Maryland played its last game before its Big Ten schedule begins Wednesday vs. Ohio State with a bout against Alcorn State. The Terps dismantled the winless Braves, 96-58, in a game coach Kevin Willard said was a last-minute addition to the schedule.
Maryland was supposed to play in a multiteam event over Thanksgiving break, Willard said, against Villanova, Missouri and Virginia in New York. The coach said because of an “NBA thing,” the event was altered — moved to New Jersey and played without Missouri and Virginia. The Terps beat both the Wildcats and the replacement team, Bucknell.
The change resulted in one of Maryland’s most lopsided victories of the season. Willard figured it would be as such and used it as a contest to give his bench an extended look before conference play. The coach now feels he has a sound understanding of his rotations and how deep his second unit can go.
Maryland’s bench is rounding into form. So too are its stars. Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s win:
DeShawn Harris-Smith is finding comfort on the bench
Harris-Smith started each of the Terps’ first four games this season but was an uncomfortable fit alongside Julian Reese, Derik Queen, Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Selton Miguel. Willard and Harris-Smith felt the guard was forced to become a spot-up shooter alongside players who demanded the ball more frequently, a request he was unfit for.
Harris-Smith sputtered to start his sophomore campaign. He made just one of his six 3-point attempts through four games and totaled only four assists. He wants to be a ball handler and facilitator. A move to the bench has allowed that.
The guard had a season-high 10 points and five assists in Sunday’s win. The former four-star recruit is also adjusting mentally to what it takes to come off the bench, an unwanted role for most prospects of his pedigree but one Harris-Smith finds comfort in.
“Coach Willard told me, when I started coming off the bench, he was looking for me to be more aggressive, be a spark,” he said. “You kind of get an advantage. I can see how the team’s playing and what I need to come in and bring to the game. You get a little cheat sheet.”
More importantly, Maryland’s second unit is thriving with Harris-Smith leading it. Tafara Gapare, Jay Young and Malachi Palmer scored a combined 21 points in Sunday’s win, giving Willard a bench that’s nine players deep and one he can trust entering Big Ten play.
Julian Reese is rounding out his game
The senior forward’s biggest flaw in previous seasons was his free throw shooting. He touted an unconventional form that made it easy for opposing defenses to foul Reese without fear of consequences. That was a strategy many teams deployed to limit his offensive output.
“He’s done a good job of understanding that was a big weakness for him,” Willard said. “If he had shot 70% last year, he averages another four points a game, which is monstrous not only for him, but for us. He worked hard this summer, and he’s got a lot of confidence in the shot right now.”
Reese worked extensively this offseason to improve in that area, and the early results are impressive. After shooting 53% and 57% from the line over the last two seasons, Reese boasts a 75% mark on free throws through eight games this year.
He made 10 of his 12 tries in Sunday’s win, a season high in both makes and attempts. Teams can no longer freely foul the Terps’ big man.
“It feels good seeing all the work showing up and not leaving points out there that I could have had,” Reese said.
Derik Queen dominated nonconference play. Will it translate to the Big Ten?
Queen has been everything Maryland fans hoped and more through his first eight collegiate games. The freshman is the Terps’ leading scorer at 16.5 points per game and has taken control of contests in critical moments.
That was true again Sunday. Maryland stumbled early against Alcorn State and trailed midway through the first half, but Queen energized a burst that pulled the Terps ahead for good and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists, already his fourth 20-point game of the season. The other three came in Maryland’s loss to Marquette and win over Villanova, its two biggest tests so far, and the season opener, Queen’s debut in which he added 20 rebounds.
The former five-star recruit’s first test was how quickly his game would translate to college. He passed that one. Next: can he sustain it against the Big Ten, a league where physicality and inside scoring are staples of winning teams? Maryland is about to find out.
“We’re going to have to throw the ball inside,” Willard said. “In this conference, it’s gonna have to be ‘pound the ball inside.’ The games get 10 times more physical.”
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