Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Mark Turgeon and Maryland

Maryland found its new coach to lead the program and it didn’t take long. Former Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon will be introduced today at a press conference.

Turgeon appears a solid hire. He led the Aggies to four straight NCAA tournament appearances and compiled a 97-40 record in Texas. In three coach stops, Turgeon is 249-158 overall.

He was rumored for several jobs this off season but he goes to a place that definitely breaths basketball and has membership in a historic conference—the ACC.

One could tell that Turgeon was not that happy at Texas A&M. He often talked about the lack of Aggie fan support. Turgeon probably thought basketball played second fiddle at the school. Football like most places in Texas is king.

But Turgeon won’t deal with the basketball lack of respect at Maryland. Its football program is struggling and with a national championship in hoops, Turgeon will have plenty of fan support.

Turgeon will face challenges. Any coach that battles Duke and North Carolina on a regular basis knows what challenging competition is. But I imagine that is one aspect that appealed to Turgeon in this job. He is a basketball guy and he will need to prove it now against some of the nation’s best.

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