Villanova basketball gained its first former Kevin Willard player via Maryland. The Terrapins lose a valuable guard presence in the process.

The Terrapins are losing combo guard Malachi Palmer to ‘Nova, per college basketball insider Dushawn London of 247Sports Sunday. Maryland loses one of its top freshman prospects from the 2024 class in the process.

The 6-foot-6 Palmer established himself as the state of Maryland's top-ranked basketball prospect by 247. He starred for Mt. Zion Prep in Baltimore. Director of scouting for 247Sports Adam Finkelstein raved about Palmer's game before his Maryland signing.

“Palmer is a big-bodied volume scorer. He’s thick and powerful from head to toe, but especially in his upper body, and able to overpower most opposing perimeter players. He plays with an aggressive scoring mentality and hunts his mid-range pull-up,” Finkelstein wrote.

Now he'll no longer represent the future of Maryland basketball. He's reuniting with his head coach in the Big East.

The Terps may have lost one of their prized young talents. But they're gaining one talent via the transfer portal. All after the Buzz Williams hire.

Williams locked in Myles Rice from Indiana Sunday. Rice spent last season with the Hoosiers, who are transitioning to their newest head coach Darian DeVries. The guard also spent two seasons with Washington State.

Rice heads to College Park after averaging 10.1 points per game under Mike Woodson. Indiana chose not to retain Woodson after the season.

The Terps, however, lost another key piece outside of Palmer on Sunday. And to the Big East. Except guard Deshawn Harris-Smith won't be heading to ‘Nova.

Harris-Smith will play for Ed Cooley and Georgetown, with Grant Grubbs of On3 confirming the move. He started in four games under Willard last season and averaged 2.5 points per game. Harris-Smith scored 11 points in his March Madness opener against Grand Canyon.

Harris-Smith and Palmer are two of six Maryland players who entered the portal following the departure of Willard. Jakobi Gillespie exited Maryland and is now at Tennessee. Maryland also lost NCAA Tournament star Derik Queen to the NBA Draft. But again, Palmer is the first to defect to Willard's new team.