“Are they for real?”
I’m not sure how to answer when friends who are more casual Maryland basketball fans ask me that question. It’s come up a few times recently. I understand it. What they’re asking is, “We know it’s not realistic to expect a national championship, but can this team accomplish something that will feel significant and justify us investing our time getting to know these players, watching the games, maybe making a trip to College Park or … even a road trip?”
It’s an impossible question to answer because, truly, there’s no way to define it. Is a Sweet 16 “for real?” A Mark Turgeon team made a Sweet 16 … once. How fondly do you remember that, exactly?
The question can’t be answered. And trust me, I’ve had every college basketball analyst I can round up appear on my show to pose something similar to them. They’ve given me a version of “maybe” that has ranged from “ehhh….maybe?” to “MAYBE!!”
This is a very good Maryland basketball team. It’s truly one of the better starting lineups in the history of the program. But it’s also not any more than that. The depth (six total bench points in the Terps’ last two games) might not be dramatically important during the NCAA Tournament, when benches tend to be shortened. However, it might well be critical should there be an injury or real foul trouble. So, you know, “MaYbE!?”
But I’m here to tell you that I haven’t regretted a single moment I’ve spent watching Maryland basketball this season. This is a really good basketball team and perhaps just as important, a really pleasant basketball team to watch.
Derik Queen is a legitimate superstar. Ja’Kobi Gillespie has proven to be one of the best transfer acquisitions in program history. Selton Miguel is particularly fun because he can simply go off for stretches. Rodney Rice made the biggest shot of the season at Indiana.
And then there’s my favorite part of the team. I hope we’re not missing the significance of it. I don’t say this flippantly. I’m not sure we’re ever going to see a story quite like Julian Reese again at Maryland. Like … ever.
It’s not like Reese is the only fourth-year player at the same school succeeding in college basketball this season. Marquette, for example, is lead by the trio of Kam Jones, David Joplin and Stevie Mitchell. All are in their fourth year as Golden Eagles and have a chance to make their mark in the NCAA Tournament. But on the flip side, that trio hasn’t been through what Reese has been through in college.
Think about it. The Baltimore native committed to Turgeon, only to watch his coach depart a few months later. He was then coached by lame duck Danny Manning for the better part of his freshman season. He then stuck it out and enjoyed a breakthrough sophomore campaign complete with an NCAA Tournament win under a third head coach (Kevin Willard). His sister (Angel Reese) chose to depart the school. He chose to ride it out. His junior season was … a mess. His free throw shooting issues were far from the team’s most significant issue but certainly were part of the story as the team suffered through an unwatchable sub-.500 season.
There were so many opportunities for Reese to reconsider his commitment to staying “home.” After some early success and coaching changes, no one would have faulted him for choosing to find somewhere more comfortable. When he proved himself a valuable post presence, he could have gone to a program where money might be more of a factor. After the disaster of 2023-24, he could have decided to simply get out and hope to land somewhere with more viable title hopes.
But Reese stayed through all of it. He chose to stick it out and frankly, rewrite his place in Maryland basketball history. The Saint Frances alum has been utterly spectacular this season. He’s posted double-doubles in five of his last seven games. He’s raised his free throw percentage from 53.3 percent in his sophomore season to 73.2 percent this year, an increase of 20 percentage points!
We’ve experienced the highs and lows during Reese’s tenure. He has an opportunity to help author an emphatic final chapter.
I’m not sure how many of these we’ll see again. A player can go pro if he is truly transcendent. A player can transfer down a level or two if he struggles. (I can’t help but wonder if DeShawn Harris-Smith might take that option.) A player can also transfer elsewhere for big money if he has success. We’re simply not going to see many four-year players at one school anymore, much less those with a Marvel character-like story arc during their careers.
This is so cool for Julian Reese. I’m so happy he gets to experience it. I’m not sure we’ll ever see anything like it again, so I hope we appreciate it.
See Also: Baltimore Built: Maryland Men’s Basketball’s Julian Reese And Derik Queen
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox