Maryland Basketball: Terrapins' freshman playing beyond their years

The trio of freshman, Anthony Cowan, Justin Jackson and Kevin Huerter, have been one of the keys to Maryland basketball’s success.

The Maryland Terrapins are currently one of the top teams in the Big Ten thanks to their 15-2 overall record and 3-1 conference record. Michigan State is leading the league at 4-1, with the Terps, Wisconsin Badgers and Nebraska Cornhuskers sitting tied for second.

After losing four of their five starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, the Terps were expected to fall back into the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

Instead, Mark Turgeon’s unit has had a ton of success in close games and are riding the coattails of star Melo Trimble. But those are not the only reasons why the Terps are having ultimate success through two and a half weeks of conference play.

Maryland has also received major contributions from their three highly touted freshman, point guard Anthony Cowan, guard/forward Kevin Huerter and versatile four man Justin Jackson.

The group is averaging a combined 29.6 points, 15 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, all while showing maturity and poise that is typically not seen in first year players.

Cowan, who came to College Park as a four-star talent, is essential to Maryland’s backcourt success. The Olney, MD native gives Turgeon another ball handler and his presence takes pressure of Trimble, pushing him off the ball and giving him better angles to attack the basket.

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While Cowan provides the Terps with a lift offensively (one of four players averaging in double figures on the team), he is also tough as nails and brings excellent defensive energy. Cowan pressures the ball once the opponent crosses half court, is averaging 1.3 steals per game (the most of the team) and is not afraid of any match-up that he steps into.

The second impact freshman is Huerter, who was a four-star recruit like Cowan. The 6’7″ talent from New York is versatile enough to play both the two and the three positions, shoots the ball with a high efficiency from long range (37 percent) and is a solid rebounder for his position.

In Maryland’s win over Indiana earlier this week, Huerter hit two clutch threes down the stretch that helped the Terps wrap up a significant home victory. He also scored 26 points in a loss to Nebraska and recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in an overtime win over Richmond at the Barclays Center.

Finally, the best freshman of the bunch is Jackson. The former UNLV commit joined Turgeon’s team as the most hyped first year talent in the program.

Jackson is the second leading scorer on the team at 10.8 points per game, but also averages 5.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.5 steals. He shoots 45 percent from the field and 42 percent from three.

Beyond the stats, Jackson is a mismatch nightmare, as he can play both the three and four positions. In particular, Maryland thrives when Jackson moves to the power forward slot. Trimble and Cowan have more room to operate in pick-and-roll situations and the floor is spread with four shooters around one bruiser in the paint (Damonte Dodd or Michal Cekovsky).

Dodd and Cekovsky have battled injuries all season long and LG Gill has struggled with consistency, so Jackson very well might be the second most important player on the roster behind Trimble.

Next: Player of the Year power rankings (Edition seven)

As I mentioned previously, it’s almost a rarity to see this many freshman produce at this high of a level at a school not named Kentucky and Duke. Maryland’s role allocation has helped these youngsters adjust quickly and successfully to Big Ten play. It’s unknown as to how these three will react when March rolls around, but if it’s anything like the first half of the college basketball season, Maryland will be just fine.

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Maryland Basketball: Terrapins’ freshman playing beyond their years

By Carmine Carcieri | Jan 13, 2017

The trio of freshman, Anthony Cowan, Justin Jackson and Kevin Huerter, have been one of the keys to Maryland basketball’s success.

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