Nov. 13, 2011

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Postgame quotes following Maryland's 71-62 victory over UNC Wilmington.

Head Coach Mark Turgeon

Opening statement:
"I was really proud of my group tonight. We've come a long way. I thought [UNC] Wilmington played great. They threw a three-quarter court press on us, a full court press on us, a one-three-one half court, a three-two, a two-three, and a triangle and two, so they threw a lot at us tonight and I thought we adjusted pretty well.

"We had a lot of guys play well, our big guys especially. [Ashton] Pankey played well and [James] Padgett really played well. James [Padgett] rebounded well offensively, but he's got to rebound defensively a little bit better and guard a little bit better. But defensively we've come a long way and you can tell it's starting to click in for them. We still gave up some transition [points] and some easy ones, but we got a lot better.

"And then when we had the game in control we went back to us - our youth - [we] made a couple bad, undisciplined plays defensively giving them five straight points. Then we missed some free throws in there and let [UNCW] kind of hang in there down the stretch, but I thought Wilmington played a great game and I'm proud of my group. The guys that went in there tonight played well."

On Terrell Stoglin's play:
"Terrell [Stoglin] played his tail off tonight. He guarded, he was in his stance, he was in position and he played shots. I think the things that happened, that transpired for him not to be in the starting lineup today allowed him to play the way he did, so it's the big picture. He was going to play, but it is nothing big, it's just part of coaching and our relationship. The kid really played well tonight. I'm just really proud of his defense. That's by far the best he's guarded in my short era and he did a great job."

On winning his first game as head coach:
"I didn't feel like we were going to lose ever just because our guys have worked so hard in the last 10 days and have gotten so much better. I expected to win. I'm not really a sentimental guy, but I'm glad we won [the game], there's no question. [The win] gives us good feelings going down to Puerto Rico."

On the play of James Padgett:
"[James Padgett] is playing with confidence. James can score and he went to the offensive boards. We work on it and we talk about it all the time. He got second chance points and the thing about James is he's a great passer. He made a couple of really nice passes out there."

Sophomore Guard Terrell Stoglin

On having a spark coming off the bench:
"I felt like it gave me a good spark. I felt like I was more concentrated. I wanted to show coach that I wanted to play defense this game and I wanted to get my teammates involved also."

On cutting down on turnovers in the second half:
"Well coach got on us at halftime, that's what halftime is for. He said in order to win the game we had to cut them down and we did."

On the play of the forwards:
"I mean they did everything we needed them to. We needed boards so they went and did that. They started finishing; Ashton [Pankey] had a couple of and-ones. [James] Padgett had a couple of big boards at the end of the game; they just did their job."

Junior Forward James Padgett

On breaking out this season and getting more playing time:
"Well there were a lot of great players ahead of me, and I learned a lot from those players. Everybody wants to play so you get down at times, but you just have to fight through it and learn as much as you can and when the opportunity comes take advantage of it."

On playing with redshirt freshman Ashton Pankey down low:
"I played with Ashton back in New York and we get along great. We're suitemates so it's good playing with him down low."

On the defense tonight:
"That was the best part of our game tonight, our defense. We did a lot of communicating and helping each other, and even when we made mistakes we got back. Personally I took two charges, but we've been practicing a lot of defense."

UNCW Head Coach Buzz Peterson

On having a young team:
"When you're dealing with the youth that we have, sometimes they don't know the difference between right and left. We wanted them to go one way and then they went the other directions on the set plays. We had a chance out there. I liked the way our kids didn't give up and kept competing. The surprising thing was, I thought inside we could have been a little stronger than that. I thought we got pushed around a little bit way too easily. It seemed like we were stopping initial possession in the first shot, but it was the second and third shot that got us tonight. We could never come up with that ball. I'm proud of our young guys and the way they fought. When you have eight freshmen out there, you never know what to expect. "

On UNCW's freshman guard Adam Smith:
"What I want him to understand is that we know he can really shoot the basketball, but there's times I think he needs to be patient and not force shots. I think he had two or three forced shots tonight. That's going to be expected but we have got to try and eliminate those two and make sure he's a little bit more selected on some on them. He did have a fine performance tonight."

On Maryland's forwards:
"They surprised me. You hear so much about the guards all the time and how good they are. I thought [James] Padgett was a little bit longer than I thought. He did a nice job for them. If him and [Ashton] Pankey can play like that, it will really help this team out. They did surprise me inside."

On coaching against Mark Turgeon in the past:
"I coached against him one time at Wichita State when Mark had just taken over that program. I was very fortunate to take over the team that Bill Self put together at Tulsa. We came out on top that night."

On Mark Turgeon as head coach:
"I look at Mark's team and it reminds me of what we went through last year. I'm sure in his practices he's trying to put things together and have a very competitive practice out there. We were in the same boat last year. He can walk out of that practice sometimes and feel good about his team but sometimes they might not get the same competition in those practices they need. They're not deep, which is number one. I think we all know that. They have guards that can take you a long way and if the big kids play the way they did tonight they will step up and surprise people. I've known mark a long time, he'll figure out what's best for the players and they'll be very competitive."