Pharrel Payne’s return to Maryland men’s basketball will draw the majority of fans’ attention this season — and rightfully so. But the Terps depth lies in the backcourt, with prominent players from the transfer portal and recruiting class pairing up with two returning guards.
Head coach Buzz Williams brought in five guards during the offseason to replace Maryland’s departing backcourt production. The new talent has already been showcased in two public exhibition games — the backcourt accounted for 31 of the Terps’ 45 first-half points against Georgia Tech.
With half of Maryland’s roster listed as guards, Williams will have several options to choose from on a nightly basis. But that is a good problem for the second-year coach to have.
Scoring hinges on Andre Mills
In an otherwise disastrous 2025-26 campaign for Maryland, Andre Mills was a bright spot. Mills poured in 12.2 points per game last season, but the majority of that production came after Payne’s season-ending injury.
He had double-digit points in 11 of the final 13 games, averaging nearly 18 points per game during that stretch. Mills posted a career-high 39 points against Northwestern, shooting 12-for-17 from the field.
But Buzz Williams cited his efficiency as an area of improvement at Big Ten Media Day.
“Some of the things that he did for us were incredibly good, but also somewhat inefficient,” Williams said. “But it was because we were asking him to do something that he really wasn’t quite prepared for.”
Mills has flashed that efficiency through the two exhibition games. He connected on three of his five first-half shots against Georgia Tech and shot 60% from the field during his 26-point performance to help fuel Maryland’s comeback.
While Mills is listed at 6-foot-4, his craftiness and explosiveness around the rim led to some highlight-worthy plays last season.
That athleticism has helped open up his outside shot; Mills shot 34% from deep last season and knocked down four 3-pointers in the West Virginia exhibition.
Mills was asked to do a lot in his redshirt freshman season, operating as the primary ball handler and shouldering much of the scoring load. While he won’t be relied upon to run the offense, Mills likely remains Maryland’s top scoring guard.
Fighting for starter minutes
Arkansas transfer DJ Wagner will be the team’s lead facilitator and orchestrate the offense this year, joining Mills in the starting backcourt.
While Wagner is not a score-first guard — his lone double-digit scoring season came as a sophomore — he provides a level of comfort on the ball that the Terps lacked last season. Wagner has accumulated a team-high seven assists in the two preseason games. His vision has already impressed Williams.
“If you counted hockey assists in basketball, he led Xfinity in hockey assists today,” Williams said after the West Virginia exhibition. “He was throwing that ball across half court, and it was completely changing the pace in the second half.”
Mike McNair Jr. helps address one of Maryland’s biggest weaknesses from last season: 3-point shooting. The Terps finished with the fourth-worst 3-point percentage in the Big Ten despite the fifth-highest volume.
McNair is a lethal shooter from deep, nailing 44.4% of his looks at Boston University last season — good for the nation’s fifth-best clip. He has missed just two of his eight 3-point attempts thus far.
Tennessee transfer Bishop Boswell has yet to fully showcase his talent, playing just eight minutes out of injury precaution. But Boswell figures to be a key contributor off the bench alongside freshman Kaden House, who will get more analysis in Testudo Times’ freshmen preview later this week.
Boswell is a do-it-all player, averaging 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists during his 26 minutes last season. While he can produce offense when called upon, Boswell is primarily known for his stingy defense. He was second on the team with 41 steals, behind former Terp Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
“A guy that can have the ball in his hands and make plays for myself and others. A guy that kind of sets the tone on defense as well,” Boswell said.
Boswell started 33 games last season on an Elite Eight team, showcasing the backcourt talent Williams has to work with.
House is a two-way player that should boost Maryland’s bench production. The four-star recruit scored in double-figures during preseason, totaling 10 of the Terps’ 15 bench points against West Virginia. He added a pair of steals in his unofficial debut.
Bench depth pieces
Maban Jabriel — a 6-foot-9 guard, the same size as forwards Payne and Tomislav Buljan — is far from the typical player of his stature.
The Queens University transfer attempted just 87 of his 198 shots within the arc. Most of Jabriel’s shot volume came from 3-point range, where he connected on 43.2% of his attempts. That mark would have tied him for 15th in the country last season.
Guillermo Del Pino was one of two returning guards from last season, averaging just under nine minutes per game with two starts. While Del Pino’s freshman season was turbulent, the 6-foot-5 Spanish point guard is a lengthy ball handler Williams can deploy if needed.
He had 12 assists and 16 rebounds last season, but committed 14 turnovers in his 24 appearances. Del Pino is not expected to see the court much this season — he briefly appeared in the first exhibition game and made an impact.