State of the Terps Hoops Program

**HoustonRaven** · 03-17-2014, 10:14 PM

Pretty piss poor if you ask me.

Another March, and another year Turgeon can't get his squad to the dance. His recruiting has been lackluster and that's putting it mildly. He was able to get Bino Ranson to stay but those top tier recruits haven't equated into trips to the tournament. Shaq Cleare is a total disappointment and may just have a worse vertical than my 8 month old daughter.

Is it time to move on? If so, who replaces Turg?

I say yes and a serious run needs to be made at Mike Lonergan. He's taken GW from the basement to a winner in just three years. He's a local guy and has strong recruiting ties.

**JayJay** · 03-17-2014, 10:18 PM

It's been disappointing but it has only been 3 years and he has a top 10 class next season so I so say they give him 1 last season to make some progress and at least make the big dance. Also, I hear he has like a $10m buyout and we all know there's no way MD can afford that.

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**GreatWhiteNorthRaven** · 03-17-2014, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by JayJay

It's been disappointing but it has only been 3 years and he has a top 10 class next season so I so say they give him 1 last season to make some progress and at least make the big dance. Also, I hear he has like a $10m buyout and we all know there's no way MD can afford that.

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What? How do they have a top 10 class? They have three guys in the top 100 in recruiting and the highest rated recruit is #30. I'd hardly say that is top 10 material

**JayJay** · 03-17-2014, 10:36 PM

Originally Posted by runrayrun27

What? How do they have a top 10 class? They have three guys in the top 100 in recruiting and the highest rated recruit is #30. I'd hardly say that is top 10 material

Many publications including rivals has them at #9. I didn't make it up.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.c...sp?CID=1574326

**GreatWhiteNorthRaven** · 03-17-2014, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by JayJay

Many publications including rivals has them at #9. I didn't make it up.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.c...sp?CID=1574326

Comment retracted. Props for the proof :respect

**goodandfast** · 03-17-2014, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by JayJay

Many publications including rivals has them at #9. I didn't make it up.

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.c...sp?CID=1574326

To piggy bank on this, Dion Wiley has battled injuries his senior season but was a five star following his junior year. That would give them two give stars and two three stars which is very solid.

I wouldn't be surprised if Trimble starts at PG next season. They desperately need big men though. I don't know what the deal with Cleare is, but he's a quarter of the player I thought they were getting coming out of HS. Dodd is really raw and we knew that, but I have faith that he'll be a strong defensive player down the line. Between Mitchell, Reed (Fr), and Dodd, I think they have a nice front court rotation to complement their DEEP back court.

**goodandfast** · 03-17-2014, 10:58 PM

It's been disappointing for sure, but he also hasn't had an upperclassman with any talent in his time with the team. With a top ten class coming in and Dez Wells and Faust and Smotrycz being seniors, I have the feeling he'll have them turned around and back in the tournament.

Keep in mind, Gary had them in the tournament infrequently following the great consecutive run of tournament appearances.

Cleare is definitely a miss, but Gary had his fair share of misses too: Travis Garrison, Mike Jones, Caner-Medley...all those guys underachieved under Gary. Sure, at the time he had built enough capital to earn the benefit of the doubt, but for the last two full classes at Maryland he was far from the coach and a shadow of the recruiter he had been.

The jump to the B1G will be an interesting one, but it's possible that Turgeon's style is better suited to the B1G game. It remains to be seen, but I agree that after another season or two of this it will be time to start looking for alternatives.

For the record, I was in the camp of folks that wanted Sean Miller, but I've been impressed with the guys Turgeon's has brought in. The issue for me is that they don't appear to have any kind of offensive identity and, when they do run plays, the players seem a little tentative. Maybe it's a matter of not brining in players with a high bball IQ, or an inability to raise players bball IQ, but it almost seems like-with the exception of Faust, Wells, and--at times--Allen, no one on the team has a feel for the flow of a game and can't predict what is going to happen based on what they're seeing in front of them.

At some point, as a big man, you've got to know that when the guard comes off the screen and the man guarding you to states to help you need to expect the ball.

They've been frustrating to say the least.

**Terpsfan82** · 03-17-2014, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by goodandfast

It's been disappointing for sure, but he also hasn't had an upperclassman with any talent in his time with the team. With a top ten class coming in and Dez Wells and Faust and Smotrycz being seniors, I have the feeling he'll have them turned around and back in the tournament.

Keep in mind, Gary had them in the tournament infrequently following the great consecutive run of tournament appearances.

Cleare is definitely a miss, but Gary had his fair share of misses too: Travis Garrison, Mike Jones, Caner-Medley...all those guys underachieved under Gary. Sure, at the time he had built enough capital to earn the benefit of the doubt, but for the last two full classes at Maryland he was far from the coach and a shadow of the recruiter he had been.

