Maryland men’s basketball forward Bruno Fernando earned All-Big Ten first team honors Monday, one of three Terps to make all-conference teams.
Fernando, who returned to College Park after testing the NBA Draft waters following his freshman year, built off an all-freshman campaign and became a probable first-round draft pick. He averaged 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while leading the Big Ten with a 62.4 percent field goal percentage to help the No. 21 Terps go 22-9 in the regular season.
The Angola native also made the conference all-defensive team with a team-high 59 blocks, earned an honorable mention on Sporting News’ All-American squad and was named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
“Bruno is one of the most improved players in the league,” coach Mark Turgeon said Monday morning, “and we’re really proud of that and how hard he worked over the spring, summer and fall.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s basketball improves to No. 21 in final regular-season AP poll]
Guard Anthony Cowan made the All-Big Ten second team, and forward Jalen Smith was named to the all-freshman team.
Cowan paced the Terps with 15.9 points per game and notched a team-high 134 assists. He’s played a team-high 34.6 minutes as the lone upperclassmen to see regular playing time for Turgeon’s squad.
At times this year, Cowan struggled with turnovers and shooting inefficiencies. But the junior helped Maryland buck a two-game losing streak with 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting in its regular-season finale against Minnesota, and he’s proven to be a vital piece throughout the year. When Cowan performs, the Terps usually play well, too.
“Anthony’s had a lot on his plate,” Turgeon said. “He’s our only upperclassmen that’s really in the rotation. He’s had to do a lot of things for us offensively and defensively.”
[Read more: Darryl Morsell and Maryland men’s basketball have cleaned up their turnovers]
Smith entered College Park as a McDonald’s All-American, and has sometimes battled with the expectations that follow. He averaged 11.5 points during his rookie campaign, leading the Terps’ six freshmen in scoring, and capped his debut season with 19 points against the Golden Gophers.
“This freshmen class is loaded with a lot of really good players,” Turgeon said. “It’s a really good freshman class with a lot of good players, but Jalen I think did some nice things.”