smith, Zach Edey and others. Mat Painter has only recruited two players from the transfer portal over the past four seasons. His team has been the class of the Big Ten during that same time span. But he's the exception, and even Painter sees the shifts in college basketball.
"I think I'll go into the portal when I have to. I don't think it will be my decision," Painter said at Big Ten Media Days in October. "We've taken two guys out of the portal in two years — I do not think we can continue at that clip. From a numbers standpoint, trying to keep 13 scholarship guys happy is really hard."
Maryland fans can expect to have plenty of roster turnover every season. That's a risk, especially if Willard loses his scouting touch. But it also allows for a quick turnaround, exemplified by the Terps start this season.
