Buzz Williams’ first Maryland men’s basketball roster is taking shape, with the Terps having secured eight commitments following the departure of every player on the 2024-25 roster.
Williams was hired on April 1 and got to work on the roster shortly thereafter. Andre Mills, Pharrel Payne, George Turkson Jr. and Solomon Washington followed Williams from Texas A&M, while David Coit Jr. (Kansas), Myles Rice (Indiana), Elijah Saunders (Virginia) and Isaiah Watts (Washington State) came from elsewhere.
The most familiar name for longtime hoops fans is Watts, the grandson of Slick Watts, who played in the NBA from 1973-1979, mostly with the Seattle SuperSonics. A 6-foot-1, 175-pound point guard, Slick averaged 8.9 points and 6.1 assists during his six-year career. Isaiah is considering wearing No. 13 in his grandfather’s honor during the 2025-26 season given that Slick recently died at the age of 73.
“For me growing up around him, I didn’t even know he was famous,” Isaiah said on Glenn Clark Radio April 18. “I didn’t know he was a famous basketball player. I didn’t know he played in the NBA because he was so real. He was open to everybody. Everybody could touch him. Everybody could talk to him. He really showed me the way, so living up to that is super important for me.”
Watts grew up in West Seattle and spent the first two years of his college career at Washington State. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard averaged 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Cougars in 2024-25, all big improvements from what he showed as a freshman the year prior.
Watts has no connections to the East Coast other than a year at South Kent School in Connecticut, but his conversations with Williams sold him on Maryland.
“He was the only coach to really talk to me about becoming a man,” Watts said. “It’s more important than a lot of this basketball stuff for me. Basketball is going to stop at the end of the day. You’re going to have maybe 40 years of life without basketball, so becoming a man was really important for me. He talked to me about growing as a basketball player and growing as a man.”
Choosing Maryland also gives Watts a chance to reunite with Rice. The two played together at Washington State in 2023-24 prior to Rice moving on to Indiana. Now, Watts and Rice are back together. Rice committed to Maryland first and quickly got to work on Watts.
“Once I committed, the coaches gave me a list of guys they wanted to go after a little bit,” Rice said on GCR April 24. “They knew I had some familiarity with Isaiah, playing with him and knowing what he could bring to the table. They asked me what I think. I told them I think he could help us out. So I was definitely in his ear a little bit, trying to get him to come here. I’m just happy that we were able to pull it off and happy that he’s here at Maryland now.”
Rice averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists for Washington State in 2023-24 and then averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Hoosiers in 2024-25. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard is expected to run the offense for the Terps in 2025-26, with Watts calling Rice a “maestro” with the ball in his hands.
A native of Columbia, S.C., Rice was recruited by Williams at Texas A&M following the 2023-24 season prior to committing to Indiana. The two circled back to one another this offseason.
“Honestly, Coach Buzz and the staff is just a staff that believes in me,” Rice said. “They’re going to put me in the best situation to thrive, not only as a basketball player but as a man and as a man of faith as well. I think those are the things that I kind of hang my hat on to grow not only within my sport but as an individual as well.”
Saunders, however, doesn’t come with any obvious connections. The Phoenix native spent the first two years of his college career at San Diego State, then transferred to Virginia to play for a championship coach in Tony Bennett, only for Bennett to retire just before the start of the 2024-25 season. Still, Saunders had the best year of his career, averaging 10.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Cavaliers.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward then hit the transfer portal again, this time with just one year of eligibility remaining. He committed to Maryland because of Williams.
“He’s always been a coach that I liked,” Saunders said on GCR April 16. “My dad actually probably once a month sends me Buzz Williams motivational clips on my phone. That’s something he’s always done. He’s a high-character guy but pushes his players to be the best they can be. That was really intriguing. The amount of interest he showed so fast in the portal, I was definitely interested.”
Hitting the portal allows players to gauge their value in what has essentially become an open market, but Saunders wanted to play the long game in his decision-making process.
“I was offered more to play at other places than Maryland,” Saunders said. “But for me, where can I be best at? Where am I going to find a coach, a culture and a program that is going to push me to be the best? I only have one year left, so once the year is over I’m going to have to be prepared for what’s to come. It’s not all about the NIL. Most of it for me is going to be saved anyway. It just came down to the culture that Buzz is going to bring to Maryland and trying to be a part of something special.”
For more from Watts, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Rice, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Saunders, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Isaiah Watts, Indiana University Athletics and Virginia Athletics