If you think scoring against Julian Reese would be hard, try getting a laugh out of the 6-foot-9, 252-pound senior power forward for Maryland men’s basketball.

The stoic Reese acknowledged that there are certain times of the day when he might be more receptive to cracking a smile or breaking out in laughter. “If you catch me after practice, I might be a little more smiles,” he said. But one memory that delights him is when the Terps upset No. 3 Purdue, 68-54, on Feb. 16, 2023 and fans at Xfinity Center in College Park stormed the court.

“That was just a great night with a lot of things happening,” he said Monday afternoon. “I had fun. It was just overall a great night and a great time and probably one of the funnest games I played in.”

The memories might continue to flow this week as Reese approaches Saturday’s game against Northwestern, which will mark his final home game in a Maryland uniform. The Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate is one of nine players in school history to amass 1,300 points and 900 rebounds and is on pace to join Len Elmore as the only players to reach 1,000 rebounds.

Along with graduate students Selton Miguel and Jayhlon Young, fifth-year seniors Jordan Geronimo and Jahari Long, and senior Ben Murphy, Reese will be celebrated before the No. 13 Terps (22-7, 12-6 Big Ten) meet the Wildcats (16-14, 7-12) at 3 p.m. It is a moment that coach Kevin Willard had hoped to delay.

“This will be a Senior Night that I do not want to go to because he has been one of my favorite people to coach,” he said during a Talkin’ Terps radio show broadcast on Feb. 24. “He’s been one of my favorite players by far of all time, and I’m just so thankful for him, his loyalty, his family and just how consistent he’s been.”

Since joining Maryland, Reese has played for three head coaches: Mark Turgeon, Danny Manning and Willard. He has experienced the lows of sub-.500 seasons that resulted in absences from the NCAA Tournament and the highs of a 22-13 campaign in 2022-23 that ended in a loss to Alabama in the second round of the postseason.

That helps explain why Reese, a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention, is thankful for the current team’s success.

“Throughout the years, I felt like we had amazing potential in my freshman year, especially with a new coaching staff the next year and just building off of that,” he said. “I’m just grateful to be a part of our new culture here. Being here from the start, it just means a lot to me.”

A relentless rebounder and defender, Reese has worked to refine his game on the offensive end. Willard said Reese worked daily in the summer of 2023 to hone his hook shot and jumper and then last summer to improve his free-throw shooting.

This winter, Reese’s scoring average of 13.3 points is slightly off last year’s career high of 13.7, his rebounding average of 9.4 almost matches his personal best of 9.5, and his total of 36 assists has him on the cusp of breaking his career high of 41. His biggest improvement has occurred at the foul line where he has converted 72.7% (93 of 128) compared to last season’s rate of 56.8% (121 of 213).

“I feel like I’ve been progressing as a player,” he said. “I’ve felt like I’ve become more of a smart and confident player that’s able to do a lot of things that I wasn’t able to do as a freshman.”

Perhaps the one defining characteristic of Reese’s career is his pledge to the Terps during an era when the transfer portal and NIL deals have watered down the definition of loyalty. His older sister Angel left Maryland for LSU after her sophomore year in 2021-22, but Reese is the rare player who remained at his original school for four years.

“I think he should be complimented for staying all four years,” Maryland Sports Radio Network play-by-play broadcaster Johnny Holliday said. “With the climate today, that doesn’t happen. I think it takes a special kid to do that, to make a commitment to a university and give them four years. He could have gone somewhere else last year, the year before. When his sister transferred, I think the radar went up, ‘Well, maybe Julian is going to go.’ But no, he stuck it out. He’s gone through three coaches, he’s had to adjust to three different styles, and he’s done that beautifully.”

In a starting five dubbed the Crab Five that consists of three transfers and one freshman, Reese is the only holdover from last season. Willard said Reese’s presence has had a calming effect on his teammates, especially center Derik Queen, a Baltimore resident who spent his freshman year with Reese at St. Frances before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida.

“Ju’s sacrificed a lot early,” Willard said. “Derek coming in as a McDonald’s All-American, I thought he sacrificed a lot early. And I think the other guys realized if you’re a veteran player who’s been here for four years, and like I said, should go down as one of the best players ever played at the University of Maryland, if he’s sacrificing from Day One, and the McDonald’s All-American’s coming with all his hype, he’s sacrificing, that maybe we should all get along. So I think those two guys set the tone early on. But I probably give most credit to Julian because he probably had to, coming into his senior year, being the only guy that’s been here. I thought his unselfishness really set the tone.”

Saturday’s game won’t be Reese’s last as the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments beckon next week and beyond. But it hasn’t stopped his mind from wandering back over his career in College Park.

“I’ve kind of been thinking about it the last couple weeks,” he said. “It’s my last season, and I’ve been getting reminders from Coach that I got only a few left. Just taking advantage of the time I got left here and just leaving my mark.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.