Maryland Basketball Scoop: A scorer on the wing and frontcourt force
The latest scoop from practice on this year's Maryland basketball team.
After watching Maryland men's basketball practice last week, it seems like there's newfound energy in comparison to last year's group. The rotation is filled with more experienced players who have a firm understanding of what role they'll need to fill. The mix of veterans, sophomores or juniors who know the college basketball landscape and two freshmen in Derik Queen and Malachi Palmer, both who have a chance to make immediate impacts, should result in a group with a much stronger foundation.
A few quick notes:
Rodney Rice had himself a strong afternoon while IMS was in attendance. The 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer from Virginia Tech looked a lot like the player he was as a senior at DeMatha with the way he was knocking down shots from all levels. He played primarily off the ball, but was involved as the initiator in a bunch of ball screens from the wing where he came off looking to get to his spots in the mid-range. As he found his groove, he started showing off his vision hitting the roller for bunnies around the rim or short corner jumpers. Rice could be a scoring sixth man.
The frontcourt rotation of Julian Reese, Queen, Tafara Gapare and Jordan Geronimo is a balanced group. Reese is a physical menace in the paint and should be a constant double-double threat entering his senior season. Queen's skill, upside and ability have all been well-documented and the flashes he showed in practice was further proof. Gapare will provide energy, size and springy athleticism off the bench. Don't be surprised if he's on the receiving end of lobs thrown from Queen and guards who penetrate the middle of the paint.
Other quick hitters include Ja'Kobi Gillespie's on-ball shotmaking ability with extended range, Selton Miguel's ability to cause mismatches and quickly take advantage with his size and strength as well as Jay Young, a grad transfer guard from Memphis who could end up serving as a valuable backup to Gillespie.
"Julian Reese was a [rising] senior, we had Derik Queen coming in, two great low-post players. I wanted in the portal to get older guys that could shoot the basketball and not only just shoot the basketball, but shoot the basketball without having to create a shot for them," Willard said. "And a guy like Selton Miguel, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, guys that can get a bucket without having to run a play."
