buzz williams: Buzz Williams continues Maryland rebuild by grabbing multiple transfer portal players from former squad

The Maryland Terrapins have been through significant changes this offseason, but new coach Buzz Williams is already putting his touch on the roster.

Williams, who was hired as Maryland's coach on April 1, presented four new members on the Terrapins roster on Tuesday, with transfers who already know the coach. Pharrel Payne, Solomon Washington, Andre Mills and George Turkson, Jr., all transferred from Texas A&M to Maryland on Thursday.

Payne, the No. 36 prospect, according to 247 Sports, will be in his second go-around in the Big Ten, as he played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers before moving to College Station. The forward averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds last year for the Aggies after two years in Minnesota.

Washington has the most experience under Buzz Williams' system, as he played three years at Texas A&M under the new Terps coach. He had 4.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Aggies last season, very close to his career average.

Mills and Turkson redshirted last season but already know what the expectations for a Buzz Williams program can be. The former Aggies will join a program that will be rebuilding after a 27-9 season, with a trip to the Sweet 16, where they lost to the top-seeded Auburn Tigers.

Buzz Williams is replacing Kevin Willard, who left the program after three years to become the coach at Villanova.

How many transfers have committed to Buzz Williams and the Terrapins?

The Maryland Terrapins lost 10 players to the transfer portal ahead of last season, so the roster had to experience an extensive facelift from last year's squad. So far, Williams has landed eight transfers to College Park.

Besides the former Texas A&M players, Myles Rice (Indiana), Elijah Saunders (Virginia), Isaiah Watts (Washington State) and David Coit Jr. (Kansas) have all transferred to Maryland.

Rice is the only other top 100 player joining the squad apart from Pharrel Payne. He finished last season with 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Hoosiers. The sophomore will also get to stay in the Big 10.

Saunders also averaged in the double pigits in points, finishing with 10.1 points and five boards per game for the Cavaliers.

Maryland's transfer portal class is ranked 14th in the nation, while their recruiting class is at No. 30, highlighted by 4-star combo guard Darius Adams, a LaPorte, Indiana, native who ranks as the No. 4 combo guard in the nation.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Bhargav