One of the first things Selton Miguel did when he joined the Maryland men’s basketball program after transferring from South Florida was round up his new teammates for Sunday meals at Chipotle or other fast-casual places in College Park. The outreach made an impression with sophomore shooting guard DeShawn Harris-Smith.

“Selton’s always the one talking about, ‘Let’s go get lunch, let’s go do this,‘” Harris-Smith said. “So I feel like he’s been a great addition to the team, a great leader.”

Miguel, who said he did the same thing at South Florida, said the goal is to deepen the players’ bonds.

“Team chemistry doesn’t only start on the court,” the fifth-year senior shooting guard said.

How things go for the Terps this winter could depend largely on how a five-member transfer class fits in. Expectations are high that point guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont) and Jay Young (Memphis), shooting guards Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech) and Miguel, and power forward Tafara Gapare (Georgia Tech) will make an immediate impact.

After a disappointing 16-17 overall record and a 7-13 mark in the Big Ten that culminated with a second-round exit from the conference tournament, coach Kevin Willard said he and his staff took a specific approach to mining the transfer portal.

“When we went into the portal, the biggest thing that we wanted to [find] — even from guys that maybe might not start — were guys that had played a little bit that whether it was from a practice standpoint or a travel standpoint, you lose a couple games, and they still understand that there’s a lot of season left,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing that we wanted to, I wouldn’t say fix, but just adjust in what we were trying to do and not be so freshmen-heavy every year, and that’s kind of the way we’ve attacked this recruiting class.”

Experience is the tie that binds four of the transfers. Miguel played in 118 games (52 starts) at Kansas State and South Florida. Young, Gapare and Gillespie have each appeared in at least 57 games.

Add them to a mix of returners that includes senior power forward Julian Reese (St. Frances), fifth-year senior point guard Jahari Long and Harris-Smith, and the Terps feature a veteran-heavy roster that differs from last year’s group in which three freshmen and two sophomores earned somewhat significant playing time.

Harris-Smith was one of those players who was relied on to play many minutes as a freshman. A year older, he can appreciate the wisdom of stocking the lineup with teammates who know a thing or two about longevity.

How did Maryland net these transfers? Economics, according to Willard.

“We were able to be more aggressive in the portal because we had more money,” he acknowledged. “It’s kind of a cop-out, and I apologize for it, and I don’t like it. But the reality of the situation is that we had more money to be more aggressive early in the portal than we were before.”

Landing the transfers was a coup. But determining their value might be linked to whether they can help improve an offense that ranked second-to-last in 3-point percentage (.289) in the Big Ten and 350th out of 363 offenses nationally.

Gillespie, who averaged 17.2 points on 56.1% shooting last season and converted 38.7% of his 3-point attempts, shrugged off a question about dealing with pressure.

“I don’t think it’s a lot to ask,” he said. “We’re not worried about all of that. We’re really focused on trying to win as a team. So I feel like that’s really the main thing.”

The newcomers have made themselves feel at home, and mainstays like Reese have welcomed them with open arms.

“Just seeing all of the weapons we picked up in the transfer portal was awesome,” said Reese, a Randallstown native. “It’s one of the reasons why I stayed back.”

It remains to be seen whether Reese made the right decision. Gillespie said he and his fellow transfers are committed to helping their new teammates reach new heights.

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