Former Indiana men’s basketball reserve forward Jordan Geronimo says he committed to Maryland for the opportunity to expand his game in a system that he believes fits his skill set and is excited for the “clean slate” his new opportunity presents.
Geronimo originally committed to Indiana under Archie Miller, who was fired after Geronimo’s freshman year in 2020-21. Geronimo played under Mike Woodson each of the past two seasons. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward out of Newark, N.J., averaged 11.4 minutes, 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games from 2020-2023.
Geronimo’s addition was officially announced by Maryland on May 9, and he’ll bring two seasons of eligibility with him to College Park. Terps assistant coach David Cox reached out to Geronimo once the forward hit the transfer portal and explained the staff had been a fan of his game at Indiana.
“Maryland wasn’t a school I was looking at as soon as I [entered] the portal,” Geronimo said on Glenn Clark Radio May 5. “They reached out and I considered the option. I see what they had and what they had to offer and it was a really good opportunity, so I kind of just ran with it from there.”
Terps head coach Kevin Willard returns center Julian Reese and power forward Donta Scott to the starting lineup, but there should be plenty of opportunities behind those two players given that top transfer target Hunter Dickinson chose Kansas and Patrick Emilien exhausted his eligibility.
Geronimo may slide into the role Emilien filled last year. Emilien played 17.7 minutes per game, seeing time at both center and power forward. He didn’t put up huge numbers (2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per contest) but often helped Maryland win games by doing the dirty work.
Geronimo is excited for the new opportunity, even if it happens to come in the same conference.
“I just want like a clean slate, really, just a place where I can have a new identity,” Geronimo said. “If it’s something that I have to prove, it’s something that I have to prove to myself, which is play to the level which I can play to — no ‘I’m on a revenge tour’ or whatever. I’m just trying to go to a new spot where I can grow, develop and be the player I know I can be.”
Geronimo sees the Terps as the right fit for how he wants to develop his game. Known as a bouncy big man who can score around the basket and rebound, the forward wants to expand his game. He attempted a total of 58 threes during his time at Indiana.
“I’m trying to really have the chance to develop or showcase my perimeter game over at Maryland,” Geronimo said. “… They play through their forwards, kind of. I feel like being in that system where I’m kind of in that position to make plays is going to help showcase my perimeter skills that I know I have, that I’ve been working on.”
The Terps will play a home-and-home series with Indiana this coming season, so Geronimo will get a chance to play at storied Assembly Hall as a visiting player … something he wondered about in the past.
“I’m not going to lie, when I was a player at Indiana, I’ve always wondered what it was like to play on the other side at Assembly Hall,” Geronimo said, “so that’s going to be exciting.”
For more from Geronimo, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Indiana Athletics