Takeaways from Maryland men’s basketball’s season-opening win over Manhattan

Derik Queen’s 20-point, 20-rebound game stole the show in the Terps’ win over the Jaspers.

Maryland men’s basketball led Manhattan by just three at halftime, but found a new gear in the final 20 minutes and sprung ahead en route to a dominant 79-49 victory in its season opener Monday.

Head coach Kevin Willard’s new-look roster was expected to be a lot more dynamic than it was a year ago. That showed nearly immediately, as the Terps, despite early shooting woes, created offense in multiple ways. They dominated the boards against a small Manhattan team, racking up 54 rebounds to the Jaspers’ 33.

Maryland’s most-hyped recruit in recent memory also had a debut for the ages.

Here are three takeaways from the Terps’ season-opening win.

Derik Queen has arrived

Queen was the Terps’ highest-ranked recruit in nearly a decade, but it’s hard to say anyone envisioned him looking this good in his first collegiate game.

Queen recorded a double-double in the first half, physically imposing his will against a much smaller Manhattan team. From the opening tip-off, Queen looked comfortable on both sides of the ball and was a key part of the Terps’ ball movement. He finished with a team-high 22 points and 20 rebounds — six offensive — while also contributing two blocks and a steal in 25 minutes.

He’s the first-ever Maryland freshman to record a 20-point, 20-rebound double-double, and the first NCAA men’s basketball player to do so in his debut since Michael Beasley in 2007.

Beasley, a Kansas State phenom, was the National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year. That’s not Queen yet — but it’s the company he’s put himself in.

Sizable second-half shooting improvement

Shooting was Maryland’s biggest issue by far in 2023-24. That flaw was prevalent in the Terps’ first-half performance against Manhattan.

They went 11 for 30 from the field, 2 for 11 from beyond the arc and 7 for 10 from the free throw line. The Jaspers trailed by just three point at halftime, and it looked like Maryland could be facing a disappointing early-season loss in yet another year.

But the Terps found a new gear offensively in the second half, shooting 50% from the floor in the game’s final 20 minutes. Ja’Kobi Gillespie went a perfect 3 for 3, Rodney Rice went 4 for 6, including two 3-pointers, and Queen went 5 for 8.

Maryland was still 3-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half, which is a figure Willard surely would like to see improve. But it was a noticeable in-game improvement, and one the Terps will look to carry into the remainder of the season.

A lot of run for transfer portal additions

Gillespie and Selton Miguel, who both transferred to Maryland this past offseason, were in the starting lineup.

Gillespie showed out in his first Maryland game. The Belmont transfer was the Terps’ primary point guard and went 6-of-10 from the field for 16 points. He was a crafty offensive finisher with multiple high-flying layups, including one at the first-half buzzer He also added five assists and three rebounds. Gillespie was great in the press and a strong overall defensive presence, something Maryland’s been looking for out of its new point guard.

Miguel was 0-for-4 shooting in 15 first-half minutes and didn’t play in the second half. But Willard said after the game Miguel suffered an ankle sprain over the weekend and was on a short leash.

Rice, who transferred from Virginia Tech, led the Terps in bench minutes with 24, and finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He was the only Maryland player to make multiple 3-pointers.

Guard Jay Young and forward Tafara Gapare each played double-digit minutes. Gapare scored five points and made his only 3-point attempt, while Young was 1-of-6 shooting with three points.

“Last year, we would have been stuck with that same five out there,” Willard said. “This year, we were struggling and I had no problem going in with … that second group.”