BALTIMORE, Maryland January 8, 2015 - I have nothing but respect fot Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon. He has that inate knowledge of and feel for the game that only comes with being a life-long hoop junkey. Add to that the fact that he is an accomplished recruiter and it is no secret that he is on a ridiculous upward race to the top, with the Maryland basketball team along for the joyous ride. Before last night, Maryland was 12-1 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten, and ranked No. 9 in the Coach's poll and No. 11 in the AP Poll.
That being said, the game last night at Champaign, Illinois was not Turgeon's finest hour. Maryland lost to the Fighting Illini, 64-57, even though they led at the half, 28-26. The loss was all but assured when they began the second half by allowing the homestanding Illini to go off on a 20-3 scoring binge. Illinois played an aggressive and competent man-to-man that seemed to take Maryland out of its offense. Dez Wells never could get untracked, and while Melo Trimble finished with 17 points, he was scoreless in the second half until the final five minutes. Jake Layman played well, but finished with only ten points after sitting out all but two minutes of the first half with foul trouble.
From my perspective, we saw way too much of Robert Pack and way too little of Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley. A trio of consecutive three-pointers by Nickens, Trimble and Wylie, and three free throws by Trimble, who was fouled as he shot a three, brought Maryland to within five points, 60-55, with 24 seconds remaining, but that was as close as the Terps could get. Turgeon didn't insert Nickens into the game in the second half until there were only a few minutes left. This, despite the fact that Illinois several times played a zone against the Terps even though their man-to-man was stifling Maryland. Even Trimble saw significant bench time going down the wire.
Last season, Turgeon got some bad press for being too negative with some of his players. Some coaches can get away with being negative so long as they mix with it with being positive when it is deserved. The only ooach who was always negative and still successful was Earl Weaver, and that was in baseball. Weaver was a little Napolean, and got away with it because his teams were nothing short of outstanding, and always 100% prepared, more prepared than anybody else in the league. This year's Maryland team is crammed with precocious freshmen, many of whom have finesse games that need contant ego massaging. I hope Turgeon realizes this and can mold his Weaver-like knowledge and understanding of the game to fit this year's team. Maryland has the makings of a hugely successful team, but it will take a deft touch to get the young men through the drudgery of a winter in the Big Ten. Maybe the better comparison for Turgeon is to his predecessor, Gary Williams, who was very much like Weaver is his preparation and understanding of the game he coached. Williams, however, was said to be a pussycat during practice and only took on his Jekyll and Hyde personality changes during games. Williams was a brilliant tactician and, like Weaver, seemed to almost be able to will his teams to victory. Turgeon needed that ability last night, but it escaped him. Now, the game Saturday becomes far more important than it should be. Purdue is vastly improved over its teams of recent years, and will be looking to knock off the highly-ranked newcomers at home. If Maryland falls to Purdue, all the shine will be washed off their 2-0 Big Ten start. Maybe, just maybe, Coach Turgeon should dial up Coach Williams.
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