After Willard’s departure and Williams’ arrival, Maryland hopes it won’t miss a beat

By Canadian Press on October 28, 2025.

Maryland (27-9, 14-6 Big Ten)

The Terrapins reached the Sweet 16 last season, then immediately had to rebuild after coach Kevin Willard left for Villanova. Maryland moved quickly to land Buzz Williams, who must replace the entire starting five — the much-loved “Crab Five” to home fans — after last season’s team scattered in various directions. In fact, the Terps have only one player on the entire roster left over from 2024-25. That’s not to say the team is inexperienced since Maryland was active in the transfer portal.

Players to watch

Pharrel Payne (senior F/C, 6-9, 10.4 ppg). Payne played for Williams at Texas A&M last season, starting 14 games and shooting 65% from the field. He played at Minnesota prior to that.

Myles Rice (junior G, 6-3, 10.1 ppg). Rice arrives after playing at Indiana and Washington State previously. He was a captain for the Hoosiers last season, starting 25 games.

Darius Adams (freshman G, 6-5). Adams is a five-star recruit ranked No. 15 overall in this year’s class by Rivals.com. He scored 19 points in 40 minutes in an exhibition game against Maryland-Baltimore County.

Departures and arrivals

Maryland lost lottery pick Derik Queen from last season’s team, plus a talented backcourt of Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice and big man Julian Reese. In addition to Payne and Adams, Virginia transfer Elijah Saunders and Texas A&M transfer Andre Mills started the exhibition game. The other starter was Guillermo Del Pino of Spain.

Top games

Maryland opens the regular season Nov. 3 in Baltimore against Coppin State. Then the Terps host Georgetown four days later in a local rivalry that’s been played only five times in the last 40 years. Maryland also faces Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Nov. 25.

Facts and figures

Williams is one of 12 active Division I coaches to win at least one NCAA Tournament game at three different programs. … Payne (919) and Myles Rice (842) are closing in on 1,000 career points. David Coit (1,224) has already surpassed it. He averaged 20.8 points a game two seasons ago at Northern Illinois and played at Kansas last season. … Four players on the roster are on their third school. … The lone holdover from last season is guard Lukas Sotell, who scored four points in 19 minutes in 2024-25.

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The Associated Press