Maryland dropped its seventh consecutive game at Penn State in an 85-69 loss, falling to 15-16 (7-13) to close the regular season.
Maryland draws the 12th seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament and will open up the games with a Wednesday evening matchup vs. Rutgers.
Everything that Kevin Willard said following the loss:
On Julian Reese’s absence and replacing his production
“[Julian] tweaked his ankle on, I think it was Wednesday. We took two days off and it wasn’t anything serious but when someone logs that many minutes all season long, you gotta make sure you protect your guy. He looked good in walkthrough, but it’s just one of those things once you lose him and the amount of minutes he’s been playing. I tried to throw Mady [Traore] out there just so, Cal’s used to coming off the bench. And I thought Cal came in and gave us good minutes but once he got tired, he’s not used to playing those minutes. That’s kind of where our breakdowns kind of happened.”
On the performance from Jamie Kaiser Jr.
“I thought Deshawn played terrific. I thought Jamie played terrific. It was good to see Noah [Batchelor] go out there and shoot the basketball. It’s just been one of my issues with him is that he just won’t shoot when all I really want him to do is shoot the basketball. Sometimes it just takes kids a while. I think Noah’s eventually…the light will go off. But I thought Jamie was, I thought he was aggressive which was great. And I thought Deshawn was the best player on the court tonight.”
On whether Julian Reese will be available in the Big Ten Tournament
“I feel like with the technically three days rest, he didn’t do a whole lot. I mean he didn’t really practice yesterday. That was one of my main issues. When you don’t practice, it’s just coming on a little of an ankle tweak, you just don’t want to. I’m always a little extra cautious on that especially this time of year when you’ve logged that many minutes.”
On facing Rutgers in the first round
“It’s unfortunate. I think the frustration level hit these guys. We missed a couple easy shots early in the game when it’s just like kind of been our MO all year. I’m really pleased with the young guys that are out there playing.”
On one thing he could fix during the 2023-24 season
“It’s been a really disappointing year, really frustrating year. Kind of understanding the way I built the roster a little bit. I put a lot of pressure on these young kids, to be honest with you. That’s the one thing I wish I could have redone is maybe get someone that not put so much pressure on, even though I’ve seen them grow up and I’m really, really excited about Jamie and Deshawn. I put a lot, a lot of pressure on them. I think that’s a little bit, in this league at this time, in this league and really with the COVID year, it’s really hard. I’ve watched them get better and better and better and that’s what I’m excited about.”
[cont.]
“That’s why I’m really pleased with the way those two have stayed with the process. It’s not easy. It could have been very, they both could have very simply just like got so frustrated with it and just, but their work ethic has been great. Their attitude has been great. And I think, Deshawn, like his shot’s looking good. There’s so many good things that these two have done with the opportunities. It’s just hard. It’s hard in college basketball right now to be a freshman, and these two guys have done, I’m so proud of them. They’ve done a phenomenal job all year.”
Related Links
Without Reese, Maryland basketball struggles on the interior in 85-69 loss
Where former Maryland football players currently coach
Recap: Maryland men’s lacrosse survives Brown in 14-13 OT win
Maryland women’s basketball stuns Ohio State in Big Ten Tournament
How former Maryland assistants fared in year one as head coaches
