Mark Turgeon to Maryland

[DesignatedT]

Looks like it's all but official right now. It was reported that he was offered the job and will likely accept by the end of the day.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/09/3061894/source-mark-turgeon-will-accept.html

Good luck to him if true. Sucks for us.


Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon has recieved an offer to succeed Gary Williams as Maryland's next basketball coach. A source with knowledge of the situation believes he will accept.

An A&M spokesman said as of 4 p.m. he could not confirm one way or the other. Turgeon is 97-40 in four seasons with the Aggies. Williams abruptly retired last week after 22 seasons with the Terps.

Turgeon's name was the latest to surface, following reported runs by athletic director Kevin Anderson at Arizona's Sean Miller, Notre Dame's Mike Brey and Butler's Brad Stevens.

Aggies athletic director Bill Byrne returned to his office midmorning, but Turgeon did not after apparently returning from "a short family vacation" Sunday night, according to an A&M source. He did not return phone or text messages Monday.

Turgeon signed a contract extension and received a raise from A&M last spring after Oregon expressed interest in him. In a lengthy interview shortly after, he noted how much he enjoyed living in College Station and felt at home within the university family. He has, however, expressed recent frustration with the lack of consistency in attendance at home games.

[JMarkJohns]

As someone who just went through Miller to Maryland rumors as certainty, just wait until the presser.

However, I have heard Turgeon was in their top-10 list, so it makes sense.

He's a good young coach. Get a quality elder assistant (like what Lavin did at St. John's with Keady) and he'll have success.

[DesignatedT]

Just don't see how he'd reject an offer like that. Especially after the rumors that he was in Maryland today. He will likely talk to the team tonight and make it official. Not sure where A&M goes from here. Probably hire within (Scott Spinelli) unless he follows Turgeon.

[JMarkJohns]

Just don't see how he'd reject an offer like that. Especially after the rumors that he was in Maryland today. He will likely talk to the team tonight and make it official. Not sure where A&M goes from here. Probably hire within (Scott Spinelli) unless he follows Turgeon.

Possibly. Texas has just as much talent as the Maryland/DC area, and while Kansas and Texas are tough beats, they typically aren't Duke and North Carolina tough beats. A&M has been better and gone farther in the tournament more recently than has Maryland.

I think he probably goes, but as a fan of a team whose coach is from the east, had the same sales pitch and decided against it, these reports can be premature, if not very inaccurate.

[DesignatedT]

Hope you are right. Actually seeing reports now that he is in College Station and not in the DC area.

[JMarkJohns]

Sorry, man. Looks official now.

[Sisk]

Fuck.

[JMarkJohns]

Hearing buzz about Buzz Williams to likely hire for A&M, assuming A&M ponies up for the buyout.

[DesignatedT]

I have heard that around a couple places. Would be a great hire , he was an assistant at A&M for a couple years. Doubt it happens though.

[Thompson]

Hearing buzz about Buzz Williams to likely hire for A&M, assuming A&M ponies up for the buyout.

I'd like that.

As long as we can find someone to replace him on such short notice I won't be very disappointed in Turgeon leaving. He wasn't really the greatest recruiter and my brain almost melted when I had to watch our offense last year. It seemed like our go-to scheme involved Dash Harris (who can't shoot 2's, 3's, free throws, or layups) dribbling out the shot clock and jacking up a bad 3 (he probably hit them at around a 9% clip -seriously).

I've heard good things about Buzz, but honestly I haven't watched his teams much. Anyone here who's seen him coach have an opinion on his offensive/defensive coaching abilities, and his recruiting skills for that matter?

[DesignatedT]

Well he was an assistant under Gillespie so he runs a lot of the same schemes. Preaches great man to man defense a lot like Gillespie and Turge and a very fundamentally sound coach. He is a very hard nosed tough coach and it seems to rub off on his players.

He played a very short rotation at Marquette this past season (like 6 or 7 players). I have also seen where Marquette ranked 95th in the country in tempo although they did average about 8 more points per game then the Aggies this season. Overall they seemed to struggle offensively and settle for a lot of bad shots (especially the game against Xavier in the tourney).

Overall I think his style pretty much fits exactly what we have been doing for the past 8 years without much change. (Great defense, Questionable-Mediocre Offense)

Bringing in better recruits would obviously help the offense though, something Turge hasn't really been able to do until Branch this next year.

Overall if we can somehow land Buzz I would actually be happy about this whole situation, sadly though, I don't see that happening. Other candidates that have been mentioned so far by Luicci are current Assistant Coach Scott Spinelli and Memphis head coach Josh Pastner.

[rjv]

http://www.aggiesports.com/mbasketball/Turgeon-leaving-program-in-good-hands

[Doug Collins]

Buzz isn't going to come, he would cost too much. I think we go the mid-major route again, although I have no idea who it would be. I'm for anyone not named Doc Sadler. Byrne has done a good job finding quality bball coaches, so I'll trust his judgement. Just hoping we don't lose our recruits.

