Anthony Cowan, a four-year starting guard from Maryland, is the latest Terrapin to attempt to make the jump to the NBA level.
He and Jalen Smith are hoping to become the sixth and seventh Terrapins in the last five years to be drafted and the 61st and 62nd players overall. During his four seasons at Maryland, he averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 40.5% from the floor, 33.8% from 3 and 81.1% from the free-throw line.
He spoke to USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire about his family’s deep Maryland background, hopes of starting a podcast with guests from around the league and the different skills that he could bring to an NBA team.
Please note this interview was very minorly edited for brevity and clarity.
Thanks for your time today, Anthony. How have you been spending your time during this quarantine?
Anthony Cowan: I’m just trying to stay productive. We’re trying to do the regular in-house workout. I’m actually starting a podcast coming up.
You became the all-time leader in consecutive starts for Maryland. How important was it for you to be a reliable, consistent presence for your teammates?
AC: I think that’s also something I can bring to the next level. Obviously, you never know with injuries. I’m someone that’s always prepared, someone that always tries to stay ready and that is something that I am trying to also bring to the next level. It was something that made my family very proud. Some of my family grew up in Maryland and were always huge fans of some of the players, so just to have my name in that kind of conversation with Juan Dixon and the Walt Williams and Steve Blake, it’s huge.
I know you got a video from MLB iron man Cal Ripken Jr. and that you did not originally know who he was at first. Now that you’ve had time to digest that and learn why he’s so important to the game, what did that mean for you?
AC: [Laughs] That was huge to get recognition from someone like that. He is huge around the area and someone that people have been looking up to for so long. For him to give me a couple of minutes of recognition for breaking that record at Maryland was huge for me and I really appreciated it. Also, my grandfather is a huge baseball fan. Through his eyes, just to see how that moment came to fruition, that was a great moment.
What were some of your favorite memories from playing at Maryland?
AC: Freshman year, my favorite moment was when I hit a 3-pointer against Ohio State at home that clinched the game. It was a huge game, we needed it. My sophomore year, I shot a deep 3-pointers against Butler that sealed that game as well. That was a very fun game. Then junior year was a really fun year. Bruno Fernando and I both had really good games and the atmosphere was crazy. Then as a senior, my big shot against Illinois was probably my favorite moment.
You guys took home the regular-season title in the Big Ten. Tell me about what that meant to you, to go out as a winner.
AC: It was huge because you never know your circumstances. I mean, I remember telling my teammates the last game, don’t take anything for granted. I think even before the season even started, we always said we didn’t want to have those what-ifs type moments. Like, what if we did something else and a different outcome could have happened. It was just great to see how it all came together in terms of we were able to finish it out and bring home the Big Ten title.
Unfortunately, we did end up getting a pretty big what-if moment because of the pandemic. How are some ways that you’re coping with that?
AC: I’m not sitting around crying about it anymore. All I can do is look forward to the future and set myself up in a position where I can be successful, that’s just getting better however I can, into the situations with basketball, and then also staying productive.
What do you think the ceiling was this year for you and your team?
AC: I didn’t think there was a ceiling. I think we were kind of catching fire at the right time. I think our last game against Michigan, everybody that played in it had a really good game. We were all starting to turn it on. We were just getting ready for that conference tournament. So, I didn’t think there was a ceiling. I think we could have definitely won the championship.
I know you are one of the faster players on the court. How do you use your speed in the game?
AC: I’m able to get into the lane and I’m able to make plays for others while also being able to make plays for myself. I’m able to stay in front of my man. I play the game the right way. I’m always finding the man that’s open, finding the man that’s hot. I’m always keeping everybody happy. I think that’s the point guard’s job and I think that’s something I’ve been doing my whole career. That’s definitely something I can bring to the table.
One thing that I think is your most elite skill set is how efficient you are in isolation. How did you get to be such an efficient player creating offense for yourself?
AC: I played a lot of one-on-one against a lot of really good players. When I was young I always wanted to play against the older guys. They were the top guys that were really good. I remember going to camp and I was super young, but I always wanted to play up against their varsity players. I wanted to play one-on-one to see how my skills could go against them. Over time, I started learning and trying different moves and different ways to get past my defender. When they started working and started clicking for me over the years, I just kept getting better at them. The NBA has a lot more space to make plays not only for yourself but for others. I think that’s what small guards really bring to the table.
I’ve heard that you watch Damian Lillard highlights every morning. How did you get into doing that?
AC: Yeah [Laughs]. I was in grad school last year and didn’t have much to do besides online classes. One week, I didn’t have anything due until Sunday. So I had so much time on my hands. I started a little routine. Usually, I would wake up, have a nice bowl of cereal, then I just started watching highlights. I went through Damian Lillard’s highlights. Some of the moves he was doing, they were really unique. I really liked them. I started trying a couple of them in practice. So ever since then, I’ll always watch Damian Lillard highlights.
How would you rate your abilities playing off the ball, like shooting from handoffs or coming off screens?
AC: One of the things I have learned was how to use my footwork. I was going into a lot of drills not using the best footwork. Now, I can use better work to not only get a shot off the quickest but also get the shot off as efficiently as possible. So I think I worked on that a lot. One of my coaches here, Matt Brady, really helped me a lot with the footwork and getting shots off. It definitely helped me a lot.
How many people from your family have gone to Maryland?
