What Does Darius Adams Bring to Maryland Hoops?

Maryland basketball made a big change this offseason when head coach Kevin Willard left for Villanova and the program hired Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams. Though they lost plenty of talent in the portal, including guards Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) and Rodney Rice (USC), as well as some players to Villanova to follow Willard, the Terrapins added a solid amount of talent as well.

Their new crop of players features wing Rakease Passmore (Kansas), forward Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M), forward Elijah Saunders (Virginia), guards Solomon Washington and Andre Mills (Texas A&M), as well as a decent amount of high school talent.

One such player is Darius Adams of La Lumiere in Indiana, initially a Connecticut signee who asked out of his NLI and reopened his recruitment in April of this year. He committed to Williams and Maryland over Tennessee, Michigan State, and Georgetown.

Adams, a McDonald's All-American and four-star recruit, was ranked no. 24 in the class of 2025 by On3's Industry Ranking, the no. 8 shooting guard, and the no. 3 player in the state of Indiana. A New Jersey native, Adams earned a 96.89 rating out of 100 from On3, and garnered offers from the aforementioned programs, as well as Florida, Alabama, Syracuse, Michigan, NC State, St. John's, Virginia, and Xavier, amongst many others.

What makes Darius Adams such a highly touted player begins with his shot form, which allows him to connect on looks from deep as well as hit pull-ups in the midrange out of the break. Standing at 6-foot-5, he can arc attempts over shorter defenders on the perimeter, and is also great at making reads to find open teammates, which allows him to utilize his dribble drive capabilities.

Though not a lead initiator, his passing is very promising, and he has a high IQ in general, especially on the offensive end. Though very slight of frame at just 170 pounds, Adams has a good layup package, and when he adds more to his body through a collegiate weightlifting program, he will be able to better finish through contact.

On the defensive end, he needs to improve his attention to detail, as he can sometimes ball watch and lose his man. If he can stay engaged, however, he can be a solid defensive player given his mobility. Overall, his best attributes are his burgeoning shot and his feel for the game on both ends – once he develops more physically, he can be an important part of Buzz Williams' team.