Quotes from Mark Turgeon
1/27/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Quotes from head coach Mark Turgeon in advance of Maryland's game with Virginia Tech on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
On lifting the team's spirits:
"Kids are resilient. We were all disappointed with the way we finished the [Duke] game. That game is behind us and we moved on when we left the locker room, but what we tried to do yesterday was show the things we did wrong and the things we didn't do wrong. We did a lot of things wrong for us and there is a reason we lost the game, so we pointed those things out. Hopefully we gained confidence because we stepped on the big stage and stepped up, which is encouraging for a young team, but Duke was just better than we were in the end. We should be confident because of that. I think our kids are looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we'll have another good ride. We're playing a team that hasn't been as successful as they were hoping, but very talented and they have lost four of these games by a total of 10 points, so they're a heck of a team."
On whether he thought the team would respond correctly to the atmosphere vs. Duke:
"We did take some bad shots and we made some bad shots. Quite frankly, I think the crowd got to Duke a little bit at the start of the game, which helped us. I mean that crowd was pretty good. That wasn't a normal Duke team with fourth-year seniors. They are a young team, especially their guards. I think the crowd helped in a number of ways for us and I was just happy. Our kids deserved it. They worked hard and have gotten better. We haven't really embarrassed ourselves and we've tried to do things the right way so it was fun to see."
On free- throw shooting:
"We actually shot a lot of free throws going into the Duke game last week and we just didn't make them. One of our better foul shooters [Terrell Stoglin] missed five. He missed six free-throw opportunities. If he made five of those it could have been a different game down the stretch. I don't expect Terrell to miss free throws, I expect him to make them. It was just one of those games. If he makes his, then we aren't quite as bad, but we're not where we normally are. It's obviously something that we don't do well. We're improving in a lot of areas, but we're not improving in that one enough. I do know guys are working on it. There were a couple of guys who were in here after 10 last night shooting free throws and working on their game. Our guys are getting more committed. They don't know what it takes to win on a high level here, but they're trying to figure it out and they're trying to learn. They're willing to right now, which I appreciate."
On staying positive in the three-game losing streak:
"We don't even think about it. We know it's there and it's no fun going through it. I say I don't care about winning and losing, but you guys know that's not true. Ultimately that's how I get judged. If you take away the last few plays of the Temple game, we really competed. We really competed the other night, but they're just a little bit better than we were. We did what young teams do. We didn't execute at half-court and we didn't get stops.
"I thought we were going to have a 29-game losing streak when we left Puerto Rico. Our guys are coming and they're getting better. I don't know if we're going to become a great team this year, I hope we do, but it's coming. We have a lot of young players and we're going to add pieces. I think it's heading in the right direction. I really feel positive about that. So we're not dwelling on the three-game losing streak. We're dwelling on trying to beat Virginia Tech, which is going to be extremely hard for us."
On what needs to be done against Virginia Tech:
"We need to continue to play well and execute a little better. We didn't execute very well in that game. We did at times. There were times where we really looked good offensively, but there is a reason we have droughts. It's missed layups and free throws and not executing our part of the play. That's important. It's something we have talked about since the game until Saturday. Hopefully we'll follow the game plan and get better defensively and become a deeper team. We need guys to play better. We have three or four guys who play well and then two or three guys who don't. We need seven, eight or nine guys to play well every game because then you have a chance. I know that's not going to happen every night, but that gives you a chance. That's really what I'm looking at.
"We're at the infant stage now. I've been through it. I've taken over programs. It's no fun what we're going through, but we're getting better and that's really what matters. We're doing a lot of good things off the floor and that's what matters, so hopefully we'll do some good things on the floor. Our schedule isn't easy though. We have a heck of a grind in front of us."
