CHICAGO, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference hosted its annual media day on Wednesday in Chicago, Ill. ahead of the league's upcoming 2019-20 season. Head coach Mark Turgeon, along with senior guard Anthony Cowan Jr. and junior guard Darryl Morsell represented the Terps, who likely enter the upcoming season as a national top-10 team.

Turgeon and this year's squad are embracing those expectations, using last season's Round of 32 exit in the NCAA Tournament as motivation to take the next step in the year ahead.  

"We're excited. Our guys only know one way, and that's to work hard," Turgeon said. "Our culture is terrific right now. Our guys are in the gym early, in the gym late, in the gym with me during the day – they're embracing it. We're all embracing it. We want more and we want to be great. So we're excited, we know we have a good team…we feel like we have a talented team that's embracing the situation and looking forward to everything that comes with it."

Cowan Jr., who was named a unanimous All-Big Ten selection Wednesday morning, returns as the Terrapins' top scorer and veteran leader. After testing the waters in the spring in the NBA draft process, the Bowie, Md. native is back for his final collegiate season with a group he's excited to lead.   

"I learned a lot of different things I can get better at," said Cowan when asked about the draft process. "Obviously one of the biggest reasons I came back was the team I'm coming back to. I think the sky is the limit for this team, and I'm excited to get things going."

Morsell will play a crucial role for the Terps once again as a junior after averaging 8.1 points and 3.1 rebounds as the team's lockdown defender. The Baltimore native has been a mainstay in the lineup for the Terrapins since his freshman season, and will lean on his confidence this season as one of the team's upperclassmen.  

"All of that is confidence," said Morsell when asked about how he's improved his consistency. "Just staying in the gym, and having great teammates like Anthony and all the other guys picking me up. That's really all I can do, just keep playing basketball – I've been doing this my whole life so it's about continuing to play through your mistakes."

Cowan and Morsell spent the day interviewing with national outlets and local media from around the conference. The trio will be back in College Park for the second annual "Midnight Mile" on October 9 while the Terps will host local media day on Tuesday, October 15.

The Terps tip-off the 2019-20 season on Tuesday, November 5 when Holy Cross visits College Park.

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