Maryland men’s basketball had a field day this past offseason, with their drastically reworked roster giving them a chance to get right back into the thick of Big Ten contention.

Headlining the returning starters is Donta Scott, the burly 6’8 forward who averaged a career-best 12.6 points per game last season. That was good for third-most on last year’s squad and the highest among the returning players. 

Scott enters his senior year ready to build on his solid junior campaign, which earned him a spot on the 2022 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List, albeit in a season that saw his overall efficiency (42% from the field in 2022 compared to 50% in 2021) and especially his three-point shooting splits (29% from three-point range in 2022 compared to 44% the year prior) slip from two years ago. 

Scott has made some strides in the offseason, having set the program’s deadlift record at 645 lbs, and also losing 30 lbs.

The Terps will likely look to Scott as a leader for this group, with former go-to player Eric Ayala and experienced point guard Fatts Russell, the first two options from the 2021-2022 team, having both played their last years at the collegiate level. In his media day press conference, incoming coach Willard referred to having Scott back as “huge” for the team, even saying, “he’s been an unbelievable leader.”

Fellow swingman Hakim Hart joins Scott as the only other returning starter from the 2022 bunch and will likely pick up where he left off at the small forward position. Last year, the senior averaged 9.9 ppg on 52.5% from the field on 33.3% from three, with 1.5 steals per contest.

Hart, also standing at 6’8, started 31 of 32 games last year. His perimeter defense was highly coveted that season, as seen against Richmond when he recorded four steals in the same game that Hart dropped his career-high 24 points. 

Sophomore Julian Reese looks to nab the vacant center position left behind by Qudus Wahab, who went back to Georgetown in the offseason. Reese, a 6’9 sophomore, averaged 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game a year ago, with his 23 total blocks good enough for second most of anyone on that team despite his coming off the bench for all but one game.

Ian Martinez appeared in 18 out of 32 games last season for Maryland as one of the first off the bench alongside Reese, ideally as an offensive spark plug. The 6’3 Costa Rican transferred from Utah after the 2021 season and hopes to boost his efficiency back above 40%. 

To replace Ayala’s and Russell’s production, Maryland went out in the offseason and took good advantage of the transfer portal, netting themselves a new backcourt.

Joining the Terps, Don Carey, a 6’5 scoring guard, who arrives as the most well-traveled member of the squad. He spent his last year averaging 13.5 points per game for Georgetown, second most on that team. Before that, he played two more seasons at Siena University, and a year at Mount St. Mary’s even before that. 

The graduate student likes to do his damage from outside, averaging 38.8% from three on 5.9 attempts a game compared to 4.4 shots from within the arc. He more or less fills the Eric Ayala-shaped hole in the starting unit; his overall efficiency last year is a few points better than Ayala’s (42.4%:38.3%), and he’s not far off from Ayala’s seven shots from three per game last year.

Slated to take up the mantle at point guard is fellow grad student Jahmir Young, and he boasts one of the more decorated resumes of the transfers. He enjoyed first-team All-Conference USA as well as team MVP during both of his last two years at Charlotte. There, Young finished second in conference scoring with 19.8 ppg, leading his team in scoring, rebounds (5.9), and assists (3.6). 

Patrick Emilien, an experienced 6’7 forward, poses a scoring threat off the bench for the Terps. Maryland’s offseason haul provided them with a player who spent his last three years at Western Michigan University, where last season, he averaged 12.5 points per game on 47.8% shooting. He doesn’t take many threes, only taking 0.4 per game for his career.

Emilien started all 27 games last season, totaling four double-doubles in that span. 

One wild card this season comes in the form of freshman Noah Batchelor, the IMG Academy alum who was the first player signed by coach Willard during his Maryland tenure. The 6’6 guard/forward scored 20 or more six different times at his last stop and entered that season ranked by Rivals as the #22 small forward prospect in the nation.

Caelum Swanton-Rodger joins Batchelor as another incoming freshman. He’s the tallest player on the roster at 6’11 and looks to get minutes at the center on a wing-heavy team.

Rounding out the supporting cast are several unproven players who either don’t have much experience playing for Maryland or are joining the team for a fresh start. 

Jabari Long followed coach Willard from Seton Hall, having played his first two collegiate seasons in South Orange. The 6’5 guard only got into five games before suffering a season-ending injury but only clocked 6.8 minutes per game in his last full season.

Ike Cornish is a redshirt freshman who did not see game action last year but was a highly touted prospect heading into college. Arnaud Revaz, Pavlo Dziuba, and Brett Karkus were all with the team last year but didn’t see much in-game action. Dziuba got into eight games, averaging 4.1 minutes, with Revaz and Karkus appearing in two games each. Junior guard Carson Dick is featured as the most recent addition, having played his first two seasons at Howard Community College.

New coach Kevin Willard will pick up where Mark Turgeon and Danny Manning left off after Maryland’s most recent tumultuous season, which they finished 17-14 overall and 9-11 against Big Ten opponents. Willard boasts a 225-161 record at Seton Hall, where he’s coached his last twelve seasons, which places him second all-time in program victories. Including his Iona track record, where he spent his first three years, his collegiate coaching record is 270-210.

Coach Willard’s recruiting and transfer results project to fulfill his goals of having a roster that can go “nine-ten deep,” and revamping the depth chart could be just what the team needs as they look to fill the void in the post-Mark Turgeon era and get the fans excited again.