Quotes from Mark Turgeon
11/1/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 1, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Quotes from head coach Mark Tugeon in advance of Maryland's exhibition game vs. IUP Friday at 7 p.m.
On who he thinks the starting lineup will be for the exhibition game:
"To be quite frank, I could start five guys. I'm not sure if we have five guys practicing well enough to start. I imagine Alex [Len] is going to start and Nick [Faust], because of his experience, would start, but after that I don't know. We have been really inconsistent."
On whether he is dissatisfied with how things are going so far:
"I am disappointed. There are high expectations for us this year and I have not tried to temper them. People are excited about our team, but they have to understand that we have four returning players and we have been really inconsistent. Our guard play has been quite poor, to be honest with you. We are throwing the ball around the gym, and we are consistent on defense. I do think we have a chance to be a good team, but right now we are not practicing that way."
On how the guards have responded to criticism:
"I think Seth's been really coachable. I think Seth right now plays in fifth gear most of the time. He doesn't really try to come out of it. He had to do so much for his high school team. There are still things he doesn't see that you try to point out. Really coachable, a heck of an athlete and he can really score the ball. With most young people, when they make one turnover it leads to another."
On Nick [Faust]'s experience and development:
"Nick has gotten a lot better. His shot is much improved and he has gotten a lot stronger. He is still making some of the same mistakes as last year, but he has gotten better. Yesterday was his best practice. Sometimes, he is back to the old Nick, making poor decisions and throwing the ball away. We would like him to become more of a leader and get better at talking and communicating in practice. But Nick really has gotten better. His passing and his shooting are much better and defensively Nick has a chance to be really good defensively if he puts his mind to it."
On what will look different on offense this year:
"I imagine we will have a lot more assists than we did last year. You will see more of a team. We will be a much more balanced team than we were last year and a much better offensive team than we were last year."
On whether they watch tape:
"We watch a lot. We have watched a lot more tape as a group and a lot of tape individually. Each player is assigned a coach to watch tape with, so we are watching a lot more tape than we did last year, and more than my teams usually watch."
On if anyone has been playing well, and if he has a complement for any players:
"I think you will see a much improved Alex Len from last year, and he has put on weight. James Padgett has been OK, he is trying to be more vocal and trying to be a leader. Nick [Faust] is a better player than he was last year. I just need him to be better. Shaq [Cleare] gives me everything he has every day. I have been pleasantly surprised with Charles Mitchell. Seth [Allen] is explosive, like I thought he would be when I recruited him. Jake Layman gets better every day, even though we are moving a little quickly for him right now. He can shoot it and score on the break, and he is getting better defensively. Our best player consistently has been Evan Smotrycz, which is funny because it's always your redshirt that is the most consistent player, and he has been a pleasant surprise."
On Logan Aronhalt:
"Logan is coming along, still trying to improve his defense. He is shooting better in practice, even though he tweaked his ankle a couple of days ago. Logan can space the floor for us. Logan is a weapon. He can really shoot it."
