Belmont leading scorer Ja’Kobe Gillespie decided to depart the Bruins for the Big Ten, where he will be a key player on a fresh new Maryland team.
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Kevin Willard has only been in College Park for two seasons but Maryland basketball fans are getting antsy after the Terps missed the NCAA Tournament with a 16-17 overall record.
With leading scorer Jahmir Young and five-year star Donta Scott both out of eligibility, it will be a turning point for the Terps. Willard knew that before the season, and it’s evident by 5-star Derik Queen coming in as the prized recruit. Queen should be one of the top impactful freshmen next season, especially with forward Julian Reese coming back, which should lighten the load.
So what does this mean for Gillespie? At this point in time, the backcourt is his. Deshawn Harris-Smith is the lone starting guard expected to be back and guard play was a problem for Maryland basketball all last season. With Virginia Tech transfer Rodney Rice also joining Maryland, we could see a complete 180 in the production of Maryland’s guards next year. A lot of weight will still fall on Gillespie.
What are Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s strengths?
One look at his stats and you can tell that Gillespie is more than just a scorer. While he led Belmont with 17.2 PPG as a sophomore, Gillespie also manned the point guard position and held the team high of 4.2 APG. That’s not too difficult to do with players like Cade Tyson and Malik Dia, but it shouldn’t take away from Gillespie’s ability to score and get others involved. He will have the same type of role at Maryland.
Gillespie is also a ball-hound on defense. His 2.2 SPG led the Missouri Valley Conference. While he’s not overly quick, Gillespie has good size at 6-0, 175 pounds, and has eyes for the ball. If you lose track of where he is on defense, he will make you pay.
The same can be said about Gillespie’s offense. Again – he won’t blow by defenders, but he’s a smooth dribbler and has a very fluid shot. There’s a reason he canned 38.7% of his threes and 56.1% of his shots. Averaging over 17 points per game is noteworthy, but doing it on less than 12 shot attempts per game says a lot about his basketball IQ. Gillespie knows when to pick his spots, and it usually pays off.
How does Ja’Kobi Gillespie fit with Maryland basketball?
While the entire transfer portal still has to play itself out, we do have a fairly good idea of the starting five/key bench players at Maryland.
It might look something like this:
- PG: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (transfer from Belmont)
- SG: DeShawn Harris-Smith
- SF: Jordan Geronimo
- PF: Julian Reese
- C: Derik Queen (5-star freshman)
- 6: Rodney Rice (transfer from Virginia Tech)
- 7: Jahari Long
Of course, Gillespie, Rice, Queen, and Reese are 100% to be in College Park next season. Harris-Smith, Geronimo, and Long can all return and haven’t entered the transfer portal as of Apr. 2.
Gillespie’s job will be simple – direct traffic to get Reese and Queen enough touches, but pick your spots to score. Harris-Smith and Geronimo can also get buckets when needed, so Gillespie won’t be left to dry out there. He’ll likely be the third scoring option, but making sure the two stars down low can get easy buckets will be his number one task.
Last season, Maryland didn’t have good point guard play. The Terrapins averaged 10.9 APG, 334th in the country. Gillespie will need to be a key factor in turning that around. Having a star in Queen should also help.
Grade & Final thoughts
A
Gillespie is exactly what Maryland basketball needs in a point guard. Someone who can make the right play and get others involved but who will benefit the offense in multiple ways. Lets not forget how dreadful Maryland was at scoring the ball last year – shooting under 30% from three as a team. Not only will Gillespie find his teammates, but he can also knock down triples.
He can work hand in hand in getting the bigs touches, while also finding open spots on the perimeter when they kick it back out.
I’m sure Maryland fans may prefer a power conference player. There’s always some type of a risk when a mid-major star moves up to the big leagues, but Gillespie isn’t a typical mid-major player. He’s still only going to be a junior and already plays like he’s been in college for five years. Safe to say Willard might increase his popularity after this offseason’s recruiting.