Reese met with Willard yesterday and can confidently say he is 100% on board for next season. Shouldn't be anymore question as to whether or not he is returning moving forward.
This is HUGE news as he was basically the best and biggest returning piece for next year's team. He AVERAGED nearly a double-double at 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and was among the national leaders in double-doubles last season. He is also likely the league's premier returning rim protector/shot blocker after averaging 1.9 blocks per game. (Edey is gone and Omoruyi is in the portal).
And while I do get it, he has some flaws, he is a major piece, especially for a team that relies on defense. The addition of McDonald's All-American Derik Queen should help with end-of-game situations as he was an excellent FT shooter this season.
But with Queen, Rice and now Reese all fully on board, they can put all of their focus on landing an elite PG and a wing that can shoot the ball.
Obviously we continue to wait with regards to Gillespie but again, the longer his recruitment goes on, the less confident I feel about Maryland landing him.
But we now have local Malik Mack in the portal. He's a WCAC kid that went to St. John's (Plank's alma mater) and has a Maryland logo tattoo (and we are talking the old M Flag logo of the Gary glory years) and was Ivy frosh of the year at Harvard.
Guys like JMU's Terrence Edwards Jr. and Bradley's Connor Hickman have also just entered the portal. And again, more will be joining in the coming days.
Then for big wings that can shoot the three guys like Belmont's Cade Tyson have recently entered the portal. There are and will be tons of options and it is just about the best fits and getting as many productive guys as possible for next season.
This is HUGE news as he was basically the best and biggest returning piece for next year's team. He AVERAGED nearly a double-double at 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and was among the national leaders in double-doubles last season. He is also likely the league's premier returning rim protector/shot blocker after averaging 1.9 blocks per game. (Edey is gone and Omoruyi is in the portal).
And while I do get it, he has some flaws, he is a major piece, especially for a team that relies on defense. The addition of McDonald's All-American Derik Queen should help with end-of-game situations as he was an excellent FT shooter this season.
But with Queen, Rice and now Reese all fully on board, they can put all of their focus on landing an elite PG and a wing that can shoot the ball.
Obviously we continue to wait with regards to Gillespie but again, the longer his recruitment goes on, the less confident I feel about Maryland landing him.
But we now have local Malik Mack in the portal. He's a WCAC kid that went to St. John's (Plank's alma mater) and has a Maryland logo tattoo (and we are talking the old M Flag logo of the Gary glory years) and was Ivy frosh of the year at Harvard.
Guys like JMU's Terrence Edwards Jr. and Bradley's Connor Hickman have also just entered the portal. And again, more will be joining in the coming days.
Then for big wings that can shoot the three guys like Belmont's Cade Tyson have recently entered the portal. There are and will be tons of options and it is just about the best fits and getting as many productive guys as possible for next season.
