The portal class: Tafara Gapare, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Selton Miguel and Rodney Rice.
Team portal ranking: No. 18
Bossi’s breakdown: Kevin Willard is bringing one of the more intriguing classes in the country to Maryland. It features a lot of perimeter help and a high-upside wildcard in the frontcourt.
The Terps wasted little time in getting Gillespie done. The Tennessee native had an outstanding sophomore season at Belmont and many believe he may ultimately have NBA upside. Gillespie is strong, elusive with ball, and an extremely efficient a scorer at the point guard spot. There will be an adjustment to the overall size and athleticism he’ll face in the Big Ten, but Gillespie is a guard with few holes in his game and looks ready to take over in College Park.
A well-regarded four-star prospect coming out of high school, Rice only played eight games during his freshman year at Virginia Tech before sitting out the 2023-24 season. He’s got some size and if he’s back to 100%, he should be a shooting threat from deep.
On his third school, Miguel is a seasoned veteran who will add strength and toughness on the wing. He’s played nearly 120 college games and racked up almost 1,200 career points. Guys like him have proven to be pretty reliable contributors during a fifth year.
Then there’s Gapare. A long, slender and athletic forward with a high ceiling. He’s not been able to figure things out during stops at UMass and Georgia Tech. Is the third time the charm for him? We’ll say this, if he can be consistent with his effort, Gapare’s got all of the tools to finally show why he was ranked in the top-70 of the national rankings as a high school prospect.
