Maryland Basketball: Ja'Kobi Gillespie attempting to recruit Rodney Rice to Tennessee
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Although Maryland fans are still holding out hope that Rodney Rice will remain in College Park, it feels like an uphill battle at this point. Rice, once of the key members of Maryland's "Crab Five" last season, entered his name into the transfer portal earlier this week. In addition to Rice, a whole host of other Terrapins entered their names into the portal - including point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie.
Unlike Rice, Gillespie has already found his new home, committing to Tennessee on Friday. The move makes sense for Gillespie, as he's a Tennessee native and wanted the opportunity to play college ball in his home state. But now that he's found his new home, he's also making it a priority to bring some familiar faces along with him to Knoxville.
According to a report from Ben McKee of 247Sports, Gillespie has already talked to Rice - his former Maryland teammate - about the potential of playing together at Tennessee.
Asked Ja'Kobi Gillespie if he was going to begin recruiting now that he's committed to Tennessee.
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) April 4, 2025
"I've already started. Nate Ament, and my boy Rodney Rice."https://t.co/GIGX3nAXmS
There's no question that all of the player movement with the portal (and NIL) makes it increasingly difficult for programs to keep players together. The Terps, led by new head coach Buzz Williams, are faced with replacing nearly their entire roster from last season. Key members like Gillespie, Julian Reese, Derik Queen, and Selton Miguel are gone. And with Rice going through that decision making process as we speak, all of the departures makes it seem unlikely he'll elect to remain in College Park.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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