Maryland Basketball: Kevin Willard explains why Julian Reese remained a Terrapin
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Maryland senior forward Julian Reese played his final game in College Park on Saturday, and he fittingly led the Terrapins to a 74-61 victory. Leading all scores with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Reese's strong performance on both ends of the floor proved critical to Maryland securing its 24th win of the regular season.
"I was just happy that he was able to get the ovation that he got," head coach Kevin Willard said in his postgame presser. "And I was really happy that he played the way he played, because if he didn't play as physical as he played, we would have struggled to win this game."
Reese is somewhat of a rare breed in today's college basketball. He committed to play for the Terps under former head coach Mark Turgeon, but Turgeon stepped down following Reese's freshman year. Willard took over as the head coach during Reese's sophomore season, and the Terps put together a solid year with an appearance in the NCAA tournament. But things took a downturn during Reese's junior season, as Maryland limped its way to 16-17 record and missed tournament play altogether. At that point, Reese had a decision to make - stay with Maryland or explore his options elsewhere.
He chose Maryland.
"That was really the biggest thing, he wanted to get his degree from the University of Maryland because he's a Maryland kid," Willard said. "So it meant that much. He wanted to get back to the NCAA tournament, and he felt that this was the best place to do it. And third, he was loyal. He's like, 'ya know, I've been here, you've done right by me, I know you're going to continue to do right by me.' When you transfer, you never know what's going to happen. He knew that he had a home and that he had a guy who was going to take care of him."
It certainly looks like Reese made the right decision by staying home. The Terrapins, now 24-7, are positioned for a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament and viewed as a team that can potentially win it all when NCAA tournament play begins later this month. Regardless of what happens in postseason play, it's clear that Reese - a Maryland native - will always be viewed as a great example of what it means to be a Terrapin.
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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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