So the first week of College Basketball is over and the Maryland Terrapins have started the season looking impressive. They have played three games, winning them all by 30 points or more.

The first thing you notice is just how much coach Kevin Willard has completely restocked the roster, which lost many key contributors. To introduce the characters: He returned star big man Juju Reese, Deshawn Harris-Smith, Jordan Geronimo, and Chance Stephens, added transfers like Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel, Rodney Rice, Tafara Gapare, and Jay Young, and a freshman class including five-star Derik Queen as well as Malachi Palmer.

The Terps are already improving on last year’s disappointing season, which had the Terps starting the season 1-3. The reason for that included a lack of depth, but also a lack of three-point shooting. While coach Willard has seemingly answered the first problem, I think it is too early to tell if the three-point shooting will improve. Players like Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie have instantly shown promise and comfort from the three-point line, and then off the bench players like Jay Young, Chance Stephens, and Tafara Gapare have already knocked down some threes.

Although, through the first three games of the season the Terps have only shot 29.3% from three, this roster shows promise of being able to space out the floor really nicely, and really open up the offense better than they were able to last year.

Vs Manhattan Jaspers 79-49

In the first game of the year the Terps played the Manhattan Jaspers. A team only ranked 316th in the KenPom rankings. The Terrapins started the first half of the game playing pretty slowly, with many of the new Terps starting off with a slow start. But by the time the half switched the Terps, or more specifically, Derik Queen started to absolutely explode.

Derik Queen ended the first game of his collegiate career–and his Maryland career–with a 20-point 20 rebound game. Outside of Derik Queen, we saw a strong second half from Ja’Kobi Gillespie and a good showing from Rodney Rice.

But what we also saw in the first game was how this team would really identify themselves. We saw a five-man bench rotation, something that Coach Willard couldn’t even dream about doing last year.

We saw how the rotation could look like, and in common Kevin Willard ways, there isn’t really set groups that are going to be consistently on the floor with each other. It seems like he will try and rotate Queen and Reese in and out a bit, but they do share the starting lineup, and I’m sure that they will both be playing 30+ minutes a game down the stretch of the Big Ten schedule.

There we also some surprises in the lineup (at least for me) as we saw Malachi Palmer instantly carving his way into the lineup. We saw Jay Young getting himself an improved role from his time in Memphis, although that could be in part because of the injury to Jahari Long–a player with a similar style.

Vs Mount St. Mary’s 86-52

Maryland had a very impressive outing in this second game of the season we got to see the layers of offensive potential on this team. Via KenPom Mount St. Mary’s is the best team that we played in the first three-game stretch, being ranked 285th.

It was a three-headed bull with Rice, Gillespie, and Milton. Rice ended the game with 28 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 assists, and 2 steals, in only his tenth collegiate game. He was somebody I was excited to be able to grab through the transfer portal. He has a ridiculous offensive skill set and is level through all three levels of the offense. He can get to his spots and make tough, even contested, shots.

He shot 10/14 from the field, 3/5 from three, and 5/5 from the free throw line. I remember, I was watching the game with my friend and there was a moment where he said ‘Has he even hit the rim yet??’

Selton Miguel flushed any worries from the first game, where he had a twisted ankle and only played the first half. He found his way to the rim and found it easier to make it into his shots. He only shot 4/11 from the field, but you could see his game starting to flow. He is somebody who will be integral to the Terps’ success, especially if they want to ascend to a contender in the Big Ten.

The biggest part of this game was how dominant the Terps were on defense. They didn’t just control the paint, and the perimeter, but the Willard Press helped the Terps cause 25 (!!!) turnovers and 16 steals. With the depth the Terps have at guard, this press can cause a LOT of trouble, especially in Big Ten play, when the crowd becomes a real weapon for the Terps.

Also important to note: Mount St. Mary’s started the game up 7-0, and the Terps led at half 58-26 (58-19 run).

Vs Florida A&M 84-53

In the third game of the year the Terps steadied out against Florida A&M. Florida A&M is not a very good team, they are 0-3 and KenPom has them ranked 356th out of 364. They won by 31, the spread was 32.5, so there were definitely some salty fans at the end of the game, but with that being said the Terps still did their job.

Once again the Willard Press had the Florida A&M team in solitary. 22 turnovers, and 11 steals. There were 10-second violations in the first couple of minutes of the game.

Speaking about the first few minutes of the game, Maryland got themselves a 15-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. It was an absolutely legendary start to the game, but a little worrisome- through the next 13 minutes of the game the Terps only scored 12 points. Then in the last 4 minutes of the first half the Maryland offense picked back up, scoring 13 points before the half.

These types of scoring droughts really reminded me of what we saw last year. It’s something that can instantly lose you a game against a higher-level opponent.

Then you pair that with a poor three-point shooting night from the team and you can get a lot of flashbacks of last year’s offensive woes.

In a more positive light, however, we saw an extremely explosive version of the Terps in this game. During the 15-0 run at the start of the half, the 18-7 run at the end of the half, and the 10-0 run at the beginning of the first half, we really saw a Maryland team that went out there and clicked. Made defensive mistakes, got out in transition, and made plays. Moved the ball, and made shots. After seeing this game there is a lot of hope that Maryland can be a team that can take over games through these sorts of runs, comparable to the 2022-23 team with Young, Carey, and Hart.

We saw Juju have his first really good game of the year. We knew it would happen at some point, as he has already proven himself to be a good-Big-Ten level big (which means a lot). He had 21 points, making him the third 20-point scorer in three games, as well as 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block. He also shot 5-5 from the free-throw line which is very encouraging.

