Washington Wizards center Alex Len starred two seasons at Maryland before becoming the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. During that time, the Terrapins were marquee program in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
However, one year after Len left for the NBA, Maryland exited the ACC for the Big Ten Conference. The university scored a huge financial win going for the stability of the Big Ten. But the jump came with a cost to some fans.
Count the former Terrapin Alex Len as one of many who lost a great deal of interest in Maryland since the move to the Big Ten.
“I kind of stopped watching games after they went to the Big Ten,” Len said, per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports. “I mean, I watch games here and there. But I miss those old rivals like Duke and UNC when I was there.”
The Big Ten is a strong conference in all sports. Yet, when it comes men’s basketball and football, Maryland just doesn’t appear to be natural fit. Maybe the fact a school in the Mid-Atlantic playing annual conference games against programs in the Midwest just isn’t attractive. Thus a lot of the luster is gone for some fans.
Playing Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio State just doesn’t move the radar. It’s nothing like Duke, North Carolina and Virginia games did when Maryland was in the ACC. Fans scanned the schedule to circle the dates of those games that were sure to draw national television interest.
It’s just not the same feel in the Big Ten. Not even against the likes of Penn State and Rutgers, who have close proximity to Maryland. The only glimpse of nostalgia is when Maryland gets to face some of its old ACC foes in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. But, it appears playing Duke, even in the annual challenge, may not happen again for a long time.
