Maryland basketball misses on coveted portal guard Simeon Wilcher after making top group

Ahmed Ghafir
Apr 24
2 min read

The run of transfer portal commitments came to a screeching halt for head coach Buzz Williams and Maryland men’s basketball after picking up eight transfer commits in nearly consecutive days, but Maryland remains a factor with several portal targets. Maryland was briefly on the shortlist for one before making his commitment official hours later.

Former St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher included Maryland alongside BYU, Ole Miss, Oregon, Pitt, Texas and Virginia Tech. Then Thursday morning, Wilcher shut down the portal process after signing with Texas off the heels of his trip to Austin.

Wilcher, a 6-foot-4 guard originally from New Jersey, has two years of eligibility left after starting in 30 games and appearing in 67 total games during his two seasons with the Johnnies. Wilcher averaged 7.6 points on nearly 40% shooting from the field and 29% from three in nearly 25 minutes.

Wilcher’s outgoing transfer decision last week marked a surprise for St. John’s despite head coach Rick Pitino working to sign multiple portal guards this offseason. “I’m not really worried about anything. I know we are going to bring in some guys because we need to because we want to win some games,” Wilcher said earlier this month.

Fast forward two weeks, Maryland worked to get one of the nation’s best available portal guards on campus after Wilcher reportedly visited Texas on Wednesday. His dad, who played basketball at Morgan State, also holds a strong relationship with head coach Buzz Williams while his brother, CJ, played for the Aggies under Williams after transferring in from Nebraska.

Excerpt from a story on Buzz’s pursuit of Simeon’s brother, CJ:

“A video of Willaims discussing the concept of faith over fear appeared on Wilcher’s social media feed. Wilcher had liked some of Williams’ posts, unbeknownst to A&M’s head coach. As a college basketball fan, Wilcher watched a couple of A&M’s games, including the Aggies’ wins over Kentucky and Tennessee.

Roccaforte said the way Wilcher and Williams were able to form an organic relationship from the beginning was a key reason Wilcher chose to transfer to A&M.

“Because of that setting, I think they got a chance to meet each other and really get to know each other and they meshed,” Roccaforte said. “I think that’s one of the things Buzz does really well is his connection with the players, his connection with their people, and because of those relationships, he’s able to get them to do things other people can’t and get them to play harder at a level that other people can’t and that’s the reason why.”

Wilcher is rated a four-star and is the 132nd-best transfer prospect this offseason.

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