FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Anthony Cowan Jr. has one more chance to lead Maryland to March glory

Anthony Cowan Jr. has one more chance to lead Maryland to March glory

In the moments before the Maryland men's basketball team plays its season finale against Michigan, the seniors will step onto the Xfinity Center court for one final hoorah. The sellout crowd will roar for Anthony Cowan Jr. - the four-year starter who's never missed a game, a player who has climbed Maryland's all-time lists with games still to go and played the hero when the Terps have needed one.

It's a safe bet Cowan's accomplishments will be addressed when he is introduced on senior day - 129 games, 4,355 minutes, 1,861 points, 576 assists and 89 wins - but Maryland fans will barely hear those numbers over the applause. A high school star at St. John's in the District, Cowan stayed close and has been embraced during his entire career at College Park.

But for all Cowan has done with Maryland basketball, his most important task yet will come after the pregame festivities - in those next 40 minutes, when Maryland could earn a Big Ten title with a win over No. 25 Michigan, and in the weeks that follow.

The Terrapins haven't won a conference title of any type since 2010, two seasons before Coach Mark Turgeon took over the program. Maryland hasn't won a conference tournament since 2004. The team hasn't earned better than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament since 2002, when the Terps earned a No. 1 seed and won the national title. That was the last time Maryland advanced past the Sweet 16.

Cowan is keenly aware of the program's recent failings.

"I want to win something," Cowan said in October. "I want a ring. I want something that hasn't been done around here in a long time."

The senior made certain his teammates heard him say that, because he wanted them to believe. This month brings the opportunity to back up the statement, starting Sunday against the Wolverines (19-11, 10-9) in the Terps' final home game.

No. 9 Maryland (23-7, 13-6) seeks to regain its footing after losing three of its past four following a nine-game winning streak that saw it surge to the top of the Big Ten. The Terps' lone win during its recent stretch was at Minnesota, a team with a losing conference record. Maryland needed Darryl Morsell's three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining to secure that win.

Maryland lost at Ohio State, against Michigan State at home and, most recently, at Rutgers with an uninspiring defensive effort.

"We understand what's at stake, but we also understand that at the end of the day, we're playing basketball," Cowan said after his team lost to the Scarlet Knights. "We've got to have fun with it."

All season, even while Maryland played well, Cowan was quick to remind others that the team hadn't accomplished anything yet. He repeatedly expressed variations of that sentiment when speaking to the media. Now, as Maryland hopes to regain its form from earlier this winter, Cowan will be looked to by teammates to spark confidence and get the group back on track.

"It's definitely up to me," Cowan said when asked about his role in rallying the team after recent difficulties. "It's definitely something that I'm up to doing and I want to do. You don't choose to be a leader when times get tough. That's the biggest time to be a leader."

Maryland's struggles have mirrored Cowan's shooting. Through the past four games, Cowan has shot 15 of 47 from the field, including 3 of 21 from three-point range. After Maryland's loss last week against Michigan State, his third straight game without making a three, the senior insisted, "I'm going to get back to it." Against Rutgers in the team's next outing, he made 3 of 9 shots from deep.

Through the difficult stretch, Cowan has been "the same Anthony," Morsell said. Cowan focuses on the big picture and rarely shows emotion. Even when he scored the final 11 points to lead Maryland's comeback win at Michigan State last month, he hardly flashed a smile. After that game, he again emphasized that his team hadn't won a title yet.

Turgeon said it's his job to ensure Cowan isn't letting expectations weigh too heavily on him. The team has enough talented players that the load doesn't need to fall on him every night. Cowan just needs to relax, Turgeon said. He then referenced the win over Minnesota, during which Cowan only had 10 points but also finished with nine assists.

"There's a lot on his plate," Turgeon said. "But he can handle it. He's had a heck of a year. If other guys step up and play well, that'll take a little pressure off Anthony, too."

Heading into the postseason a year ago, the oft-mentioned story line was that Maryland hadn't won a game in the conference tournament or NCAA tournament the previous two seasons. In Cowan's mind, that was an indictment of his own postseason performances. "Everybody knows that," he said the day before Maryland played its first NCAA tournament game last season.

The Terps beat Belmont in the first game of the tournament, alleviating some of the pressure that came from the streak of three consecutive postseason losses spanning two seasons. Two days later, Maryland's season ended with a loss to LSU.

But even with that weight lifted, Cowan played poorly in those tournament games, and took that into the offseason. That's the time of year when leaders are supposed to be at their best, and Cowan knows he wasn't. Before this season, Cowan remembered how his teammates stepped up, but said, "It was me who wasn't totally there."

So now comes Cowan's final March in a Terps uniform. He's the reason coaches want to have seniors; they understand what this all means and the disappointment that comes with falling short.

More often than not, Cowan has been the best version of himself in critical moments this season, hitting particularly important shots at Michigan State and Illinois. Cowan has made three-pointers more often than he missed in the final three minutes of games this season.

"He's always been someone to play with a chip on his shoulder and felt like he's got something to prove," Morsell said. "He's definitely proved that he's one of the best guards in the country."

Once Maryland tips off against Michigan, and the 40-minute campaign to earn a conference title commences, Cowan will begin his final stretch of games as a Terrapin. From here on out, each contest will carry major implications. And each one will allow Cowan the chance to be the version of himself Maryland so desperately needs.

 

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