College Basketball 2024-25 Preview Top 40: #39 Maryland Terrapins

With the 2024-25 College Basketball season on the horizon, it’s time to break down our preseason top 40. Over the next several weeks, we’ll analyze rosters and critical storylines for each program. Our journey continues with No. 39 Maryland.

Connelly’s Top 40: #40 McNeese State 

Maryland Preview: Look Back

Maryland 2023-24 Season: Record: 16–17 (7–13 Big Ten) | Postseason: Declined NIT

It’s no hyperbole that Maryland was perhaps the most disappointing Power Six program in 2023-24. The Terrapins entered the season 23rd nationally in KenPom while receiving 34 votes in the preseason AP Top 25. They felt like a shoo-in to reach the NCAA Tournament and even compete amongst the elites within the Big Ten. Consecutive losses to Davidson, UAB, and Villanova before Thanksgiving immediately took the wind out of their sails and painted the picture for a bleak season in College Park. They would finish 12th in the Big Ten with a 7-13 record.

Connelly’s CBB Rankings: 2024-25 Players | Transfers | Part II | Transfer Portal Teams | Back to School

Maryland Preview: Departures

Maryland’s Biggest Losses:

Jahmir Young (Graduation) – 20.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.2 APG
Donta Scott (Graduation) – 11.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.1 APG
Jamie Kaiser (Butler) – 4.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.2 APG

Young joins our shortlist with Purdue’s Zach Edey and Illinois’s Terrence Shannon Jr. as the three players most important to their respective programs in the Big Ten last season. His command of the floor and his scoring ability always made the Terrapins a tricky opponent, even in a down year for the program. His loss is monumental, and it will take multiple players’ efforts to make up for his missing production. Scott is also a loss as a bowling ball in the frontcourt, while Kaiser did show some promise as a freshman.

Maryland Preview: Arrivals

Maryland Top Additions:

Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont) – 17.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.2 APG
Selton Miguel (South Florida) – 14.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG
Derik Queen (Freshman) – #12 in 247 Sports Class of 2024 National Rankings

If anyone on this roster can come close to replicating Young’s production, it’s Gillespie. The Belmont transfer was one of the most exciting players to watch in the Missouri Valley last season, a player who made his team better when he was on the court. It was evident during an eight-game stretch where he was out with an injury in January how vital he was for the Bruins. They went 3-5 throughout his absence while going 16-8 in the 24 games he started across the rest of the season. He does a little bit of everything and has the athleticism and vision to be an alpha on a successful team in the Big Ten. Miguel enters the mix as a double-digit scorer from a robust South Florida team, while Queen is a five-star big man who provides tenacity and a bevy of post-up moves to the team’s frontcourt.

Maryland Preview: Who’s Back

Maryland Top Returnees:

Julian Reese – 13.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.3 APG
DeShawn Harris-Smith – 7.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.2 APG
Jordan Geronimo – 5.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.5 APG

There is some serious Big Ten experience returning to the Terrapins next season, which is foreign in the transfer portal era. Reese and Geronimo have 211 games of experience across their seven years of collegiate play. Harris-Smith is among the more exciting sophomores to watch in the Big Ten entering the 2024-25 season. Head coach Kevin Willard will undoubtedly lean on these guys to help instill his philosophies and help the team navigate the brutal Big Ten come conference play.

Maryland Preview: 2024-25 Season

We have much higher hopes for Maryland entering 2024-25. With Reese and Geronimo returning, Willard can rely upon a solid nucleus of veteran leadership within the locker room. Harris-Smith was a talented freshman expected to make a leap, and then you mix in the additions of Gillespie, Miguel, and Queen as legitimate impact players. The depth is the biggest question, but there is enough talent at the top of this roster for the Terrapins to vie for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Maryland National Championship Odds +6500