Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice to transfer

The mass exodus from Maryland men’s basketball has begun.

One day after former coach Kevin Willard left the Terps for the vacancy at Villanova, starting guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice and reserves Tafara Gapare and Jayhlon Young entered the transfer portal on Monday.

All four players were recruited by Willard from the transfer portal a year ago. Gillespie, a point guard, made the move from Belmont; Rice, a shooting guard, arrived from Virginia Tech; Gapare, a power forward, joined from Georgia Tech; and Young, a point guard, transferred from Memphis. So their decisions to leave again should not be shocking.

The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Gillespie led Maryland in total assists (174), 3-pointers (87) and steals (69) and ranked second in scoring (14.7 points per game) and third in rebounding (2.8). He shot 45.3% from the field (180 of 397) and 40.7% from 3-point range (87 of 214) and scored 1,264 career points for the Bruins and Terps in 93 games.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Rice ranked second on the team in total 3-pointers (80) and assists (74) and third in scoring (13.8 points per game). The Clinton native and DeMatha Catholic graduate converted 43.4% of his shots (167 of 385) and revived a career that had been dormant for 600 days due to injuries and inactivity.

The 6-9, 215-pound Gapare was one of the team’s first players off the bench. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds and registered season highs in points (19), field goals (seven) and 3-pointers (three) in a 91-67 romp over Bucknell on Nov. 27.

The 6-2, 180-pound Young averaged 1.9 points and 1.2 rebounds. He set season bests in points (12) and field goals (five) in a 108-37 pummeling of Canisius on Nov. 19.

The trio of Gillespie, Rice and graduate student small forward Selton Miguel combined to connect on 242 3-pointers, which ranked as the most by any threesome in the Big Ten this past season. Their combined 3-point success rate was 40.1% (242 of 604).

Gillespie and Rice were part of the Crab Five, the Terps’ starting group that boasted a combined scoring average of 69.9 points that was the highest total for a starting five in the nation. The others were Miguel, freshman center and Baltimore native Derik Queen, and senior power forward, Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate Julian Reese.

After the team’s 87-71 loss to No. 1 seed Florida in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game on March 27, Rice noted how difficult it would be to replicate the success the Crab Five enjoyed.

“It definitely won’t be the same,” he said. “It’s definitely sad. I like this group of guys. We all hang out together. But it is what it is. It’s college basketball. People move on, people have got different things going on, people’s paths are different. I understand it, but I love these guys.”

Gillespie also acknowledged how much he would miss the current configuration.

“It sucks just because people graduate,” he said. “That’s just how it goes though. Regardless after this year, we just won’t be able to play together.”

Asked if there would be pressure on him and Gillespie to lead next year’s team, Rice replied, “It’s not a lot of pressure. We’re going to take it one day at a time and figure out what’s what and bring some guys in and let the chips fall.”

The departures of Gillespie, Rice, Gapare and Young leave Maryland with a depleted roster. Reese, Miguel and fifth-year senior small forward Jordan Geronimo have exhausted their eligibility. And Queen is expected to enter the upcoming NBA draft where he is projected by some publications as a lottery pick.

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.