Terrapin Takes, Friday: Big Ten 2014 Schedule, Nik Caner-Medley, and Alex Len

Mar 15, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard/forward Dez Wells (32) reaches for the ball as Duke Blue Devils forward Ryan Kelly (34) and forward Mason Plumlee (5) are in the background. The Terrapins defeated the Blue Devils 83-74 during the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

• Lately the hubbub is about the Big Ten schedule being announced, and even though it’s an entire season-offseason cycle away from us, people like Tom Fornelli of CBSSports are putting Maryland in the losers column. I’m not sure that anyone in the state of Maryland thinks we’re losers in the scheduling discussion, even if we get to play Ohio State in our first home Big Ten game.
• If you’re curious about how the B1G 2014 schedule came together, this Adam Rittenberg article will pique your interest quite a bit. Apparently the fact that the Terps and Rutgers play both traditional powers (Michigan and Ohio State) on the same day (October 4th) was pure coincidence. And no one believes that except Jim Delany.
• In case anyone was wondering how the Terps fared in previous years against Big Ten opponents, well, it’s not very pretty. But keep in mind that a lot of these games were played before AOL was popular and kickers didn’t wear face masks. So I personally don’t put a lot of stock in this analysis. (The Gazette)
• Former Terp and future NBA player Alex Len might be recovering from a stress fracture in his foot, but he’s still putting in work. Len has been interviewing with NBA teams left and right before the upcoming draft, in hopes of convincing some team that he’s worth taking a flyer on. Even if he won’t be playing for a little while. I just hope the Wizards don’t land him, no matter what, because his career would be derailed before it even began. (Alex Prewitt, Washington Post)
• In other former Terps news, though a bit older, Nik Caner-Medley was hospitalized earlier this month for a heart arrhythmia suffered while playing for his Maccabi Tel Aviv team. Fortunately for you guys, I can speak Spanish, because this article is in complete Spanish. It’s still uncertain as to whether or not he’s going to be able to play again for his team this year, who made it to the quarter finals.
• ACC basketball is a ways away, but so far the verdict on the Terps is less than encouraging from some outlets, including Syracuse.com, who thinks the Terps will be middle-of-the-pack bad. They’re newcomers, so I’ll let it slide just this once, but they are right about one thing: we’re going to miss Alex Len.

Roll Terps, and congratulations to the graduating seniors!