Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon
On the transition over the last five months:
“The most difficult thing was getting my family here. Traffic can be a pain in this area. Everything has been great. The people have really accepted me. I’m on a honeymoon with the media since I haven’t lost a game yet. The players have been working hard for me. If there have been any surprises they have been pleasant. I knew everything wasn’t going to be perfect and I’m not naive enough to think that it is going to be perfect. Since I have moved before both as an assistant and a [head] coach I am used to getting a lot thrown at me.”
On the leadership of Sean Mosley:
“Sean is a great kid. He is one of the best I have been around even in the short time I have known him. From day one in our first team meeting, I made him speak. I have been very impressed by him. It’s his senior year so he wants to do well. He has shown great leadership. He knows his teammates better than I do so he can help me out a lot. I had him in my office earlier and I was asking him some questions about the players that were here last year. He is a leader as well as a coach and player right now. I am going to lean on Sean a lot. Everything that I have seen so far in his leadership skills has been great. Sean has two great parents so that helps. I have been able to sit down with his mom and dad and have been very impressed with them. I see why Sean is the person that he is. He was raised the right way. That helps me as a coach and him as a leader.”
On the importance of midnight madness:
“This is huge for me. Troy Wainwright did a tremendous job and took it off of my hands. Hopefully word spreads quickly as we have added Greivis Vasquez and Steve Francis to the list of alumni players. I’m not sure the last time that Steve (Francis) was back but to have everyone in the building is special. I think four of the five starters from the national championship team will be on the floor. All except Lonny Baxter who is overseas or he would be here as well. Hopefully that will create a huge buzz. That night should always be about the players. This first year it will be a little about me. They may introduce me differently this year and put a microphone in my hand. After that it’s about the team, the former players and the fans. Hopefully we have a great student turnout. I have been on the phone with Lefty (Driesell) and Gary (Williams) and it’s exciting for me to be where it (midnight madness) started. We want to create a buzz but I would rather create a buzz in January or February.”
On how much freedom Terrell Stoglin will have:
“If Terrell is making shots he will have some more freedom. Terrell is buying in on the defensive end and is being a good teammate. We need Terrell to score. You’re definition of freedom is different from my definition of freedom. I’m not going to do anything to hurt the team. I have to get the most out of the team and that’s what I am paid to do. At this point I think that I am getting a lot out of the team. The thing that I have talked to Terrell about is that he can’t just be a scorer. He has to do everything. He has to learn how to play without the ball in his hands. Terrell is great with the ball in his hands. I was fortunate enough to watch Larry Brown coach Allen Iverson, and I’m not comparing Terrell to Allen Iverson. I watched him and he took Allen off the ball to get pressure off of him but Allen was still a part of every possession. Hopefully I can take some pressure off Terrell but still have him be part of every possession. When the kid buys into that he will be a much better player. Once everyone figures everything out and lets me coach we will be okay.”
On Ashton Pankey:
“The most we have had is an hour of practice so I haven’t seen a lot of our players yet. I will say that he is pain free when he plays. He hasn’t been pain free in a long time. From what I see he is by far our best rebounder. He played for a great high school coach in Bob Hurley. I imagine he will be great on defense, especially team defense. Whenever we do shell or defensive drills he has stood out a little bit. I think he has been a pleasant surprise. He has played with some confidence. Ashton isn’t a guy who you can throw the ball to on the block and expect him to score. We have to have a guy who can rebound the ball and I think he will do a lot of that this year.”
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