Everything Kevin Willard said after Maryland defeated Nebraska, 69-66
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Jan 19
- 7 min read
Maryland men’s basketball secured a three-point win on Sunday afternoon to get back to .500 in conference play and head coach Kevin Willard breaks down the close win:
On whether there’s encouragement to take away from Sunday’s close win vs. Nebraska
“Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest encouragement is the fact that the only guy that's gone against Fred's defense is really Julian [Reese]. And it's a unique defense where they really take away post play. It's – everything's forced baseline. They just crowd the post. We only had one day prep so we spent most of the time on the defensive side. And I thought Ju did a good job as the game went on just trying to explain the guys what was going on with their defense, when to throw it to him, when not to throw it to him, because, again, it's – especially with their size, it's a unique defense. If you haven't played against, it's really tough.”
On Jordan Geronimo’s performance in the closing minutes, pairing with Julian Reese
“Jordan, I had a good conversation with Jordan the other day about just like – missing three weeks and in early to mid-December is really tough. And Tafara [Gapare] played really well but just for him to stay ready, because I have so much confidence in the fact that if we need energy, we need defensive stops, He's our guy, and we just – we needed some energy. And I thought Jordan was phenomenal last four minutes of the first half and then really changed the complexion of the game in the second half.”
On Julian Reese’s steal with 30 seconds left to secure the win
“Coming off a really tough loss where we couldn't get stops, and we had two chances to pick up loose balls against Northwestern and really kind of have a chance to win the game. To come up with a deflection by your center who's played 32 minutes and for him to dive on the floor just shows you, you know, how much of a winner Julian really is.”
On the defensive difference in the second half
“We had really bad luck with travel on Thursday night. We didn't get back to campus till 5am and then I had to give them all Friday technically into Saturday. So I think understanding a little bit that they're going to be a little sluggish and I think it just sometimes you just got to give your team, you got trust your team that they're going to figure it out and bring some energy. And I think they did.”
On Rodney Rice’s scoring touch, 15 points vs. Nebraska
“I think for Rodney, Selton, all those guys, especially Rodney, who's going through really his first full season as a college player in this league, I think he's starting to understand the attention he's getting and that he's got to be a little bit more patient throughout the game. And I think you're seeing him kind of just evolve and where I think he's rushed some shots in games earlier in the league play. I think tonight he just kind of let it come to him and I think, more than anything, I'm really proud of the way he's defending. You know, he's out there. I mean, Brice Williams is a heck of a player and he spent 30 minutes on him, really battled him. He made some tough shots, but he made him take tough shots, which is really good so [Rodney’s] been really progressing. He's just, you know, again, for a guy that only played eight games his first year, to sit out a year, and now have to go through this league night in, night out, I think he's doing a great job.”
On the game of runs in the second half, whether there’s any complacency
“You gotta give a little credit in Nebraska, I thought the tip in was, it was 66-59, they got a tip in. We got two good looks and that's really where it's tough with their defense is you just can't come down, throw it into the post. I think it's what's always made Fred's teams really good, is that towards those stretches of the game you don't have post play. And so, we rode Ja’Kobi. I thought we settled for a couple [of] shots, but give them credit. I really thought they did a good job buckling down, getting stops and getting out in transition.”
On Derik Queen’s performance in recent games
“I think everyone just needs to take a deep breath and realize he's a freshman going against fifth-year seniors. I mean, he's as talented as a player as there is, and he's going to be in that three letter league pretty soon, but he's also going through – we're asking a freshman to do a whole lot in a league that's full of fifth-year, COVID Guys, physical guys. He's fine. He's going to figure it out. He's a smart player. He's playing a ton of minutes. He played a ton of minutes the other night at Northwestern so he's going to struggle at times. This league will make you struggle. He understands that the players in this league, especially right now the way we still have the COVID year. He's going up against fifth-year guys that have been through this league that are going after him, and he's still playing good. It's just his production is going to be a little bit down, just because this league will make you do it.”
On Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s timely baskets in recent games
“The biggest thing with Ja’Kobi is, you know, trying to get him to kind of switch gears a little bit. He's always in go mode, which I love, but when he's got to play 38 minutes, trying to pick and choose his spots a little bit of when to take a break. But, you know, he's wired to score a little bit. He's wired to go. A guy in that size that that plays as hard as he does on both ends. He's been really, really productive, and he's wired that way. You know, he wants to do it. The biggest thing for us is trying to get him to realize when you're playing 38 minutes, there's gotta be some times where you gotta chill out a little bit.”
On Nebraska forward Andrew Morgan finishing with 17 points in 24 minutes
“We just started doubling him. We really – they hadn't gotten to him all that much. He wasn't, you know, he was a, I think it was a nine-point scorer, eight point scorer. He came out and just kind of torched us a little bit. I think he caught us a little bit by surprise. So second half, we just didn't want him to be able to go one-on-one on guys. We were really trying to take away the three-point shot. And I thought we did a pretty good job, until we lost [Connor] Essegian. And I think it was Williams late in the second half where we were in control. So sometimes, when you're trying to take away guys, we open up the paint a little bit. And we just talked about half time we watched on film. Just said, let's close it down a little bit. Let's be a little bit more physical. He kind of caught us by surprise, to be honest with you. He played really, really well. You have to give him credit.”
Whether Maryland is in survival mode in Big Ten play
“So you look at the schedule, and you have to be really realistic at times with your team. My goal was to be 5-3 right now with our schedule, I thought that was what we should be, and that, in my opinion, I still think we should be somewhere in that range. Knowing coaches complain and bitch and moan about the schedule all the time, and no one cares. That's why I stopped complaining about it because everybody just sits there and, you know, you sit there on Twitter and says there he is. He's bitching and moaning about something else. He's a baby. He's this, he's that. But, yeah, we've had a rough go of it, and we’ve got three of our next five on the road. And I knew this January was gonna be really tough and getting them to understand it was probably my biggest challenge is that sometimes your schedule, I've said this for as long as I've been a coach, sometimes your schedule will dictate how you play. And you cannot let your schedule affect how you get better and what your goal is overall. And we've had a, definitely a tough go. Nebraska has had a tough go. Northwestern, you know, like Northwestern played Sunday at noon against Michigan State. We played Monday night at nine o'clock and had to travel. And people say, well, that's not that big of a deal. What's the difference? It gives a team, one team that’s coming off a bye weekend has a whole other day of rest and preparation and then you got to go travel. And so the biggest thing is just kind of making sure you don't lose your team and get your team to understand that. Because fans don't care about it. Your administration doesn't care about it. Twitter doesn't care about it. Facebook, I don't care what it is. They don't give a shit. So the biggest thing is just getting them to understand it because I'm just another spoiled guy that's just bitching and moaning about the schedule. And I’m okay with that.”
On gaining experience in-games and managing that
“I think that's part of like being patient a little bit as a coach and being positive. When you have as many setbacks and tough losses as we've had but then you look down, you think, alright, [Rodney] is going through it for the first time. Ja’Kobi is really going through this league for the first time. Derik's going through college basketball for the first time. Selton's going through this this league for the first time. You gotta make sure that they are learning, that they are saying positive and that they are understanding that there are going to be some setbacks in this league. You're going to play bad. This league is, you know, if not the best basketball, one of the best basketball leagues in the country and every night you're gonna get tested. So just getting them to stay positive and understand and keep getting better and I think we are getting better at a lot of certain aspects. We just gotta learn how to punch through on the road.”
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