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Maryland Basketball: Anthony Cowan Continues to Improve

By John Niswander

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 26: Anthony Cowan #0 of the Maryland Terrapins drives into the lane against the Kansas State Wildcats in the first half during the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 26, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 26: Anthony Cowan #0 of the Maryland Terrapins drives into the lane against the Kansas State Wildcats in the first half during the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic at Barclays Center on November 26, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Sophomore guard Anthony Cowan has emerged as a leader for Maryland this season. Cowan has taken over the reins on offense this year after star point-guard Melo Trimble left school after his junior season to pursue the NBA.

Cowan’s numbers are up all across the board. Here is a snapshot from ESPN of his season averages both to date this year and from his freshman year.

SEASONMINFGM-FGAFG%3P%FTM-FTAFT%REBASTBLKSTLTOPTS
2017-1834.84.2-9.5.439.3755.8-6.8.8644.74.50.21.53.015.8
2016-1729.02.9-6.9.424.3213.6-4.7.7693.93.70.21.22.310.3

One positive to note is Cowan’s improved free-throw percentage. He has upped that percentage nearly 10%, which that one point on a made or missed free-throw could decide a tight conference game come March basketball.

Cowan has shown a maturity on the court with his demeanor this season. He attributed his improved body language to Trimble who mentored and taught him to never show too much positive or negative emotion in a game in order to stay in a proper state of mind and focused.

One negative to note is the sheer number of minutes Cowan has played so far this season. He is averaging nearly 35 minutes a game. He also has logged the most minutes of any Terrapin this season by a wide margin.

The next closest Terp to Cowan in terms of minutes played is Kevin Huerter, at 29 less in total (453-424).

Without a true back-up point guard on the roster behind Cowan, it is tough to give the sophomore much rest in important and tightly-contested games.

This could be a concern down the stretch after a long and grinding season, the wear and tear on the young point guard could show its signs, and potentially wear him down and slow his production at the most crucial part of the season.

Look for Anthony Cowan to be a contender for First-Team All-Defense for the Big Ten as he leads the team in steals at 1.5 per game and has a tenacity for sticking with his man on the defensive end.