Maryland hires Mark Turgeon; Jay Bilas, Mike DeCourcy, Jason King Comment

The University of Maryland has announced the hiring of Mark Turgeon (formerly of Texas A&M) to replace Gary Williams as the next Terrapins Men’s Basketball Coach.

Baltimore Sports and Life will have a two-part series on the hire. In this first post, we will receive thoughts from National Analysts Jay Bilas (ESPN), Mike DeCourcy (Sporting News), and Jason King (Yahoo Sports) for their perspective on the hire.

Jay Bilas, ESPN
http://jaybilas.com/
http://search.espn.go.com/jay-bilas/
http://twitter.com/#!/JayBilas

Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball
http://twitter.com/#!/tsnmike

Jason King, Yahoo Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/top/expertsarchive?author=Jason+King
http://twitter.com/#!/JasonKingYahoo

Baltimore Sports and Life: “After reaching the NCAA Tournament 5 of the last 6 years (once with Wichita State, the last four years with Texas A&M) Mark Turgeon has been named as the new Head Coach for the University of Maryland. Immediate thoughts on the hire?”

Jay Bilas: “I think it is a great hire.  I think Mark is one of the best coaches in the country, and he has proven that with his success at Wichita State and Texas A&M.  I think Maryland hit a home run with Mark.”

Mike DeCourcy: “Maryland was sitting on a really remarkable opportunity. If you look at the state of the ACC, there are a number of Coaches who are either not very good, or just getting started. Obviously it is not known how long Roy Williams and Coach K will Coach, but they are approaching retiring age – and certainly the final 10 years of their careers. Maryland got a good Coach, not sure it was the right hire.”

Jason King: “I’m a big believer in Turgeon as a coach, but I think this was a strange hire. Just because Turgeon is a good coach doesn’t mean he’s a good “fit” for Maryland. How strong are his recruiting contacts in the D.C. area and on the east coast? How will Maryland’s fanbase react to his style of play? How will he handle the increased attention and media exposure that goes along with the job? Again, I think Turgeon is an excellent coach. But was he the best guy for Maryland? We’ll see.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “I’ve seen Turgeon described as a very competitive, emotional guy, that believes in man-to-man defense. I know he was a player and Coach under Larry Brown, and later served on Roy Williams’ staff as well. What else can you tell me about him personally or his Coaching philosophies?”

Jay Bilas: “He is no-nonsense.  Mark is just good people.  He is disciplined and expects his players to be disciplined on and off the floor.  He is tough, and his teams play that way.  His teams play hard at both ends, defend and rebound, and they value the ball.  But, most of all, his teams and players compete.  Mark is not a showman, but he is emotional and he bleeds to win.  I think Terp fans will love him. ”

Mike DeCourcy: “His offense is very patient, and they get high quality looks. One of the things I’ve liked about what he runs, is that he makes sure his best players, get the most shots. Sounds simple enough, but sometimes missed elsewhere.”

Jason King: “The thing that’s impressed me the most about Turgeon is how well-prepared his teams always seem to be. If they lose it’s not because they beat themselves. They play extremely hard and take PRIDE in playing menacing defense and in sharing the ball. For the most part, you won’t see his players taking ill-advised, selfish, “streetball” shots. He’s won a lot of games with somewhat marginal talent. He finds a way to get maximum effort out of almost all of his players.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Turgeon was the Head Coach of Wichita State during the 2000 through 2007 seasons. In the 2005-06 season, Turgeon was the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year, with the Shockers advancing to the Sweet 16. The following year, Wichita State reached as high as #8 Nationally, before collapsing and not advancing to post-season play. That was probably a trying year for the Coaches, the Players, and the Wichita State fan-base. Do you have any recollections about how Turgeon handled that or any other adversity during his time as Head Coach?”

Jay Bilas: “Mark has a great demeanor, and understands how the game works.  He has had great success, and he has had to fight through tough situations.  But, he always handles himself with class and dignity.  Mark is unfailingly honest and straightforward.  When he says something, he means it, and it is the truth.”

Mike DeCourcy: “Turgeon is a very composed coach. A class guy, and you rarely see him cracked. Typically what you see out of his teams is a standard to meet expectations. Not exceed or fall below, not a lot of shockers. In my piece with Sporting News (http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-05-09/turgeon-the-safe-but-not-the-right-hire-for-maryland#ixzz1LxC8RJtw) I point out the lack of upsets.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “I imagine Texas A&M has plenty of media following the team, but less than the Washington and Baltimore markets. A&M is also seen as a Football school first, while the Basketball team will always be the jewel of the Maryland Athletic Department. Do you think that will be adjustment for Turgeon?”

