Maryland Basketball: Why Ja’Kobi Gillespie is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

During Kevin Willard’s first season at Maryland he led the Terrapins back to the NCAA Tournament, but last year wasn’t quite the ideal encore in year two. This Maryland squad finished under .500 and were just 12th in the Big Ten, stumbling back from a 5th place finish the year before. Are the pieces in place for another bounce back effort this upcoming year?

The Terrapins will certainly miss Jahmir Young and his 20 points a night and also lose Donta Scott, but do get talented forward Julian Reese back for his senior season. There were a few other departures from this lineup, though the return of DeShawn Harris-Smith for his sophomore season is another reason for excitement.

Beyond that, Willard and his staff have lured several players from the Transfer Portal to efficiently rebuild this rotation. Among the most notable additions are former South Florida guard Selton Miguel, a major part of the Bulls’ successful season, and Rodney Rice, a shooting guard from Virginia Tech. However, it’s the mid-major point guard that they added a few months back that really catches our attention.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie was absolutely brilliant as an underclassman at Belmont, really coming into his own this past season. The Tennessee native exploded onto the scene in the MVC, averaging 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game as a sophomore. He made 66% of his 2-pointers, 39% from outside the arc and led Belmont to another 20-win campaign.

The sheer production alone would have any team excited, and it’s not a surprise that Gillespie was heavily sought after when he entered the Transfer Portal back in March. While he did miss a few games with the Bruins this past year, that jump in production is certainly a sign of his talent and it’ll be interesting to see how that transitions to the Terrapins.

Maryland lost a talented scoring guard in Young and Gillespie is certainly an apparent replacement. Young had put up similar numbers in the CUSA while at Charlotte, though you can argue that Gillespie has shown even more to the same point in their careers. Gillespie instantly becomes a major factor in leading this offense while also demonstrating he can play solid defense across the court.

Gillespie alone is not going to propel Maryland back into the NCAA Tournament conversation, especially with the Big Ten growing by four teams. He’ll pair nicely with the other new guards in this system and the returning faces from last year. Does Maryland have enough talent to make a run at the postseason? Will Gillespie put up similar numbers as he transitions from the MVC to the Big Ten?