By Wayne Viener 1/12/2018
How can your fairly evaluate what is going on with Maryland hoops?
Excitement – for the overall fan base, excitement is low. At Xfinity Center, there are a lot of empty seats. Ticket re-sale value is very low.
Future – faith in the ability to put a team together is low. Turnovers, lack of a set offense and toughness are not hallmarks. So the impact of a highly rated recruiting class is not as impactful as usual. It’s nice to think that good players are coming our way, but the is out as to whether it will make a good team.
Fun to Watch – you can have a team that doesn’t win a lot, but you enjoy watching. A team that is limited, but plays well together and has some interesting parts. That is not this group.
History and Context – It is hard to follow a legend. Gary Williams is a legend at Maryland. Mark Turgeon has done an above average job of following up on that legend. Remember that often the guy that follows the legend is a failure and it is the next coach that starts to get the program back on the proper footing. Think of Lefty to Bob Wade to Gary.
Sure, Melo saved the team for a few years. But the same may be said for Greivis, and has been said of Walt Williams. Maybe one of next year’s freshman is the next Melo. That would “save” the team until Turge’s contract is closer to the end (2022). If things turn up, then he can renew.
Maryland is a historical basketball school. From the 70’s through a top 5 ranking just a few seasons ago, the Terps have relied on hoops as their bellwether sport. It has become a bit of embarrassment to have the basketball program losses equated to the football team losses.
Injuries are stated as the reason why Maryland basketball is struggling so much. However, it is more likely the make-up of the roster that has led to this turn of events.
In the end, the team and the coaching staff are graded on wins and losses. Maryland has won quite a few games over the past seasons, but the current trend line of Excitement, Future, Fun and History does not bode well for the coaching staff.
Bucky
Interesting article, Turgeon’s record has been OK since he got here. He’s had a few big regular season wins but no notable postseason wins that I can recall. He seems to be a good recruiter in the sense that he gets guys that he targets as priorities. But he seems to recruit the wrong guys. Year after year our roster is stocked with finesse players while our B1G competiton get guys who can play but are also tough. I don’t know who decided to give Turgeon a contract thru 2022 but it doesn’t seem to be the best decision right now. When I go in for my next salary review I’m taking Turgeon’s agent with me. At this point I’m not calling for Turgeon to be fired but if he close to explore other opportunities I’d be Ok with it
· 11/12/2019
Jimj Orban
Well, just finished watching the debacle at Michigan. What kind of coaching is this???? Turgeon didn’t have anyone jumping in front of the guy inbounding the ball? I have never seen anything like this, and it turned out a disaster! Those guys played their hearts out and didn’t deserve to lose this game the way they did! I seriously think I’m going to watch the Lady Terps and forget the men for the remainder of the season.
Sincerely,
Jim Orban
· 11/12/2019