AC: My, mom my dad my uncle, two of my aunts, my grandmother. I want to say like five or six of us, six or seven of us.
Based on what you’re telling me, education is a huge part of your family. How much did they instill the value of education for you?
AC: It was huge. I think my parents sacrificed a lot for me to get the best education. I think it started early when I was in middle school. I went to Mater Dei. That’s the school that really set me up to my academic path to be able to sustain a lot of the work. Then from there, I was able to go to St. John’s. I was able to do really well there and then come to Maryland and be able to focus throughout all the time management that you got to put in in order to do well academically. I was able to do that in three years here, as well.
You played football growing up, right? But your mom told you to stop because she didn’t like you getting hit. How far do you think you could have gone in football?
AC: Oh, I could have gone super far at football. I honestly think, my dad tells me this all the time, he thought I was better at football than I was at basketball. I honestly think I could’ve gone really far in football.
Were you a running back with your size or what?
AC: Honestly, I played everything. But if I really think I wanted to take it seriously, I would have definitely looked into being a corner or a safety, something like those two things. I think I would be really good at it.
I know a lot of people describe you as pretty scrappy, pretty tough. How do you think football helped you to get that way?
AC: I remember days where I was leaving football practice and going to a basketball game. That’s just how I was raised. I think it helped so much with the contact of basketball as well as being able to play physically. It’s the little things: being able to not be scared to run through screens, not be scared to set screens, just the physicality of it helps me so much.
I would love to hear a little bit about some of the ways that you see yourself transitioning that tenacity to the next level.
AC: I think in the NBA, it’s a lot about space and being able to reach the man and be able to make plays for others, especially at the point guard position. I think I can do that. I think I can do that at a high level. Especially on the defensive end, I know guards are big on being able to always be under the ball. I think I’m used to that. Lastly, I’m just bringing winning all over the board. I think I’ve been doing that my whole career, so I’m definitely going to bring that to the next level with me.
How would you describe your personality to an NBA team?
AC: I’m honestly real laid back. Like, a lot of people say that, but I’m honestly really laid back. You’ll see me on video games relaxing … Just watching film, watching YouTube — I’m a hoops junkie, so I’m always in the game somehow, I’m either playing video games or looking at YouTube or listening to a podcast, trying to get some knowledge, so I’m very laid back.
Tell me a little bit more about the podcast! I think that’s a really great idea.
AC: So my agent and I came up with the name One Stop. I have some really good ideas for it already. Basically, players will talk about their college experiences and how their passion for basketball started. Also, we’re gonna bring them outside the basketball world a little bit. They can talk about their fashion a little bit, they can talk about video games. I figured everybody is sitting around bored and they want some type of entertainment, so what better way to help that than to do a podcast?
Where did that interest in podcasts come from? Are there other podcasts you listen to, did you study journalism, stuff like that?
AC: I wanted to learn more about the media side of the business because I always enjoyed the player-to-media relationship. I think that would be huge for me. I was a communication major. I graduated in communications with a degree in three years. I took a sports journalism class with Tony Kornheiser from Pardon the Interruption. Even though that wasn’t really a podcast, just the whole thing about talking about sports and breaking them down, I always enjoyed it. I mean, I’m always watching podcasts and YouTube, and my dad is huge on podcasts as well, so when we were in the car when I was young, we were always sitting around listening to podcasts, so it was always super enjoyable.
What are some podcasts that you listen to?
AC: I listen to All The Smoke. I love J.J. Redick’s podcast. Those are two that I’m really interested in, and I love the Knuckleheads podcast, with Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson. I love all those types of podcasts, and I don’t think anybody’s gonna do the type of podcast that I’ve done, so I think I’ll be able to bring something new. One of my ideas for a podcast: I want to be able to go over different plays in different games with whatever my guest would be. Say, if I’ve got Cassius Winston as a guest, I think it’d be really interesting to go over different reads why he did this in certain places, especially when I’m guarding him, so he can talk about that. I think fans will really enjoy that.
Have you had a chance to talk to CJ McCollum or J.J. Redick or any of the hoopers who have their own podcast? There’s so many of them now.
AC: Not yet. I actually got on the phone with CJ McCollum’s co-host of his podcast the other day. He was giving me a lot of knowledge on how to start podcasts and how to run them most efficiently. And I got a lot of good content for it, so he definitely gave me the thumbs up. He thinks it can be really successful.
If you could ask NBA guys like Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye any question about starting a successful podcast, what are some things you would ask them?
AC: Just, like, where’s the line cross between OK and not OK to ask in terms of different things. One thing I want my podcast to do is be unique. I don’t want it to be the same boring questions that every other player hears during the year, because I’ve been through it. So, just, how can I make it as unique as possible but also not weird or anything.
I completely agree. Let me get some of the answers for you, then. What are some of your favorite brands and what video games do you like to play?
AC: I’m a real chill dude. Most of the time you’ll see me in, like, a sweatsuit or something. I’m not really too much into jeans or none of that. Usually, I’m trying to be comfortable more than anything. Then video games, I’m mostly a Madden dude. I only play NBA 2K, Madden and Call of Duty. those are my games.
Last question before I let you go: What team do you like to play as when you’re playing Madden?
AC: The Texans when DeAndre Hopkins was there. Before he left, I was nice with them.
This interview with Nate Hinton was conducted by USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Bryan Kalbrosky.