Julian Reese returning to Maryland men’s basketball; Terps add Belmont transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Julian Reese isn’t going anywhere.
The St. Frances graduate and Maryland men’s basketball standout forward announced Wednesday that he plans to return to College Park for his senior season.
“From the driveway to the parks to the gyms full of fans, it’s not something that’s just important to my family,” Reese said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Basketball is where I found my family. From Baltimore to College Park, Maryland has made me who I am. It’s time for one last run.”
Lets Run It Back pic.twitter.com/XvsEb17nDK
— (@Reese10Julian) March 27, 2024
The return of Reese, a Randallstown native and the younger brother of LSU star Angel Reese, is a significant development for a Maryland team coming off a disappointing 16-17 season under second-year coach Kevin Willard that ended with a loss to Wisconsin in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Terps are losing All-Big Ten selection Jahmir Young and starting forward Donta Scott and have already had three players enter the transfer portal.
Reese averaged 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this past season to go with 60 blocks, 32 steals and 41 assists — all career-high marks — and received All-Big Ten honorable mention. He posted the second-most double-doubles in the Big Ten (15), trailing only Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center and National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey.
Reese was the only player in the country to average more than 10 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game.
Terps land transfer guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Willard didn’t wait long to revamp his roster.
The Terps received a commitment Wednesday from Belmont transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, an efficient, high-scoring guard who could take the lead role on offense next season after Young’s departure.
Lets work! #Godsplan pic.twitter.com/E4ZWJwGl8W
— Ja’Kobi Gillespie (@k0b1g) March 27, 2024
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Gillespie averaged 17.2 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds this past season and was named one of the Missouri Valley Conference’s most improved players. The Greeneville, Tennessee, native shot 56.1% from the field, 38.7% from 3-point range and 83.1% from the free-throw line for the Bruins, who went 20-13 and lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament.
While Gillespie’s scoring will be coveted for a Maryland team that finished 157th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency, his defense might be just as valuable. He recorded 49 steals as a freshman and 55 as a sophomore, with his 2.2 steals per game in 2023-24 ranking 20th in the country.
A standout wide receiver and return specialist in high school, Gillespie also received scholarship offers from Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt to play football before signing with Belmont.
Gillespie, ranked the 14th-best player in the transfer portal by 247Sports, is the second player to join the Terps this week. Rodney Rice, a former four-star guard at DeMatha from Clinton in Prince George’s County, is heading to Maryland after two seasons at Virginia Tech.
After the departures of Noah Batchelor, Caelum Swanton-Rodger and Jahnathan Lamothe to the transfer portal and the arrivals of Rice and Gillespie, Maryland has one open scholarship remaining. Five-star center Derik Queen, a Baltimore native, and three-star guard Malachi Palmer are incoming freshmen expected to join top returners Reese, DeShawn Harris-Smith, Jordan Geronimo, Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Mady Traore.