Kevin Willard didn’t mince words Tuesday afternoon at B1G Media Days in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Maryland head coach told reporters that this incoming class of freshmen is the best he’s ever had, also specifically mentioning DeShawn Harris-Smith as “the most talented player, probably the most physically gifted basketball player I’ve ever been able to coach so far.”

A reminder: Kevin Willard has been a head coach since 2008.

The Terps 2023 recruiting class is indeed impressive. Harris-Smith Jamie Kaiser are both top 75 prospects and the Terps finished with the No. 20 class in the country.

Here’s Willard’s full quote on his incoming freshman class:

“Yeah, our freshman class is the best freshman class I’ve ever had. DeShawn Harris-Smith is by far the most talented player, probably the most physically gifted basketball player I’ve ever been able to coach so far. Jamie Kaiser was a former quarterback and played football. So they’ve been able to come in with Jordan and really kind of embrace how we want to play at the level we want to play at. It’s been, like I said, practices have been unbelievable. We can’t go that long because they’re so competitive, they’re so physical. We look like a Big Ten team, where last year we had to really fight to be a Big Ten team. This year we look like a Big Ten team, and I think we can compete a little bit higher level because of that.”

Maryland tips off its season on November 7 against Mount St. Mary’s.