SAN FRANCISCO — It does not take long to rebuild a college basketball team, and it does not take long to tear one down, either. That is the charm and the challenge of March in the sport’s modern era: A season will end, tears will fall, and a program will be transformed, often quickly, sometimes radically.

The Maryland men’s basketball team that met Florida in the Sweet 16 did not exist in anyone’s imagination a year ago. And the fourth-seeded Terps team that left the Chase Center floor Thursday night after an 87-71 thumping will be unrecognizable from the one that takes the Xfinity Center floor for the season opener in November.

But will it be any better? Will it be any good at all? That depends on coach Kevin Willard, who has offered no assurances that he plans to stick around in College Park. That depends on Maryland’s athletic department, which, if it can’t convince Willard to turn down Villanova with promises of a better-funded program, would have to find a replacement with an interim athletic director in charge. And that depends on the millions of dollars that build teams in offseason spending sprees — money for transfers, yes, but also money to keep players out of the transfer portal.

The only thing that could’ve kept the Terps’ “Crab Five” together this season was another win Thursday, and the top-seeded Gators extinguished that possibility midway through the second half. Senior forward Julian Reese and graduate student guard Selton Miguel are out of eligibility. Freshman center Derik Queen, who had a game-high 27 points, is a projected lottery pick in June’s NBA draft.

Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and sophomore guard Rodney Rice could return to College Park next season and form one of the country’s best backcourts — but for whom? And for how much? Willard said in a radio interview Tuesday that some recruits in the portal are asking for over $2 million. Gillespie, an All-Big Ten Conference selection who left Belmont for Maryland after two seasons, would be coveted. So would Rice, a lightly regarded Virginia Tech transfer who developed into one of the league’s best shooters this season under Willard.

“I feel like we overcame a lot of adversity this year,” Gillespie said Thursday. “Nobody expected us to be here.”

If Willard leaves, nobody might expect them back, either. The transfer portal opened this week, and with revenue sharing coming to college sports, the war chests are bigger than ever. A new Terps coach would barely have the time to find a red tie for his introductory news conference before plunging headfirst into roster construction.

It’s not an ideal starting point. If Maryland moves quickly, a replacement could be days late to the portal — and, with former athletic director Damon Evans already off to Southern Methodist, the gears of change could move slower than they need to. If Maryland takes its time to find a new coach, careful to vet both established names and promising up-and-comers, the next coach could be at least a week late to the portal. By then, Gillespie and Rice might’ve already put themselves on the market.

When Willard was introduced as the Terps’ coach in March 2022, he called it a “top-10 job in college basketball.” But the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals have changed college basketball. Maryland’s tradition, recruiting grounds and location matter less in an era when its roster budget can be limiting enough for the coach to consider looking elsewhere.

“I love College Park. I love Maryland,” Willard said Thursday. “But, when you’re at this point in your career and you’re looking at things, I have to take everything into consideration moving forward.”

That goes for the players, too. In a somber locker room, Gillespie said the Terps’ 27-win season had given the program a foundation for success. He said the team “definitely brought Maryland back.” But he knows next year would be different. All the players do.

“I think this family’s going to be OK regardless,” said Miguel, who transferred in himself last offseason. “I think, whether Willard stays or not, they will be fine.”

As the locker room cleared out Thursday night, it was easy to be optimistic. It was easy to be pessimistic, too.