COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In a little less than three weeks, the Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team will take the court, tipping off the 2024 college basketball season.
Many hope this year is a big turnaround from last year's 16-17 season.
This year brings a new level of optimism, thanks to hitting the transfer portal hard and the highly anticipated incoming freshman and Baltimore native Derik Queen.
In Kevin Willard's third year as head coach, he says this offseason has been good.
The group is older thanks to prioritizing the transfer portal.
"When you look down the bench, you’d like to see some guys that played college basketball before and been in different situations," says Willard.
Seven new faces are on this year's team, but none with more hype than Queen.
"Derik’s a top 10 player. If I was an NBA GM, I would draft him in a heartbeat. I think there’s a huge difference in the fact that he’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime generational talent. I mean, he is as skilled a big man as I’ve ever seen on the court," says Willard.
The freshman once played at St. Francis Academy with his frontcourt mate and senior Julian Reese.
Both talked about what they hope to bring to the table as a tandem.
"I thought playing with him in high school was fun, but right now it’s great. That four-man has to guard either one of us. Good luck," says Reese.
Queen says they hope to be an unstoppable duo. When asked what he hopes to bring to the team this year, he says, "Winning and contributing, like, big minutes."
The backcourt was also a focal point at Media Day. Coach Willard hopes to play faster this season and expects his sophomore guard, Dashawn Harris-Smith, to take a big leap forward
"If anybody switched up on me, I’m proving them wrong this year. Everybody that's still behind me, I'm proving them right. That’s my biggest thing, just going out there, showing everybody I’m the player I could be. I’m gonna knock down shots. I’m gonna play the defense. I’m just going to impact the game in a bunch of different ways. And help us get as many wins as possible," says Harris-Smith.
The Terps open up their season on November 4th at home against Manhattan.