Jay Bilas: “No.  He played and coached at Kansas, and played in the Final Four.  He knows what the spotlight is all about, and he knows what a basketball school is.  And, whether it is a football school or a basketball school, people want to win.  I know one thing, though.  Nobody in College Park will want to win more than Mark.”

Mike DeCourcy: “Yes, I would think so. You have the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun – additional TV, and Radio. It did not take tremendously long after the National Championship for Gary Williams to hear some chirping from the media. That said, when Turgeon was at Wichita State, that program was the absolute ‘King’ for that market and that experience will help.”

Jason King: “I definitely think it will be an adjustment. Turgeon often drew criticism for coming across as thin-skinned and immature – especially early in his Texas A&M career, when people kept comparing him to Billy Gillispie. I credit him for staying the course, sticking with his approach and trusting that it would eventually work (because it did) but he made himself look bad with some of his comments to the media. And let’s face it, he wasn’t under nearly as big of a spotlight in College Station as he will be at Maryland. And, yes, I realize he played at Kansas and coached there, too. But it’s different when you’re the head guy.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “After being turned down by Sean Miller, and unable to land interviews with other desirable candidates like Jay Wright, Jamie Dixon, Brad Stevens, Mark Few, Mike Brey – many Terps fans wanted Maryland to turn their attention in-wards and hand the reigns of the program over to Gary Williams’ Asst. Head Coach Rob Eshan (as long as fellow Assistant Bino Ranson also stayed part of the program.) Would you agree with the decision to hire the experienced and successful Turgeon over the internal promotion?”

Jay Bilas: “That is a decision for Maryland to make, and they made it.  A lot of places don’t get thier original target.  Nobody will remember who turned it down after Mark is successful at Maryland.”

Mike DeCourcy: “I think it was the right decision to hire an experienced Coach, but I do think there were other attractive candidates, such as Mick Cronin of Cincinnati, Chris Mack of Xavier, and Shaka Smart of  VCU. Again, Maryland got a good Coach, not sure they got the right one. I thought Turgeon was in a perfect situation for him at Texas A&M.”

Jason King: “I’m not sure making an internal hire would’ve been the right move. But I may have targeted guys with more ties to the area. Look, I think Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in America, but I’m not sure he’d be as successful at Oregon as he is at Butler. I’m also a little surprised Turgeon wanted out of Texas A&M. Next year’s team would’ve been his best.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “The Assistant Coaches at Texas A&M under Turgeon were Scott Spinelli, Alvin Williamson, and Bill Walker. Would any of them be up for the Texas A&M job? Who would you expect to accompany Turgeon to College Park? It appears that Ranson will be staying as part of Turgeon’s staff. Do you think Turgeon should also attempt to retain Eshan?”

Mike DeCourcy: “It appears that Texas A&M will be hiring an experienced Coach. One of the options is Doc Sadler. While I would expect the highly regarded Spinelli to accompany Turgeon, I believe he also has ties to Sadler. So if that hire occurs, Spinelli might have the choice of staying.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “After getting his Coaching staff together, does the immediate focus for Turgeon become working to retain the 2011 Class (Faust, Gibbs, Bruenig) and the initial 2012 Recruit (Anderson)?”

Jay Bilas: “Recruiting is the No. 1 priority as any coach assumes a new job.  Nobody can win without good players.  Mark is a good recruiter, and I am sure he will hit the ground running.”

Mike DeCourcy: “Without a doubt. Nick Faust being the local talent, should make it easier for him to stay. Presumably the location of the University was part of the reason for him committing.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “When we last spoke, you both liked the anticipated returning roster of the Terps with expectation that Jordan Williams would return for his Junior year. With Williams staying in the NBA Draft, the 2011-12 Terps roster could look like the following if there are no defections:

Guards: Stoglin, Howard,  Faust, Gibbs
SF: Mosley, Palsson, Parker
Bigs: Padgett, Bruenig, Weijs, Pankey

Has Turgeon had past success with Guard/Wing heavy lineups?”

Mike DeCourcy: “Even if Faust stays, the other 3 guards are not big guys. Turgeon has recently had success with B.J. Holmes (5’11, 175 lbs) as a smaller guard, so I think he will be comfortable with Stoglin, Howard, and Gibbs as well. Texas A&M also did not have a lot of scoring power up front. If anything I think that lineup of players might better suit Turgeon vs. Gary Williams’ flex offense.”