A New Beginning For Maryland Men's Basketball
Alyssa Muir, Staff Writer
10/12/2022
The Kevin Willard Era of Maryland men's basketball has officially commenced.
As he addressed the crowd of reporters at Big Ten Media Day in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Willard made it clear he's fitting in just fine at Maryland—sort of.
"You've got to know how to eat crab cakes," Willard said with a laugh. "I'm learning how to crack crabs and eat crabs. It's a new thing for me. (It's) very hard. You got to split the middle, take the legs off, go through the whole process."
While cracking crabs may still be a learning process for Willard, he has more than mastered the art of understanding the state of Maryland and the DMV as a whole.
"There is an enormous sense of pride within the state of Maryland, within the fan base, within the residents, Baltimore County, city of Baltimore," Willard said. "I knew the tradition, Coach (Gary) Williams has been great at helping me get around all the places, but the sense of pride that they have for their program is really cool. It's been something I think that's helped us in recruiting, it's helped us with this team this year. It's been great."
Willard's ability to connect with the local talent was on full display early as he immediately brought in a pair of Maryland products in Charlotte transfer Jahmir Young and freshman Noah Batchelor. Young went to DeMatha Catholic High School, a perennial basketball powerhouse right up the road from the University of Maryland, and is the first DeMatha alum to become a Terp in 20 years.
Gallery: Big Ten Basketball Media Day
"For us the biggest thing was recognizing who we wanted to represent our program," Willard said of the two additions. "We got two great kids early (in Young and Batchelor)... Two great kids that were going to not only get the fan base excited but at the same time let all the young high school kids understand that, hey, it's cool to come to the University of Maryland."
For Young, who was also at Target Center for Media Day, the chance to play in his hometown for a coaching staff that he formed a strong bond with was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"It was really just the connection I had with Coach Willard and the staff and being able to be close to home and play in front of the ones I love," he said of his decision to transfer to Maryland.
Willard is confident that Young is just the first in a long line of DMV products who will come through XFINITY Center during his tenure.
"I think him being one of our first recruits was really huge," Willard said. "I think he sent the message to all the local kids that playing at home, it's an unbelievable experience to play so close to your family. But playing for the state of Maryland, playing for such great tradition and unbelievable coaches, I think that's something he kinda kicked off and got everyone thinking it's cool to come back."
And though the ability to recruit locally and set the Terps up well for the future was a point of emphasis at Media Day, Willard was also sure to highlight the talent and strong culture that this year's team has.
"These guys, they've bought in from Day One," he said. "They brought a great work ethic, their attitude has been off the charts. I can only name one bad day of practice in the five months I've been here."
A large part of that is a result of the mentality of the Terps' trio of key transfers: Young, Don Carey (Georgetown) and Jahari Long (Seton Hall).
Learning how to eat crabs is key ??@KevinWillard pic.twitter.com/LpnNWfW7VV
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) October 11, 2022
All three guards were double-digit scorers at their previous schools, but have embraced the grind and become gym rats, setting a high standard for this year's squad as well as for the future of the program.
"I wanted young men that loved being in the gym as much as we (as coaches) love being in the gym," Willard said. "With Jahmir, Don Carey and Jahari Long, we've got three guys that really enjoy working on their game and want to get better everyday. And that's the culture that will get passed down to next year's class, to next year's team."
The Terps will also rely on several program veterans such as Donta Scott, Hakim Hart and Julian Reese. Scott, who started all but one game last season, is the top returning scorer after putting up a career-best 12.6 points per game last year in addition to his team-high 6.2 recounds. Hart is the second-leading returning scorer and also started all but one game while Reese appeared in every game as a freshman.
With the coaching change, all three guys had the opportunity to jump ship, but each one decided to stay. In Minneapolis, Scott cited his confidence that Willard would continue the family atmosphere that he fell in love with when he first committed as a main reason he chose to stay at Maryland for his senior season.
"I've always been a Terp and I wanted it to stay that way," Scott said. "Just because one coach left, doesn't mean that the family-based atmosphere left. A big part of the reason I came to Maryland was because of the family-based atmosphere. I felt like it was still there, so I decided to stay and just have trust in the new coach that was coming in. And it worked out."
Own the room
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) October 11, 2022
Donta and Jahmir say hello pic.twitter.com/XBKtmOuRTL
"There is an enormous sense of pride."@KevinWillard on what Maryland Basketball means to the state. pic.twitter.com/Q4NPkAiQVm
— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) October 11, 2022
And even with the multiple new faces and an admission by Willard that the defense might take longer to come along, the head coach knows where his team is going to excel.
"The thing that I think this team's going to do at a very high level is shoot the basketball," Willard said. "One through five is going to be able to shoot the basketball at some point on the court."
Certainly, the Terps are poised to play up-tempo and to be offensive-minded, but they are going to do so playing as a true team.
And that's what really makes Willard proud.
"I love the fact that everyone we brought in and everyone who stayed is a very unselfish player. This is probably the most unselfish team I've had. The fact that although they're all new and they're all very good scorers, they're not really focused on who's scoring. They're more focused on whether we're scoring."
