Jan. 31, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Quotes from head coach Mark Turgeon in advance of Maryland's game at Miami Wednesday at 8 p.m.
On the progress Maryland has made over the last few games and if the next step is winning on the road:
"Yeah, I think it's an obvious step. What's it going to take? It's going to take defending and rebounding. Defending, we've been guarding better and [we need to] continue that. We have to rebound better. And then our execution's not great yet. We've overcome it; we overcame it on Saturday against Virginia Tech. But just our execution and just want-to, just wanting to get it done, just wanting it more than the other team at some point might be what it takes.
"We have improved a lot; it doesn't show in our win-loss record but we have gotten better. I'm looking forward to seeing where we are on the road. Miami is a lot better than I was anticipating, you know I didn't know much about them. I watched a lot of film, they're really talented. Really talented."
On whether he sees a big difference in team defense on the road compared to at home:
"Yeah I think so, I think we're a better team defensively at home for obvious reasons, but I also think team's aren't as good on offense on the road as they are at home. They're better in their home buildings. All those factors come into play. We're getting to the point - the time of year - and we didn't play any road games [this year], we'll play road games next year in the non-conference. But you're getting to that point in the year where it's almost you've gotten so used to every situation, playing at home, playing on the road, there's really not that big a difference when you get into February, mid-February. There's some teams that we might play that have a talent level much greater than ours on the road which will be hard for us. Besides that, there shouldn't be much of a difference. We should be able to handle every situation well."
On Terrell Stoglin's development in becoming a good all-around player:
"He's come a long ways. It's amazing what the kid's doing. He didn't guard [Virginia Tech guard Erick] Green the whole game but he did a good job on him when he guarded him. The kid had 18 points on 21 shots. They tried to post Terrell; he handled it pretty well. Had good team defense and he played hard defensively. I thought he really played well the other day; he might've forced a couple - two of his turnovers were actually trying to make passes...
"It's not going to happen overnight, but if we popped in a film from day one to now I think you'd just be shocked at how much better the kid is. He's a much better teammate and I'm proud of him. I think he wants to be a good teammate; he doesn't totally know how to play a certain way for us to win. In his mind he has to shoot every time for us to win, so he's trying to figure that out and he's learning. I don't know if there's anybody in this room that every time you touched it you thought you were going to score - I didn't - and he thinks he can score every time he touches it. So that's a curse and a blessing for him. I couldn't be happier. I think if you asked his teammates they'd feel the same way. There's times when he doesn't get them the ball, but we all tell him and honestly sometimes I don't think he even sees it because he's so driven on what he's trying to do."
On Monday's practice:
"We had to get them going but once we got them going we were great. We were really good, and you could just see the confidence coming. Guys were making smarter plays, they're trusting their teammates more. I'm not saying we're going to beat Miami but I'm just saying we're making just phenomenal strides. We're actually becoming a team, we're becoming a family. You can see they really care about each other and they're respecting what guys can do. So it's fun for the first time for me all year. Hopefully it'll be fun again today."
