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Takeaways: Maryland men’s basketball finds success vs. Penn State crashing the boards and letting Jahmir Young loose

edward lee, baltimore sun
·6 min read

Wednesday night’s 81-75 victory in overtime over visiting Penn State required a Herculean effort from some members of the Maryland men’s basketball team.

Senior small forward Jordan Geronimo played 36 minutes, 14 seconds, outpacing his previous career high of 29:52 on Jan. 19 at Illinois. Freshman small forward Jamie Kaiser Jr.’s 27:23 eclipsed his personal-best 22 minutes Nov. 12 against UAB. And junior power forward Julian Reese was on the floor for 41:51, exceeding his time of 36:33 on March 16 against West Virginia.

After Wednesday’s game, Reese expressed some surprise at the minutes he had logged.

“Kind of sore,” he said of his body. “I didn’t know I played 40 until just seeing it on the paper. So I guess that’s a good sign.”

Fifth-year senior point guard Jahmir Young, who played 43:52, said he too was unaware of his time spent on the court but credited the announced attendance of 15,290 at Xfinity Center in College Park for spurring him on.

“Just the atmosphere and the energy, I feel I could play longer than that,” he said. “I feel like we’ll feel it in the morning, but right now, we’re just glad we got the win with the team effort that we had.”

Here are three more observations from Wednesday night’s win.

Crashing the glass might be Maryland’s recipe for success on offense

The Terps (5-4, 1-1 Big Ten) won for the first time this season while shooting worse than 40% after connecting on 34.3% (23 of 67) of their attempts against Penn State (4-5, 0-1). Credit belongs to their ability to grab rebounds.

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Maryland outrebounded the Nittany Lions, 53-31. The difference was particularly stark in the second half when the Terps dominated the glass via a 23-8 advantage, which contributed to an 11-3 margin in second-chance points.

The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Reese corralled a game-high 15 rebounds, fifth-year senior small forward and 6-8, 230-pound Donta Scott added 10, and Young and 6-5, 215-pound freshman shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith finished with eight each. Penn State’s 6-11, 245-pound graduate student power forward Qudus Wahab, who spent the 2021-21 season at Maryland, led his team with nine boards.

Coach Kevin Willard acknowledged that collecting missed shots for additional opportunities is the offense’s top priority considering how poorly the players have fared from deeper parts of the floor.

“Since we’re struggling so much shooting the basketball, it’s got to be a part of our offense,” he said. “With especially that starting group with [6-6 and 225-pound] Jordan, Donta and Ju, that’s a pretty big rebounding crew. So we have to offensive rebound right now with the way we’re shooting.”

Nittany Lions coach Mike Rhoades noted that the Terps’ rebounding ability forced his players into fouling them, which led to Maryland enjoying a 39-21 advantage in trips to the free throw line. Penn State proved more efficient there, converting 19 of its 21 attempts, but the Terps earned 30 points from the line.

Reese said the players understand how valuable rebounding can be in games such as Wednesday night’s.

“It’s really just effort,” he said. “Just attacking the glass hard and just wanting it more than your opponent. I feel like we got after it in the first half when the shots weren’t falling. When shots aren’t falling, we can keep attacking the glass.”

Until further notice, the offense runs through Jahmir Young

That’s not exactly a profound statement considering Young’s role as Maryland’s point guard. But one of the team’s shortest players (he’s listed at 6-1 and 185 pounds) delivered big against Penn State.

Young’s 10 points in the first half kept the Terps within striking distance of the Nittany Lions, who led 30-28 at halftime. His 14 points (including a 7 of 7 showing at the free throw line) in the second half helped force overtime rather than a heartbreaking loss in regulation. And his four points tied Harris-Smith for the most by a player in overtime.

Young, whose 12-for-12 performance at the free throw line was tied for the fourth-best outing in school history, was a pillar for his teammates and Willard.

“He’s our best free throw shooter,” Willard said. “He’s got a great post game, and he’s comfortable doing it. It’s the same thing [the Nittany Lions] were doing with [senior guard] Ace [Baldwin Jr.]. At the end of the game, you’re going to put the ball in your best player’s hands. He only practiced for about half the practice yesterday. So it was a gutsy effort by him.”

Rhoades said Young, who has led Maryland or been tied for the lead in scoring in six of nine games this season, is similar to Baldwin and sophomore point guard Kanye Clary.

“If you give them space and an edge, they’re going to make plays, and Jahmir can shoot it, too,” said Rhoades, who said he is familiar with Young from trying to recruit him. “He’s gotten so much stronger, and it’s really helped him get downhill and get to the foul line in different ways. He’s a vet. He’s a heck of a player.”

Maybe Wednesday night could be the key that unlocks Jamie Kaiser Jr.

The 6-6, 205-pound freshman picked an opportune time to deliver the best showing of his young career.

Kaiser set career highs in points (10) and steals (four) and added three rebounds before fouling out with 1:45 left in overtime. He was especially productive during a four-minute stretch midway through the second half when he stole the ball three times, converted a pair of free throws and grabbed a defensive rebound. During that time, Maryland embarked on a 14-5 run to take a 51-49 lead.

Kaiser, who was shut out in Friday night’s 65-53 loss at Indiana but chipped in six rebounds and two steals, said he wanted to make sure his effort was evident.

“Good things happen when you play hard, and I just tried to carry over my energy from the second half of the Indiana game and bring it into this game knowing that stuff was going to go a little bit more our way because we were home,” he said. “Just play hard, and good things were going to happen, I thought.”

Having Kaiser continue his development would help alleviate some of the burden on Young and Reese and fill the void created by a slumping Scott, who has scored 12 points on 5 of 25 shooting in his past three starts. Willard said he is seeing signs of Kaiser’s evolution on the floor.

“I think he’s starting to understand his role,” he said. “He’s like the Energizer Bunny. He comes in, and he gives us great energy, and sometimes that hurts him on his shot because he plays so hard and he’s moving. But he fits that group really well.”

Alcorn State at Maryland

Tuesday, 7 p.m.

TV: Big Ten Network

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