The Washington Post - 05.11.2019

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 , 2019. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

BY EMILY GIAMBALVO

When Anthony Cowan Jr.’s
team loses, it’s his fault. That’s
how he sees it. Maybe sometimes
he rightly shoulders that burden,
but even if he scores 25 points,
that’s how his mind processes a
defeat. It’s how he copes.
As a kid, and the player most of
his teams relied upon, Cowan
thought if he was going to experi-
ence that sinking feeling after a
loss, he wanted it to come on his
shot. His mom, Traci, would turn
to her parents in the stands and
ask if her oldest child would ever
stop crying after games. And now
at age 22 and entering his senior
season at Maryland, he still can’t
figure out what happened in the
NCAA tournament eight months
ago.
“He internalizes it,” said
Cowan’s dad, Anthony Sr. “And I
think he internalizes it where it
kind of wears on him at times.”
The weight of expectation can
be debilitating. But it’s rewarding
and powerful, too. Cowan’s dad
wonders whether his son would
have ever made it this far if not for
a deeply rooted belief that he has
been undervalued and over-
looked his entire career. Cowan is
6-foot and 180 pounds. Nothing
about his appearance screams
future NBA star. Yet these sev-
enth-ranked Maryland Terrapins,
who begin their season Tuesday
against Holy Cross, probably will
go as far as Cowan can take them.
SEE COWAN ON D6

Terps’ Cowan

embraces

expectations

of senior year

BY AVA WALLACE

Blair Watson can’t decide
whether it feels like her freshman
year at Maryland happened a
minute or a decade ago.
Surely it can’t have been three-
odd years since Shatori Walker-
Kimbrough and Brionna Jones
stood in front of her as team-
mates, not as WNBA players who
recently faced off against each
other in the Finals. Was it all the
way back in 2016 that Watson
was dreaming of finishing rehab
on the shoulder she injured in the
final game of her high school
career?
There’s no way it has been that
long since she arrived on campus
with five other freshmen in tow,
part of a robust recruiting class
featuring highly touted point
guard Destiny Slocum.
Okay, that last one feels like a
lifetime ago.
“I would say it’s been one hell
of a ride,” Watson said recently, a
black engagement band on her
finger indicating just how much
she has grown up in College Park.
“It’s been adversity after adversi-
ty after adversity, and looking
back I’m just like, ‘Wow, I can’t
believe we made it through.’ ”
Three years ago, Watson, Kaila
Charles and Stephanie Jones en-
tered the 2016-17 season as part of
a top-ranked, six-woman fresh-
man class that took a major blow
when Slocum transferred at the
SEE SENIORS ON D6

Maryland trio

who hung in

are reaching

for the top

NICK WASS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas on Monday made his first start since March 14, 2018, scoring nine points on 4-for-12 shooting and adding six assists.

needed to remind the fans to kindly let the

player focus on his job.

Keeping giddy fans and their plastic

cups of beer at bay was the only time the

Wizards whiffed on defense Monday

night.

Washington beat the Detroit Pistons,

115-99, limiting the Pistons’ chances and

not allowing center Andre Drummond’s

big statistical night to affect the outcome.

The Wizards held Detroit to 41.5 percent

shooting on 82 shot attempts — 11 fewer

than they hoisted on the other end.

SEE WIZARDS ON D7

BY CANDACE BUCKNER

As Washington Wizards guard Isaiah

Thomas pedaled a stationary bicycle at

the beginning of the fourth quarter Mon-

day night, staying warm during a break in

his first start in more than a year and half,

VIP ticket holders kept him company.

The fans perched near the courtside bar

at Capital One Arena, located curiously

close to the bike, walked over to snap

selfies, ask for daps and engage in conver-

sation. Thomas obliged every interaction,

but a Wizards security staffer frequently

A balancing act

WIZARDS 115,

PISTONS 99

Thomas starts and defense

bounces back in victory

him for the invitation, seven of the

25 players on the active roster for

the World Series were absent,

most of them minorities. Relief

pitcher Sean Doolittle, who is

white, had declared publicly last

week that he would opt out over

objections to Trump’s rhetoric

and policies. All-star third base-

man Anthony Rendon, outfield-

ers Victor Robles and Michael

A. Taylor and pitchers Javy Guer-

ra, Joe Ross and Wander Suero

also were not present.

A team spokeswoman declined

to provide context for why specific

players did not attend, and no

players, coaches or front-office

members were available for

SEE NATIONALS ON D3

came before a crowd of more than

1,000 on a sunny fall afternoon

and punctuated an unlikely sea-

son for a team that won a seven-

game series over the Houston As-

tros last week. It was also perhaps

a measure of vindication for a

president who was booed by the

home crowd at Nationals Park

when he attended Game 5.

But even as most of the players

joined Trump, several thanking

BY DAVID NAKAMURA

AND JESSE DOUGHERTY

President Trump literally em-

braced the Washington Nationals

on Monday, five days after their

World Series title, by wrapping

catcher Kurt Suzuki in a bear hug

during a joyful ceremony on the

South Lawn — but one that in-

cluded notes of political commen-

tary.

Suzuki received the president’s

affection when he took to the

lectern on the South Portico of the

White House at Trump’s invita-

tion and donned a red “Make

America Great Again” hat, raising

his arms as the president hugged

him from behind. The moment

Politics crash the Nats’ party

Suzuki and Zimmerman

show Trump some love,

but others skip ceremony

Wizards at Pacers

Tomorrow, 7 p.m., NBC Sports Washington

TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST

The Nationals’ Kurt Suzuki stood with President Trump in a “Make

America Great Again” hat. “Just trying to have some fun,” he said.

CAPITALS

Center Lars Eller spent

this past offseason

learning to skate again. D3

ON THE NFL

Lamar Jackson handled

the Patriots and bolstered

his MVP credentials. D5

Holy Cross at Maryland men
Today, 7:30 p.m., BTN Plus

Wagner at Maryland women
Today, 11 a.m., BTN Plus

Jets at Redskins

Nov. 17, 1 p.m., Fox

league of the medical treatment

given by the Washington Red-

skins to their seven-time Pro Bowl

left tackle.

It is the latest procedural ma-

While this latest back-and-

forth could contribute to the ani-

mosity between Williams and the

franchise, it is not expected to

SEE WILLIAMS ON D5

neuver in the increasingly bitter

confrontation between the Red-

skins and their most accom-

plished player, who has alleged

that team doctors failed for years

to take seriously a cancerous

growth on his head, leading to his

recent five-month holdout.

BY MARK MASKE,

LES CARPENTER

AND KAREEM COPELAND

The NFL Players Association,

at the request of Trent Williams,

decided not to move forward for

now on a joint review with the

Williams asks union to not take part in review of his records

Inside: Callahan won’t commit to

Haskins as starter under center. D5

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