TexAgs seems to be nutting on Josh Pastner from Memphis, but I don't see him coming despite his Houston ties.

[DesignatedT]

Pastner has already said he isn't interested. With Buzz having the huge buyout clause in his contract he is most likely out also. Tad Boyle seems like the most reasonable candidate and I would be fine with that. Fuck Doc Sadler.

[JMarkJohns]

I don't expect Pastner to leave Memphis until he gets a bunch of experience or Arizona comes calling. There are other programs he'd leave for, but like Arizona, they all require much more proof of success, both in recruiting and coaching. My guess is he's there for the next 5 seasons minimum, and if he's only leaving for Arizona, he may be there a while longer.

[Kyle Orton]

I think Pastner is pretty close to passing the recruiting test at the rate he's going. Yeah he needs a bigger body of work coaching, but with an extremely inexperienced and low IQ'ed team he came close to upsetting Arizona in the 1st round. I was even beginning to warm up to the idea of him coming here when it looked like Miller was gone. Memphis will be back to losing 0-1 conference USA games every year pretty soon like they did under Cal.

[DesignatedT]

Pastner will only leave for an Arizona or Texas head coaching gig.

[rjv]

other names being volleyed around include Colorado’s Tad Boyle, Nebraska’s Doc Sadler, UTEP’s Tim Floyd, and even former New Mexico and St. John’s head coach and now ESPN game analyst Fran Fraschilla

[Blake]

Tim Floyd would be a great hire.

[Thompson]

Billy Kennedy (the coach of Murray State) has reportedly been contacted by A&M. According to this Buck Harvey article he has ties to the Spurs as a former scout and coached at A&M before. He looks like a very good candidate to me.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/buck_harvey/article/Even-without-buzz-Aggies-have-options-1376398.php

[Doug Collins]

Billy Kennedy (the coach of Murray State) has reportedly been contacted by A&M. According to this Buck Harvey article he has ties to the Spurs as a former scout and coached at A&M before. He looks like a very good candidate to me.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/buck_harvey/article/Even-without-buzz-Aggies-have-options-1376398.php

Kennedy fits the mold of past Byrne hires and I think he would be a good get. Knows the area, very good talent evaluator, has NBA connections, and has proven he can win. It won't be the big splash most people are hoping for, but a solid choice at a very reasonable price.

I'm concerned his lack of name recognition won't be enough to keep our recruits, but we weren't getting a big name unless it was a reclamation project i.e. Pearl or Floyd.

[Thompson]

I'm concerned his lack of name recognition won't be enough to keep our recruits

According to this website (though you can't get the full article unless you're an insider), Jamal Branch sent a text message saying that both he and Jordan Green were still coming to Texas A&M. Those are the only two incoming recruits I'm aware of right now, so hopefully we're good there.

Also, according to the guy who runs that website, A&M is actually considering 3 coaches: Billy Kennedy from Murray State, Tommy Amaker from Harvard, and Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa. I'll admit I know nothing about them except for that one positive article I read about Kennedy; who is the best of the three (as a coach and a recruiter)?

[Doug Collins]

According to this website (though you can't get the full article unless you're an insider), Jamal Branch sent a text message saying that both he and Jordan Green were still coming to Texas A&M. Those are the only two incoming recruits I'm aware of right now, so hopefully we're good there.

Also, according to the guy who runs that website, A&M is actually considering 3 coaches: Billy Kennedy from Murray State, Tommy Amaker from Harvard, and Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa. I'll admit I know nothing about them except for that one positive article I read about Kennedy; who is the best of the three (as a coach and a recruiter)?

I saw Branch and Green reaffirm their commitments which is great news. Branch is sorely needed to keep Dash from seeing playing time.

A big key would be the hiring of Bryan High coach John Reese as an assistant. He has all the Texas HS ties as well as the AAU connections that would be needed should we bring an out of state person in.

Personally, I don't want any part of Amaker. To me he's a good recruiter and a sub-par coach. Kennedy and Jacobson would be low cost options that could pay off big, similar to BCG and Turgeon. They make the most sense considering Byrne's past hiring history.

[Thompson]

A big key would be the hiring of Bryan High coach John Reese as an assistant. He has all the Texas HS ties as well as the AAU connections that would be needed should we bring an out of state person in.


I had heard this possibility mentioned when Buzz was the original target, but it sounds like a good idea for whomever we end up hiring as the head coach. Apparently he's one of the most respected high school coaches in the state, and the fact that his son is one of the best players in next year's class doesn't hurt either (though I don't know if he'll necessarily come here if his dad does).

[Thompson]

WTH? Liucci (texags.com) is apparently reporting that Jeff Van Gundy is a potential candidate for the job. :lol

I don't know if he's drunk or what, but I wish this whole search was over already. I've wasted too much time over the course of just a few days trying to follow it.

[Doug Collins]

WTH? Liucci (texags.com) is apparently reporting that Jeff Van Gundy is a potential candidate for the job. :lol

I don't know if he's drunk or what, but I wish this whole search was over already. I've wasted too much time over the course of just a few days trying to follow it.

