Maryland Terrapins' Dramatic Transformation This Season

The Crab 5, otherwise known as the 24’-25′ Maryland Terrapins, ran last season under head coach Kevin Willard, which was not expected by any fans. Why would anything have changed? The Terps were coming off a disappointing season with a record of 16-17. They lost their star guard in Jahmir Young, who has been the focal point for this offense. Not to mention half of the team graduated or transferred. Things were not looking bright, to put it mildly. So, how did they transform into a team that made a run in March Madness?

It all started in the transfer portal, where they signed five players, and three of them made it onto the starting roster. Not to mention the Big Ten freshman of the year, Derik Queen, who was a five-star coming out of high school. Fans were excited to see Queen’s first game for the Terps against Manhattan. He ended up dropping a double-double with 22 points and 20 rebounds.

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The boys looked good in the first few games, but they were against the bottom-of-the-barrel teams. Next, they had to face off against a competitive Marquette, who were ranked 15th in the AP top 25 poll, and this game was what led fans to believe in the Terps. The game was back and forth until the end, when Marquete pulled out the win.

The Terps went on to win the next five games, but they faced a tough matchup against #8 Purdue. Again, it was head-to-head, but the offensive firepower from the Boilermakers was too much for Maryland to stop. Another short win streak follows, but it is ended when they go on the road to face a physical Washington team.

The Terrapins were up going into halftime, but they looked different when they came back. The team was sloppy with the ball, giving up possessions left and right. The Huskies came back, but it wasn’t a great win. With Julian Reese and Jakobi Gillespie fouling out and Derik Queen frequently in foul trouble, they had to rely on their bench. But the problem was that they had no bench. No one was there to step up for Maryland, a recurring theme throughout the season.

Continuing on their road trip, they traveled to Eugene, Oregon, to play the Ducks. Transfer guard Rodney Rice showed off his ability to take over a game, dropping 19 points, but it wasn’t enough. They looked slow, and the Ducks just wanted it more. The momentum of the season is slowly drifting away. It doesn’t help when you have to come home and play the UCLA Bruins. In a heated game where the Bruins’ head coach gets ejected, the kids turn the tables and finally put another W in the win column.

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They find themselves against an underrated Northwestern team in a thrilling game that ends in overtime. The Wildcats are led by Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli, who both scored 20-plus points each. With the time running out, Martinelli hits the game-winning shot to prove they are a competitive team.

With many ups and downs in the next stretch of games, they find themselves at home with a chance to get revenge on Northwestern for Senior Day, honoring a Terrapin who cemented his legacy at UMD, Julian Reese, who ended his career with the 2nd most rebounds in Maryland history. As well as Selton Miguel, who transferred in from USF and found himself starting at forward. In this emotional game, Reese is the leading scorer and helps the team overcome this sneaky good team to end the season with a win.

The Crab 5 earned themselves the 2nd seed in the Big Ten tournament. They come off their two bye games to play Illinois, whom they beat earlier in the season. In this game, it looked like the Fighting Illini never had a chance. The Terps dominated this game with Rodney Rice leading the team with 26 points.

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With Michigan defeating Purdue in the quarter finals, Maryland will find a tough opponent in the Wolverines. A lot is on this game, a chance to win the Big Ten tournament. But Michigan had other plans. It was anyone’s game down to the final whistle when Michigan’s guard, Tre Donaldson, ran down the court, evading players and sending up a layup; he won the game. Michigan will end up winning the Big Ten championship over Wisconsin.

After this year, which was a major step up from last year’s team, they were ranked the 4th seed in the NCAA tournament. Facing a team, GCU, which was many people’s favorite to be the 13th seed, was upset. But it was not even remotely close. Maryland gave them no chance to come back and kept the wheels rolling the entire game.

The Crab 5 had momentum going into their second game of the tournament. Until news broke out that head coach Kevin Willard might be leaving the program after the season. Everyone was confused. Why would he leave after the season Maryland just had? It seemed like the morale just went downhill.

Playing Colorado State, the only news people were talking about was the Kevin Willard situation. The players couldn’t focus on their own game, and it showed. Maryland should have swept the floor with them, but instead let this game come down to the final seconds. Maryland was down 70-71 with a few seconds left. It was time to see who was really clutch for this team, and it was the freshman who stood out and put the game to bed with a driving layup. It was such a great feeling. After everything that has been happening recently, it didn’t matter anymore. The team looked like they genuinely cared and wanted to do it again.

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The Florida Gators are one of the favorites to win March Madness. After taking down a tough UConn team that went down to the wire, they faced the Terps. It started rough, but the game was almost tied at halftime. Something was different afterwards. Florida just looked faster, stronger, and at the end of the day, they were better. Plus, their deep bench, unlike Maryland’s, helped significantly. The terrapins slowly tried to make a comeback, but it was too late.

That’s it. The season is over. It was sad to watch, but just remembering all the great moments from this season evened out. Many blamed Willard for causing distractions, but some had to go to the players who didn’t perform. The Crab 5 couldn’t play the whole game; they needed the bench to step up, but again, it was nonexistent.

In the next few weeks, it just got worse and worse. Kevin Willard left to go coach at Villanova. Then we had to watch our favorite players leave. Ja’Kobi Gillespie found a new home at Clemson. Derik Queen obviously opted for the draft, where he was drafted 13th by the Pelicans. Last of the starters, Rodney Rice, had many rumors running around about whether he would stay or leave. Sadly, he left for the Trojans in California. Just after this amazing season, it seemed like we were at square one again. Who will they rely on to help lead this team to another March Madness run next year?