Few follow Big Ten basketball as closely as Isaac Trotter, who covers college hoops for CBSSports.com. He’s been following Maryland’s rebuild and one thing has stood out the most.
“They’ve instantly become one of the most athletic teams in the Big Ten. I think when you see the addition of Pharrell Payne, when you see Solomon Washington and when you see Elijah Saunders, those three guys just to start there, the size, the physicality and the pop is just something that’s different. And I think that Buzz does a really nice job of recruiting guys that fit exactly with what he wants to play like and we know what Buzz Williams basketball looks like,” he told Steven Gorgei on his Route 1 Rundown podcast.
Trotter went in-depth on Maryland, including Kevin Willard’s quote that, “I’ve never seen a place that cares less about winning in basketball.”
“Yeah, I think that that quote is hyperbole and I think anybody who knows Kevin Willard and has talked to him a little bit, there is maybe some over-dramatization at times that we’ve heard from him. You know, there have been times where a couple years ago at Big Ten Media Days, he’ll say crazy things. Last year, he said some funny stuff,” he said.
“I just don’t think that’s accurate. Point blank. I just don’t think that’s accurate. And I understand where he’s coming from, the frustration of it. There was a lot of turmoil at Maryland, as you’ve well documented over the past, up the chain, so to speak. And I think that there is maybe a little bit of a gap between what Kevin Willard believed, like, his resources were required to win a national championship and what Maryland thought was possible at that job. And I think that might be more of the disconnect.”
Maryland’s rugged new frontcourt has caught his attention.
“I’ve called Solomon Washington maybe the best wing defender in college basketball. I genuinely believe that. I think that he goes in every night and could guard the best wings in the Big Ten and believes that he can turn their water off. And then when you weaponize Pharrell Payne and then you bring in Elijah Saunders, who is a big-time athlete, I think rim defense and dominating at the rim on both ends is going to be a strength.”
More below from Trotter on Maryland’s X-factor, Willard’s claims and Buzz Williams:
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