Van Gundy would be fucking terrible.

[Thompson]

Van Gundy would be fucking terrible.

Hypothetically (since it won't happen) you don't think his ability to recruit (which I assume would be huge, considering every kid in the U.S. knows who he is and that he coached in the NBA) would outweigh whatever coaching deficiencies he has? Is he that bad of a coach?

The reported possibilities are all over the place now. Two more potential candidates are Johnny Jones and Bob Marlin.

[Doug Collins]

Hypothetically (since it won't happen) you don't think his ability to recruit (which I assume would be huge, considering every kid in the U.S. knows who he is and that he coached in the NBA) would outweigh whatever coaching deficiencies he has? Is he that bad of a coach?

The reported possibilities are all over the place now. Two more potential candidates are Johnny Jones and Bob Marlin.

I honestly dont think he has the patience to deal with college kids nor the charisma to be a very good recruiter. Name recognition is huge, but I think he'd get burned out pretty quick from the year round grind of college coaching. I really don't feel his personality or style is a good fit for the college game.

I think he's a very good coach just not one necessarily suited for the college game. I'd rather Byrne promote Spinelli or hire a mid-major guy.

[florige]

As a Terps fan is this guy Turgeon a good recruiter? That was our gripe here with Gary Williams. He was a heck of a X's and O's coach, but he was reluctant to ever go after blue chip talent. Especially after we won the Nat'l Championship in 02. Durant, Gay, Melo, and a few other area talent chose to go elsewhere.

[Blake]

Van Gundy would be fucking terrible.

Initially, it would be great to get a well known guy like VG in there, but in the long run, I'd agree.

Van Gundy has no college head coaching experience and really hasn't accomplished shit in the NBA.

[coyotes_geek]

As a Terps fan is this guy Turgeon a good recruiter? That was our gripe here with Gary Williams. He was a heck of a X's and O's coach, but he was reluctant to ever go after blue chip talent. Especially after we won the Nat'l Championship in 02. Durant, Gay, Melo, and a few other area talent chose to go elsewhere.

He was a decent recruiter for A&M, considering who A&M is in the college basketball world, but that's a much lower bar than what expectations at Maryland will be. No one at A&M seriously expected Turgeon to get kids away from Kansas or Texas, but I'd think Maryland fans will be expecting him to get some kids away from Duke & UNC. I'm not sure he's up to that task.

[florige]

He was a decent recruiter for A&M, considering who A&M is in the college basketball world, but that's a much lower bar than what expectations at Maryland will be. No one at A&M seriously expected Turgeon to get kids away from Kansas or Texas, but I'd think Maryland fans will be expecting him to get some kids away from Duke & UNC. I'm not sure he's up to that task.



Its not just that, all we ask for here is to be able to keep some of our local kids here. Like I said Durant, Gay, Carmelo, Jeff Green, Michael Beasley, and a few others I know I am forgetting didn't even consider MD as a school because they said that GW didn't bother to recruit them. None of those guys went to UNC or Duke.

[Thompson]

Liucci is reporting Van Gundy wants to stay with the NBA (shocking, I know), so I guess we'll go with one of the other guys. That narrows it down to about 8 we know about, and probably some we don't.

Hopefully now that we've moved past that 'option' things will accelerate and we'll have someone in the next day or so.

According to Liucci, Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa might be the next top target.

[Doug Collins]

Liucci is reporting Van Gundy wants to stay with the NBA (shocking, I know), so I guess we'll go with one of the other guys. That narrows it down to about 8 we know about, and probably some we don't.

Hopefully now that we've moved past that 'option' things will accelerate and we'll have someone in the next day or so.

According to Liucci, Ben Jacobson from Northern Iowa might be the next top target.

Now that all the unrealistic candidates have said no, I think we'll have someone by the end of the weekend. I don't know how I feel about Jacobson, I'd rather we go after someone with more Texas ties or just stick with Spinelli.

[Thompson]

Now that all the unrealistic candidates have said no, I think we'll have someone by the end of the weekend. I don't know how I feel about Jacobson, I'd rather we go after someone with more Texas ties or just stick with Spinelli.

I might actually prefer we try someone other than Spinelli. He was an assistant coach when our ball movement was horrible and our primary offensive set seemed to be Dash Harris dribbling out the shot clock and firing 3's at a 9% clip. Even if that was primarily Turgeon's fault, I'd rather not have anyone involved take over. Hopefully a new coach will not have any reservations benching Harris in favor of Branch.

I also don't know that Spinelli is that great of a recruiter. Branch and Green are good, but they've been committed for a while and we haven't made any headway in future classes. The only annoying thing about the current crop of candidates is that for all the positive information I can find for them, there's at least one person who insists that particular coach would kill the program, and I don't know enough about any of them to make a determination.

[Thompson]

Billy Kennedy is heading to an interview with A&M.

http://www.midmajormadness.com/2011/5/13/2170104/report-murray-states-billy-kennedy-interviewing-with-texas-a-m