Selton was the second-highest scorer with 14 points with good efficiency this time. Gillespie also had 12 points, Queen had 11, and Rodney had 10, as they all got limited minutes.

Some Early Takeaways

Ja’Kobi Gillespie – Next Great Maryland PG?

Far Fetched – buttt so far Ja’Kobi Gillespie has had a very comparable start to his Maryland career to Jahmir Young. No, but in all seriousness, Ja’Kobi Gillespie has really done a great job in his role so far. He has scored in double digits in every game so far and is shooting rather consistently. Through three games he has shot the three at 40% which is about how he did at Belmont. He has played great defense, especially in the Willard Press, where he has directly or indirectly caused a lot of turnovers. He hasn’t had great assist numbers, but he can show that he can seriously dish the ball. And he is doing this all while only turning the ball over twice. He has a 5.0 assist/turnover ratio and a 2.0 steal/turnover ratio. Which is insane. Especially for college.

Derik Queen’s Role

Derik Queen has looked all that of a star in his first three collegiate games, but what exactly is his role? Almost all of the time that you watch college basketball you see the center in the post, or sometimes sitting in the corner, but what is different about Queen is that he has much more autonomy in the offense. There have been plenty of times when Queen will station up at the top of the key, while the rest of the team runs a play, allowing him to find an assist or throw the entry pass.

To define Queen’s full role on the offense is hard because it feels like he is never doing the same thing on offense two times in a row. He will go down in the post, he will post up for three, there have been times he ISO’s his defender and drives or settles into dribble pull-ups. He is an extremely skilled big and Willard has made sure to allow him to use all of that skill.

Derik Queen Big Ten Freshman Of The Year?

Obviously, I don’t get tired of talking about Derik Queen. But all the talk we have seen with Derik Queen is less about his ‘role’ and more about ‘OMG give him NPOTY’ or ‘Can he play football?’

No, but in all seriousness, Derik Queen has put on an absolute show so far in his Terp’s venture. There is a lot of talk about him being the most impressive freshman in the Big Ten, or even in the country, and I can totally see it happening.

Derik Queen is insanely skilled, and as I talked about earlier, has a lot of reign over the Terrapins offense when he is on the court. He will absolutely have one of the biggest usage rates out of ALL the Big Ten big men.

What I think sets him aside though is just his ability in the transition. He is probably the best freshman in the country, besides maybe Cooper Flagg, when it comes to transition offense. Not only does he snag rebounds, but he is so fast to turn those rebounds up court.

He also has been just awesome on defense too. He’s had a couple of steals in the last couple of games, and not many people have been able to get around him. He is definitely making his name heard throughout the first week of games.

Deshawn Harris-Smith Slow Start

So far Deshawn Harris-Smith hasn’t been able to fully find his ground. I think he is a little bit out of his comfort zone being moved toward that small forward-esc position. I wouldn’t think too much of it though, he hasn’t really been taking many shots, and I’m sure as he gets more minutes in Big Ten play he will begin to pick up his numbers. I still think he has been good on the defensive end as well. I think it is worth bringing up though.

Chance Stephens’ Role

It felt as last year Chance Stephens was being brought in to really propel the team’s shooting, as he is a great three-point shooter. But after missing last season with an injury, it feels like Chance Stephens isn’t really getting as much of a role as expected.

Chance Stephens has made many of tweets where he shows himself drilling three after three. I’m not sure if it is because coach Willard believes that shooting won’t be as much of a problem this year, and would rather the defense and length of guys like Jay Young, Malachi Palmer, and Tafara Gapare, but I would like to see an increased role of Chance Stephens in the future.

Tafara Gapare Role

Tafara Gapare has got off to a really good start to the season. It looks like Kevin Willard got a really underrated transfer grab in Gapare. The main thing that has stuck out to me so far is Gapare’s defense. He had four steals in the game against Mount St. Mary’s, two against Florida A&M, and one against Manhattan.

He is also shooting 50% from three, although it is only on two attempts, but if he can keep up a good three-point percentage that should set a precedent for opposing defense to not leave him open, which can help so much with offensive spacing. He also has gotten to the line four times in three games off the bench, which is pretty darn good. He is carving himself a real role on the team.

Friday Game Vs 15 Marquette

Marquette is ranked 15th ahead of our spout at Xfinity on Friday. I’m expecting a really rowdy house in Xfinity.

This should be amazing. This Marquette team is no joke. Marquette is also 3-0 going into this game. They beat Stony Brook, beat Tony Skinn and George Mason, and beat Central Michigan in a close game.

Things to keep an eye on:

Kam Jones: The star guard on the Golden Eagles is averaging 22.6 ppg going into our game, and he is shooting the bricks off of the basketball. He is shooting 52.9% from three and 69.2% from the field in their first three games. He is a senior guard with a really smooth jumper and is great at getting his teammates involved.

Chase Ross: Another great guard who is shooting at an extremely alarming rate. He is also great on defense, averaging three steals a game.

David Joplin: He is a bit more of an inconsistent shooter, but when he is connecting on his threes he can take control of the game. He is averaging 15.6 points a contest, however, in his last game, he shot 0-11 from the field and 0-10 from three.

The Press: Shaka Smart’s team plays in a very similar style to Kevin Willard’s. They have many good defensive guards, and they love to press. In the last game against Central Michigan, they pressed for most of the game and came away with 26 (!!!) turnovers and 19 (!!!) steals. This is why I think it will be such a fun game: the Willard Press vs. the Marquette Press.

They will be playing at Xfinity Center, on Friday 11/15 at 8 pm on FS1. DON’T MISS OUT.

All images are via (x/terrapinhoops) and if they want this taken down I will delightfully take it down.