Maryland (3-3) vs. Rider (1-4)
When: Tues., Nov. 28, 2023 at 7 PM
Where: Xfinity Center, College Park, MD
Stream: BIG+
Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore), 980 AM (DC), SiriusXM channel 387
Betting odds: Maryland -16, O/U: 130.5
Maryland basketball will look to pick up their third consecutive win and get back over .500 for the first time since the season opener when Rider heads to College Park. They’ll do so against a Rider team that’s been tested to open the season, facing both Marquette and Nebraska on the road after defeating Immaculata in the season opener. Rider, picked as the MAAC preseason favorite by league coaches, is led by preseason player of the year Mervin James who enters Tuesday averaging 15.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. James is joined by a roster filled with new faces including TJ Weeks Jr. (UMass), who averages 7.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Maryland, meanwhile, was able to pick up its second consecutive win over the weekend after riding a big run to open the second half vs. South Alabama. Head coach Kevin Willard enters Tuesday with a level of confidence about his team.
“I think we’ve made a lot of good strides to be honest with you. The biggest thing for me is just moving forward is just getting these guys a little bit more comfortable playing against zone probably because we’re gonna see it a lot. We played, that was the first time since UAB, I thought we attacked the zone better, I thought we got better shots. We just have to get a little bit more comfortable of when to shoot against a zone. I think that’s my biggest thing. Guys were a little bit, they were a little bit hesitant about when to shoot and what shot to take against a zone. So I think we watched film on it. Guys I think have a better sense and that’s going to be the biggest thing moving forward. It’s just getting guys a little bit more comfortable of when to shoot against a zone.”
What has improved through the first six games is Maryland’s perimeter shooting, where the Terps enter Tuesday 322nd in the country shooting 21.15% from deep.
“Well, one of the biggest things I’ve been talking on is we need to pass the basketball better,” Willard said when asked how to turn the perimeter shooting results around. “A lot of our guys are making the right pass. They’re not making good passes. So they’re taking guys out of shots. So guys are open but we’re not throwing good passes. And so we’re taking guys out of a good shot and forcing them into a bad shot because of the way we’re passing the basketball. So that is something, that’s been my biggest what I’ve been nagging on these guys about is that, you know, to be a great teammate, you got to throw a great pass and that’s not a spectacular pass. That’s just a simple chest pass to hit him in his pocket so we can shoot the basketball.”
More importantly, Tuesday will serve as Maryland’s final tuneup game before Big Ten play kicks off on Friday with a trip to Bloomington to face Indiana. Willard talks about what he wants to see heading into Friday.
“I think our pressure defense has been pretty darn good all year so far, much better than it was last year. Just numbers-wise, it’s been something that’s a real strength of ours so I want to keep building that and keep getting better at that. And then I think the rotations for me is just getting guys out there and getting them comfortable because we’re going to need everyone once Big Ten play comes.”
More from Willard heading into Tuesday night’s tipoff:
On what’s been an emphasis through the start of the season
“Boxing out, transition defense, turnovers, free throws. It’s a big list every day, trying to get better on stuff, to be honest with you, but I think one of the biggest things is our guys can control the passing and I think that’s something that I think will help our three-point shooting numbers dramatically if we can just pass the basketball better. Because right now it might be the worst in the country.”
On what Maryland figured out against the zone in the second half vs. South Alabama
“I thought our big guy spacing in the second half was much better. We went back and watched film at halftime and able to show guys where the gaps were in the zone, I think helped them dramatically. In the first half, Jordan [Geronimo] was kind of getting lost on the baseline a little bit. I thought he got in much better spots where guys can see him. We were able to hit the baseline. We were able to get some easy twos and we just didn’t have to rely on three-point shooting.”
On whether Jordan Geronimo is a player Willard designs plays for
“I think he’s a little bit more of a guy that flows with the offense, but I think guys are getting comfortable with him out there. So again, especially against a zone, we don’t call a ton of plays. So, I think guys, once he got in the right spot, they’re starting to get a lot of confidence about when he does get the ball, something good’s going to happen.”
Assessing how Maryland has grown during Maryland’s three-game homestand
“I think we’ve gotten much more comfortable on the offensive end. Although obviously we didn’t shoot it good the other night, I thought we really did some good things in transition. I thought our transition offense was much better than it was at the beginning of the season. I think we’re not turning the basketball over nearly as much [because] I think we are in a little bit better of a rhythm. So I think the ten days have given these guys a chance to really just practice and be at home and really focus on basketball and school. And sometimes that’s really important early in the year.”
On Jordan Geronimo’s adjustments
“I think the biggest thing with Jordan, it was just kind of like he was coming from a defense that was totally different than what we play. To go out in the game and all of a sudden, play against three good teams in a row and not be overly comfortable with having played a ton of games. I think he’s just, the more games we’ve played, he’s gotten more comfortable in what we’re trying to do defensively. And that’s helped him relax on the offensive end. I think he was a little stressed about, Indiana doesn’t switch, we switch. They play pick and rolls differently than we do. The first game against Davidson, he did two things that I’ve never done as a coach, but Indiana does, but that’s just because [of] game slippage. It was only a second game with us. He gives up two threes and the other night he was our best defensive player because he was switching out. He was able to use his athleticism. So again, it’s just a matter of when, in today’s college basketball, when you have transfers and guys not sitting out anymore where guys used to transfer and sit out and have a whole year to kind of get used to what you’re doing. They now have literally 30 practices and then you jump into a game. I think that’s been the biggest thing with, with Jordan.”
On opening conference play on the road
“I think all the games count to our fan base. The biggest thing is that, again, it’s still November, so, like, we have a lot of games left. The biggest thing we’re concentrating on right now is just getting better as a team. And I think Julian’s taking some big steps. Donta’s playing, starting to play really well at the small forward spot. Jordan’s starting to get comfortable, so. I’ve seen some huge steps. As long as we continue that, that’s what I’m looking for. So that’s been the message. It’s just kind of really focusing on continuing to get better because obviously league play is, does start really early in the Big Ten. Which is, I mean December 1st is early. But again, it’s a good chance, going on the road, we didn’t play well at Nova. We gotta figure a way to play better on the road.”
On how Willard has adjusted practices and installs through the first month
“Let’s just say I haven’t altered well enough. Last year was different. Last year, I was implementing a new style to everybody. This year, I will alter the way I go year in year out now much differently because I thought we’d have much more continuity. I thought the older guys and the younger guys and the new guys would learn a little bit quicker and I’ve learned that having three guys from three different systems and not sitting out is…I, I need to do a much better job at the beginning of the year, to be perfectly honest with you. I’m just used to having seniors and juniors and guys sitting out and guys being able to—it’s just passing things down and now that’s gone. So being a little bit more simple. There’s a lot of things I’m gonna change going forward, to be honest. I don’t think I’ve done a good job so far of adapting to the new transfer portal. That’s my honest opinion.”
On whether it’s difficult adapting to the new era of college basketball
“Yeah, I mean, it makes it much more difficult to build. I still think it’s possible and you can do it. It’s just a matter of, really this being the second year for me that the portal is there and you got to go into it. I do think you have to adjust your coaching style a little bit too. when you go in there and you get four different guys, you’re going to have a lot more bumps in the road. And I think I have to do a better job of just kind of making sure the bumps are less. It’s a pretty honest answer. You’re welcome. It doesn’t happen often. It’s almost like the Australian sports psychiatrist I had coming last week. I had the Zoom meeting with him last week.”
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