The jump to the B1G will be an interesting one, but it's possible that Turgeon's style is better suited to the B1G game. It remains to be seen, but I agree that after another season or two of this it will be time to start looking for alternatives.

For the record, I was in the camp of folks that wanted Sean Miller, but I've been impressed with the guys Turgeon's has brought in. The issue for me is that they don't appear to have any kind of offensive identity and, when they do run plays, the players seem a little tentative. Maybe it's a matter of not brining in players with a high bball IQ, or an inability to raise players bball IQ, but it almost seems like-with the exception of Faust, Wells, and--at times--Allen, no one on the team has a feel for the flow of a game and can't predict what is going to happen based on what they're seeing in front of them.

At some point, as a big man, you've got to know that when the guard comes off the screen and the man guarding you to states to help you need to expect the ball.

They've been frustrating to say the least.

Great post. I was growing tired of Gary Williams because his unwillingness to recruit AAU talent. He liked to go after the scrappy hard working overachievers, and while it did net him the Juan Dixons and Lonny Baxters of the world, he would not have got that championship without Chris Wilcox. I thought Turgeon would at least be an upgrade in terms of recruiting, but he's been disappointing to say the least. His teams lack an identity and they don't play smart basketball. That being said, I would give him one more year to prove his worth.

**ravenmaniac1123** · 03-17-2014, 11:47 PM

I will tell you who f..ked the Maryland athletic program up is their AD Kevin Anderson. Force Freidgen out, watch James Franklin walk away as the coach in waiting and then hire a mediocre coach with a .500 record like Edsal. Then he turns around and gives Turgeon an 8 year contract @ almost $2 million per year. Who gives the coach of a program like Texas A&M an 8 year contract. You couldn't have gotten him for 5 years. It wasn't like he was trying to lure Tom Izzo away from Michigan State. Now we are stuck with him at least another 2-3 years unless Kevin Plank puts up the money to buy him out. Otherwise Maryland sure can't afford to do it. Why Anderson still has a job is beyond me. He has ruined the two biggest revenue producing sports at College Park.

**GreatWhiteNorthRaven** · 03-18-2014, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by ravenmaniac1123

I will tell you who f..ked the Maryland athletic program up is their AD Kevin Anderson. Force Freidgen out, watch James Franklin walk away as the coach in waiting and then hire a mediocre coach with a .500 record like Edsal. Then he turns around and gives Turgeon an 8 year contract @ almost $2 million per year. Who gives the coach of a program like Texas A&M an 8 year contract. You couldn't have gotten him for 5 years. It wasn't like he was trying to lure Tom Izzo away from Michigan State. Now we are stuck with him at least another 2-3 years unless Kevin Plank puts up the money to buy him out. Otherwise Maryland sure can't afford to do it. Why Anderson still has a job is beyond me. He has ruined the two biggest revenue producing sports at College Park.

Someones fired up!

**Terpsfan82** · 03-18-2014, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by ravenmaniac1123

I will tell you who f..ked the Maryland athletic program up is their AD Kevin Anderson. Force Freidgen out, watch James Franklin walk away as the coach in waiting and then hire a mediocre coach with a .500 record like Edsal. Then he turns around and gives Turgeon an 8 year contract @ almost $2 million per year. Who gives the coach of a program like Texas A&M an 8 year contract. You couldn't have gotten him for 5 years. It wasn't like he was trying to lure Tom Izzo away from Michigan State. Now we are stuck with him at least another 2-3 years unless Kevin Plank puts up the money to buy him out. Otherwise Maryland sure can't afford to do it. Why Anderson still has a job is beyond me. He has ruined the two biggest revenue producing sports at College Park.

Actually Debbie Yow is the one who f@cked over the program by mismanagement of funds. Who can forget the story of her going to Gary Williams not 3 years removed from a national title and asking him to use a charter bus instead of flying to away games? A bus? For a major college hoops program. Good thing he told her to go f.ck herself. She allocated funds to the non revenue generating sports like women's field hockey and swimming, while kicking the can down the road. Then she jumped ship and left Kevin Anderson with a mess.

**HoustonRaven** · 03-18-2014, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by Terpsfan82

Actually Debbie Yow is the one who f@cked over the program by mismanagement of funds. Who can forget the story of her going to Gary Williams not 3 years removed from a national title and asking him to use a charter bus instead of flying to away games? A bus? For a major college hoops program. Good thing he told her to go f.ck herself. She allocated funds to the non revenue generating sports like women's field hockey and swimming, while kicking the can down the road. Then she jumped ship and left Kevin Anderson with a mess.

Exactly.

And he's still getting screwed over by the University. If you believe John Feinstein (he's well connected at UMD), Anderson wanted to bring in Mike Leach instead of Edsall but was basically told you're hiring Edsall or your gone. It also doesn't help that Anderson and Gary are friends.