When Coach Turgeon speaks about Maryland Basketball, he doesn’t mince words, he is direct and to the point . Some of the points from his press conference tonight:
There is no answer concerning the eligibility of Dez Wells for 2012 yet from the NCAA
Shaq Cleare has lost weight, muscled up and is now playing over the rim
Our bigs are a very strong 4 deep —Padge, Shaq, a very underrated Charles Mitchell, and the “new” Alex Len
Everyone on the team thinks they are starting–thus practices are extremely physical
PeShon is apparently at 100 %
James Padgett, PeShon, and John Auslander are stepping up to leadership roles
As for Alex–the communication barrier is gone, he is not rattled easily anymore, his weight is up to 250—He will have the green light to shoot this year
As for Seth and Jake Layman–like most Freshmen they are learning the systems but these guys excel in the open court
Logan Aronholt–inside out game player with a great shooting strok
“Maryland is a great job–The national spotlight is coming”
From umterps.com:
On the differences from last year:
“It’s completely different. When I took over the job at Maryland, I didn’t know much about the ACC, but now I have a feel for the league and the coaches and what it takes to be successful at this level. Our coaches are much more comfortable together. We also have some returning players and that helps teach the new players how to do it. And then for the first time this summer we were able to practice together, so we’re much further along than we’ve ever been and I’m much more comfortable standing up here today than I was a year ago.”
On the roster and how he feels about it:
“It’s pretty remarkable. We only signed three players early. To be able to add the pieces that we added late has really helped do some things to add depth. I feel comfortable with our team. Pe’Shon [Howard] is healthy, so he has been able to practice at full speed. It’s been a little over a week, so it’s great to have him back. It’s amazing how much better the four returning scholarship players have become, Nick [Faust], Pe’Shon [Howard], Alex [Len] and James [Padgett]. Their improvement and understanding of what the coaching staff wants is great. We feel good, just like every other team in the league. Standing here today compared to a year ago, I feel like we’re much further along, but we’ll see if it translates.”
On the freshman standouts this summer:
“The four young kids that are coming in, and Logan, they have all done something. We don’t get a lot of time, only two hours a week, so we had 16 total hours to work with them. The real differences were in the weight room and in conditioning. We saw Shaq shed about 20 pounds and Charles Mitchell shed about 15 pounds. They are totally different players now than they were when we got them in June when they just finished high school. Jake Layman was set back a little bit because he was on the U.S. team. He really had a great September and early October for us. He has come a long ways. Seth Allen is a big time athlete. He is a much better defender than I thought he was. None of them stick out any more than the others. When you sign players, you aren’t really sure, but you hope and I think they are all just a little bit better than I was anticipating, which is a good sign. We still have a long ways to go. Logan Aronhalt had a knee and a back injury all last season, so it affected his summer game a little bit. He also lost some weight and looks good. He’s a big time shooter that has really helped us in practice. Evan Smotrycz can’t play this year, obviously, but he has really practiced well. He’s been to the tournament and knows what it takes, so he has been a great addition.”
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