Maryland men’s basketball is set to play Penn State in its Big Ten Conference home opener at Xfinity Center on Dec. 6, but star point guard Jahmir Young is dealing with an ankle injury for a Terps team that is already struggling.
Maryland is 4-4 after suffering a 65-53 loss at Indiana on Dec. 1. Head coach Kevin Willard says Young suffered an ankle sprain in the first half. The graduate guard finished with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Willard added that Young hadn’t practiced prior to Dec. 5, one day before Maryland’s matchup against Penn State.
“Unfortunately, we just can’t get rid of the injury bug,” Willard said. “So we’ve been down some pretty big numbers. It’s one of my issues with us offensively. We just haven’t been able to spend as much time as we’ve wanted to practicing.”
Other players have been banged up, but nothing as impactful as an injury to Young, who leads the Terps in minutes (32.6), points (16.4), assists (4.0) and steals (2.0) per game this season.
Young returned to practice on Dec. 5 with his left ankle taped up. Willard told reporters he is questionable, but Young said he was “feeling good.” Whether or not Young is ready to go, it wouldn’t be surprising if freshman DeShawn Harris-Smith or senior Jahari Long take on a bigger role as the primary ball handler.
Long transferred to Maryland from Seton Hall in 2022 to continue playing for Willard. So far this season, he has embraced a sixth-man role for the Terps and has earned himself a career high in minutes (18.3 per game).
Long previously underwent surgery for torn knee cartilage five games into his sophomore season with the Pirates in December 2021.
“I think he’s over his injury now. I think he’s got more confidence in his game,” Willard said. “We need him to play at a high level coming off the bench. He’s the one guard that really comes in and has experience.”
Willard has also shown the utmost confidence in Harris-Smith, as evidenced by his decision to start him in every game this season despite inconsistency on the offensive end. Still, Harris-Smith has had an immediate impact, averaging 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game this season.
The coach says that his freshmen are continuing to get more comfortable, and he’s more excited about their impact than he was at the start of the season.
“DeShawn and Jamie [Kaiser Jr.] have really impressed me because they struggled a little bit,” Willard said. “But their work ethic has gotten better. So they haven’t pouted. They haven’t been a typical freshman where they’re not coming into the gym, they’re not getting after it in practice. They refuse to get subbed out in practice.”
Both guards can be key players against the new-look Nittany Lions, who lost their five leading scorers and head coach from last season. Penn State now has an entirely new offensive and defensive philosophy than it employed under previous coach Micah Shrewsberry.
“Micah was very simple defensively but much more [isolation], one-on-one, pack-line defense,” Willard said. “Mike [Rhoades] is run and jump, press, get up and down, a ton of pick and rolls.”
Still, the Terps are familiar with a handful of players on the roster. Sophomore guard Kanye Clary was the leading scorer (17 points) for the Nittany Lions when Maryland defeated Penn State, 74-68, in the first matchup between the two teams last season in February.
Senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr., a native of Baltimore and graduate of St. Frances Academy, transferred from VCU to continue playing under Rhoades.
Junior big man Julian Reese and Baldwin played together in high school.
“I really don’t see relationships on the court, especially in my opponent,” Reese said. “I just try to win and really just don’t focus on things like that, but overall it’s a pretty good feeling playing against Ace.”
Finally, Qudus Wahab will make his return to College Park. Wahab played for the Terps during the 2021-22 season under former head coach Mark Turgeon.
All three players are among the top scorers for Penn State this season.
“I feel like every school you go to, a home game is going to be big, especially when it’s a big game like Penn State,” Harris-Smith said. “It’s going to be packed, it’s going to give us a bunch of energy, a bunch of people rooting for us.”
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