Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2019-2020 season

By Austin Walther

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: The Maryland Terrapins huddle together as they take on the LSU Tigers during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – MARCH 23: The Maryland Terrapins huddle together as they take on the LSU Tigers during the second half of the game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vystar Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3) Maryland Terrapins

Bruno Fernando is once again testing the NBA draft waters. But this time, he gets to hire an agent and let the Terrapins fans sweat even more. Joining him in that process is Anthony Cowan. Fernando was told he wasn’t quite ready for the NBA two season’s ago. His scoring went up over three points, rebounds in double-digits helping him average a double-double. The sophomore’s field goal percentage was over 60 percent, earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten team.

Cowan was a higher rated recruited than Fernando was in both of the years he was listed. But no one was expecting Cowan to leave early. He’s in the draft process, but there’s a better chance he comes back than Fernando. Even if Maryland just gets Cowan back, that’ll be huge. He’s basically a second coming of Melo Trimble, but isn’t getting that kind of attention because Cassius Winston holds the title as the Big Ten’s best point guard.

The only guy Maryland is losing for certain is bottom of the rotation player Ivan Bender. His numbers have decreased throughout his four season’s after Maryland has collected six top-100 recruits. Darryl Morsell came in 2017. He’s a six-foot-five guard who has been a very nice role player in two years. Last year’s class was a big reason why Maryland returned to the NCAA Tournament and came within two points from reaching the sweet 16.

Jalen Smith was the headliner of this past season’s recruiting class. He was just one of two five-star recruits that the Big Ten had. Smith was a key part to Maryland’s big-three. He’s a six-foot-10, 215-pound big man that can stretch the floor. He was probably expecting more than just 19 triples, but it was better than where they were at.

Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins are the other two from the terrific class. They both proved to be solid wing players, combining for over 100 three-pointers apiece, playing in all 34 games. The Terps have another top-100 guy coming in. Makhi Mitchell is a six-foot-nine, 225-pound center who would probably do a great job in replacing Fernando if he were to stay in the draft.

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