New Maryland HC Buzz Williams makes big splash with 5-star guard pickup

One of the top available class of 2025 college basketball prospects was Darius Adams, a consensus top-30 player and 5-star recruit per 247sports. He’s a 6’5 combo guard with plenty of scoring potential and the sure and measurements to be a potential future NBA player.

Months ago, Adams picked the UConn Huskies to be his college destination, part of a top-5 incoming recruiting class. However, after the team landed Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr., Adams opted to de-commit and become a free agent. Plenty of teams reportedly showed interest, including two of his older options, Michigan State and Tennessee.

Yet the two teams who ultimately fought for Adams were the Maryland Terrapins and Georgetown Hoyas. The 5-star prospect took visits to both and on Tuesday, announced his decision. 

This was a very important win for new Maryland head coach, Buzz Williams. He didn’t get many top prospects at Texas A&M and instead, had to develop them over several years. With Adams, he gets a quality guard out the gate, one who should be able to make an impact as a freshman.

The current group for the Terrapins features transfers such as David Coit (Kansas), Myles Rice (Indiana), Isaiah Watts (Washington State), and Andre Mills (Texas A&M). One concern is whether or not there will be enough scoring depth on the team overall and if there’s a go-to guard. Adams has a good chance to be that, something that wasn’t going to occur at UConn with Solomon Ball coming back for another year.

The addition of Adams gives Maryland Basketball 10 players, with a couple more spots available. The roster overall has a chance to compete in the Big Ten, with Adams in the running for Freshman of the Year. And for Coach Williams, it’s a nice opening statement by him in both the conference and overall DMV-related recruiting battles.