2023-24 Maryland basketball player preview: Julian Reese
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Sep 7, 2023
- 6 min read
After a sophomore season where Julian Reese took a massive step towards becoming one of the premier big men in both the Big Ten and the country, the Maryland center will look to continue his upward trajectory on a Terps team that is loaded with potential.
Reese, who averaged 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and just over one block per game as virtually Maryland's only interior post threat, will return to College Park for his junior season as one of the main pieces at the disposal of head coach Kevin Willard.
As a freshman in the 2021-22 season, Reese started only one game as he was forced to back up Georgetown transfer Qudus Wahab. He showed flashes of raw talent, particularly his shooting, but was unable to maintain any real consistency coming off the bench.
After Wahab announced his intentions to transfer, Reese was slotted as the starting center for a Maryland team that welcomed multiple new faces to its roster in the 2022-23 season.
Like Indiana Pacers big man and former Terp Jalen Smith, who added over 20 pounds of muscle between his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Reese transformed his body to handle the wear and tear of the Big Ten schedule.
His newfound strength was evident early on in the 2022-23 season, as he looked the part of a Big Ten center by scoring at least 17 points in four of Maryland's first six games, highlighted by a career-high 24 points against Coppin State on Nov. 25.
Reese injured his shoulder in Maryland's 87-60 loss to UCLA on Dec. 14, causing him to sit the entire second half and miss the next game against Saint Peters.
His returned 15 days later and chipped in seven points off the bench in Maryland's win over UMBC.
His production slowed down during December and early January, as Maryland lost six of eight games to end the non-conference schedule and begin Big Ten play. A common theme that plagued him was his inability to stay out of foul trouble, which limited his production.
A major glimpse at the talent level of Reese was during Maryland's narrow defeat at Purdue on Jan. 22.
Reese scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, going toe-to-toe with eventual National Player of the Year Zach Edey. His relentless interior attack against the best player in college basketball opened the eyes of many across the conference.
This impressive performance sparked a scoring surge from the Terps' star big man as Reese scored in double figures in 14-of-16 games to end the season.
It was during this stretch that he began to display all facets of his game, especially his rebounding, as he recorded four consecutive double-doubles to end February and begin March. His interior dominance was crucial to Maryland's leap back into the top-25 and a sixth-place finish in the Big Ten.
While his improvements on both sides of the ball were obvious and impactful, there were two major areas where he routinely struggled: free throw shooting and foul trouble.
Every team wants its best player to be on the floor as much as possible. For Reese, this was a difficult task at times due to his consistent fouling. Like any player, a good chunk of the fouls he picked up were questionable, but opposing teams were well aware of his struggles and used that against him constantly throughout each game.
With Maryland's lack of size and depth at the center and power forward position behind him, Reese would have to be on the floor as much as possible for the Terps to compete with the size of opposing Big Ten teams.
In situations where he was forced to sit, Patrick Emilien would slide down to the center position and Maryland would have to play small-ball.
His foul trouble was clearly evident in Maryland's quarterfinal loss to Indiana in the Big Ten tournament. Reese picked up his third foul of the game in the opening minutes of the second half and was forced to sit, and then picked up his fourth foul with just over 12 minutes remaining.
This unfortunate stretch limited his output in the Maryland loss and gave other teams a blueprint on just how to defeat the Terps.
A similar story occurred in Maryland's second-round exit to Alabama in the NCAA Tournament. After a strong start for Reese and the Terps, three quick first-half fouls forced him to sit for crucial minutes and allowed Alabama to jump in front.
Because of his foul-prone nature, Alabama constantly attacked him on offense and forced him to go straight up and play cautious defense, which led to easy baskets.
He finished the game with five fouls in just 21 minutes played, as Maryland's season ended.
On the other side of the ball, an area where Julian Reese lacks considerable production is at the free-throw line. He shot free throws at a 53% clip in the 2022-23 season, essentially going 1-of-2 each trip to the line.
For someone who averaged over four free throws per game and is in a position to be fouled at a higher rate than others due to his paint touches, an improvement in this category is necessary for his growth as a junior.
