DeShawn Harris-Smith joined Maryland men’s basketball two years ago with high expectations and aspirations of being a one-and-done NBA prospect.

The former four-star prospect from Woodbridge, Virginia, was the Terps’ fifth-best recruit since 2000, according to 247Sports. Harris-Smith arrived at Maryland after winning Washington Post All-Met and Virginia Gatorade player of the year honors at St. Paul VI.

But his two seasons in College Park were a disappointment. Harris-Smith averaged 4.8 points a game on 37.5 percent shooting and, after earning All-Big Ten team honors as a freshman, shifted to a bench role last season.

Six months later, with the Terps’ program completely revamped, Harris-Smith will return to Xfinity Center on Friday as a Hoya.

The now-junior guard transferred to Georgetown after former Maryland basketball coach Kevin Willard left for Villanova. When he walks back into his old home arena for the first time, the court and rims will look exactly the same. There won’t be any familiar faces, as walk-on guard Lukas Sotell is the only returning player or coach from last year.

But the memories will likely come flooding back.

Harris-Smith reflected on his time at Maryland in an interview with The Diamondback last week. The guard owned his struggles, and he said he felt most of his issues “was just on me.”

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“[I] kind of got in my head a little bit, worried about fans and stuff like that,” Harris-Smith said. “But, I mean, I feel like that’s a lesson I need to learn sooner rather than later, so I’m blessed that I got to learn that at Maryland.”

Harris-Smith said fans’ discourse “somewhat” played a role in his struggles, but that his own expectations were likely bigger than the ones anyone had for him. His mom, Ericka Harris, said she felt the fans took things too far at times.

Harris said her son received death threats after Maryland’s loss to Marquette in November 2024, when Harris-Smith missed two game-tying free throws late in the fourth quarter. She said he took a break from social media during that period.

“It’s like, I understand you guys are fans, but at the end of the day, these still are people with feelings,” Harris said. “They’re just so quick to criticize — not only DeShawn, the players in general.”

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Harris-Smith worked with a sports psychologist during his time at Maryland, according to his mom. It was an effort to “help him get out of his head,” his mom said.

Those moments didn’t take away from his time in College Park, though. Harris-Smith said he loves the Maryland fans and is very appreciative that he played in College Park for two years.

He cited making lifelong friends, playing alongside now-NBA players including Derik Queen and Jahmir Young and forming a close bond with Willard, who Harris-Smith called “one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had in my life.”

Harris-Smith also provided insight into Maryland’s drama-filled NCAA tournament. He felt Willard remained fully bought in amid rumors of his move to Villanova, and said the coach was at every team meal and even cried in the locker room after the Terps’ Sweet 16 loss to Florida.

“I feel like I could speak for a lot of my teammates [in] that I don’t think it affected us as much as people try and make it seem,” Harris-Smith said. “If you was in the circle, you would know he wasn’t acting no different, he wasn’t acting like he was one foot out the door.”

Once Willard left for Villanova, Harris-Smith said he was 90 percent sure he would enter the transfer portal. But when Maryland hired Buzz Williams, a coach he heard a lot of great things about, Harris-Smith chose to meet with Williams. He eventually decided to enter the portal anyway, believing it was best to get a fresh start.

Harris-Smith has since moved on from Maryland, and there are few remnants of the last era in College Park. But Friday will offer one last chance for him to make his mark on Xfinity Center — just maybe not in the way he originally expected.

“Should be an exciting matchup,” Harris-Smith said.