A new potential starting five for Maryland men's basketball in 2025?

The lineup features completely new faces to College Park, all of whom were, in fact, transfers added in the offseason. The junior guard duo of Myles Rice (Indiana) and Isaiah Watts (Washington State) will operate the backcourt. Moving on to the frontcourt, we will see three seniors in Solomon Washington (Texas A&M), Elijah Saunders (Virginia), and Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M).

Although starting five is entirely different, they have some advantages: experience, familiarity, and an underdog mentality. Rice spoke on this earlier this offseason in his introduction interview with Maryland, identifying this team as being labeled as a group "written off" by the media and people.

Each player has gotten a chance to play in different roles and spots throughout their career, and will have the opportunity to step up and lead the Terps to continue success on the floor.

Rice will get a chance to operate the point, attacking the basket with his speed and driving ability while setting up opportunities for his teammates. He'll look to improve as a consistent shooter, which he has shown he's capable of in the past at Washington State in 2023.

Moving on to his backcourt mate in Watts, with whom he was a teammate back at Washington State. Watts is different from Rice, where he's a pure scorer on the offensive end, loves to spot up and score off-the-dribble jumpers, and is a sneaky athletic finisher at the rim when he takes it to the inside. He brings a lot of energy and swagger to the floor, and also can be disruptive in the passing lanes.

Saunders averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds on 83.3 % shooting from the line and 34.7% from behind the arc. He can help space the floor with his steady shooting outside the line and provide active defensive energy.

Finally, Payne and Washington, who both played for Williams last season, joined him at Maryland. Payne showcased his potential to be a reliable scorer in the second half of the season, especially in the NCAA tournament, where he scored 25 points in the first round and 26 in the second round against Michigan. Williams will gain an opportunity to be counted on for a bigger role, bringing his highly elite defense and great rebounding to the frontcourt, providing a much-needed presence down low.