At Kevin Willard’s introductory news conference in March 2022, the Maryland men’s basketball coach vowed to bring local recruits to College Park and continue building a staff with local ties.
Willard landed three local recruits on the 2023-24 roster: guard DeShawn Harris-Smith of Paul VI, St. Frances Academy guard Jahnathan Lamothe and forward Jamie Kaiser (who is from Northern Virginia) of IMG Academy. Then in April, Maryland hired Mike Jones, a former DeMatha coach with a history of producing professionals.
After two down seasons and a coaching change, Maryland surpassed expectations in 2022-23 with a 22-13 record and a trip to the NCAA tournament.