Move over Fab Five, Maryland's "Crab Five" nickname is spreading fast
First appearing 13 years ago, the nickname is back for a starting five that has received a ton of buzz.
The Maryland fanbase has a men's basketball team to be proud of. Now, there's a viral nickname the starting five – one of the best in the nation – has earned, too.
The starting five of Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese and Derik Queen has been tabbed "The Crab Five" by Terps fans. It is, of course, a play on words from Michigan's "Fab Five" in 1991, and also a recall to Maryland's 2012 recruiting class, the first true class that Mark Turgeon brought to College Park ahead of his second of 10-plus years at the helm.
The Crab Five moniker has reached the staff, with director of player personnel Ricky Harris and associate head coach David Cox each posting the nickname on X.
Jake Layman, Shaquille Cleare, Charles Mitchell and Seth Allen were all part of the 2012 recruiting class and were freshmen on the 2012-13 squad. Sam Cassell Jr. was initially supposed to be part of the group but never played for the Terps. Damonte Dodd was listed as part of the class but ultimately did not arrive in College Park until the 2013-14 season. Layman and Dodd had respective four-year careers for the Terps, while Cleare, Mitchell and Allen were all part of the 2014 transfer exodus before Maryland's breakout first season in the Big Ten that saw Melo Trimble and Dez Wells star together.
This year's starters each had a unique path to College Park. Gillespie, Rice and Miguel are all first-year Terps after respectively transferring from Belmont, Virginia Tech and South Florida. Gillespie is from Greenville, Tennessee, Rice went to high school just down the road from the XFINITY Center at DeMatha Catholic, and Miguel is from Angola, though his cousin Bruno Fernando is a Maryland fan favorite. Queen is a Baltimore native and Maryland's second-highest rated recruit in the 247Sports era. Reese, also a Baltimore native, is a true Terps senior and stuck it out through coaching changes and transfer portal rumors.
All five starters are averaging at least 12 points per game: Queen at 16.0, Gillespie at 14.7, Reese at 13.8, Rice at 13.4 and Miguel at 12.0. The entire starting unit scored in double figures in each of the Terps' wins last week – at Nebraska on Thursday and against Iowa at home on Sunday. All five starters have scored in double figures five times this season, tied with Kentucky for the most among major conference teams, per Jason Yellin. All five starters scored at least 15 points against Iowa, only the second time that has happened in college basketball this season and the first time it has happened in a Big Ten game in the last 20 years, according to Jared Berson.
The Crab Five has given Terps fans plenty to be excited about, and there is plenty of time for them to create more moments at the end of February and into March.
