The University of Maryland officially introduced Mark Turgeon as the new men’s basketball coach in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. I listened to the audio on the Terps flagship radio station and here’s what I gathered by Maryland’s new coach.
- Lots of confidence – This should automatically be a no brainer for a guy coming into the ACC, he’s got to be prepared to take on North Carolina and Duke and through the radio Turgeon exuded confidence. “If you have tickets, keep them. If you don’t, buy them,” he told the media. “What I want is people fearing the turtle.” After the press conference Turgeon told Mark Viviano that he doesn’t want to be Duke or North Carolina, he wants to beat them.
- No BS – Turgeon warned the media that he will be brutally honest with them. He said that it was one of his flaws at Texas A&M and that the media will like that aspect of his personality. As someone that can’t stand coach’s interviews in which they BS the media and fans, I appreciate a guy looking at a camera and telling the truth. I don’t see it as a flaw one bit.
- Good character – I don’t know a whole lot more about Mark Turgeon other than what I’ve read the past couple days and listened to today, but I can tell you it would shock me to see him involved in a some sort of scandal at Maryland. We all know the Terps were looking to get a solid character guy to replace Gary Williams and I think they did just that. Turgeon stressed that his family is the most important part of his life and that education is the most important part of the student athletes years at Maryland. It could be him telling me what I want to hear, but if he did he’s a great actor.
- Mark with Gary – Turgeon told the media he spoke with Gary Williams and even took a jab at Debbie Yow. “I know he’s not going to try to sabotage Maryland basketball,” he said. Turgeon said that he shares a lot of similarities with Williams, but that he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve quite as much.
Did you watch or listen to Mark Turgeon’s introductory press conference? What did you take away from it?
No BS – Turgeon warned the media that he will be brutally honest with them.
Hmmm, I don’t think we’ll be seeing much of Stevie Biscuit around the court then. While he admired Williams, I think he prefers the guys that “preach the corporate line” and dance around the issues.
I’m excited for the new hire and look forward to what he brings in this new chapter of Terps hoops. I may be drinking the Kool Aid but the man has impressed me.