Quotes - Mark Turgeon
2/24/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2012
Head Coach Mark Turgeon
On his first season at Maryland:
"You're down on numbers, and it's your first year coaching a team. You're a young team, you're an inexperienced team, so it's had everything in it. I can't say I was really enjoying myself until about when Pe'Shon [Howard] came back and we started to play really well there. That's when I really started to have fun coaching. And then we had to go through it again, so we'll see if we can continue to play well down the stretch. I don't have a lot to say -- it's just been very unique. The great thing for me is that I've been through it. It's my fourth job, not my first job, so that's helped. I'm much more mature, and I've handled things a lot better than I would have if this was my first job."
On the team's future:
"I think we've been blessed. Sean [Mosley's] had a great year. Terrell [Stoglin's] had a great year. Alex [Len] got eligible. Our freshmen have gotten better. James Padgett stepped up, so you can go on and on. We've been blessed in a lot of areas, too. We've got a great coaching staff that I really believe in. Once again, I've seen it, I've had injuries, I've had guys leave -- it's just all part of it. So would I have liked guys to stay committed? Would I have liked guys to not leave the program? Would I have liked Pe'Shon [Howard] to not have gotten hurt? Yeah. Would I have loved to have Alex suit up for every game? Yeah, but it's part of it. One thing you'll find from me the longer I'm here, is you've just got to be resilient, just move on and do the best you can, and that's how I approach it."
On team's confidence after winning against Miami:
"Obviously we're more confident. That's the first time we've come from behind really in one game. I know we've been behind before in games, but to do it in the guts of the game against a really good team, there is more confidence. There is no question about it, but as you know, dealing with a young team, more confidence can go out at the first media timeout on Saturday. It's just one of those things where you just have to stay on them. Our guys were really proud of themselves after that game, the way they bounced back after Virginia. As bad as we felt after the Virginia game, we felt that good after the Miami game, so I'm sure they're a little bit more confident."
On Junior Forward James Padgett:
"I think -- and I don't hang out with James, so I don't know if he's one of those guys that doesn't step on an ant, I'm sure he is -- he's soft-spoken, very polite, well-mannered, obviously. The time he's most aggressive is when the shot goes up on the offensive end. That's the most aggressive he ever is, at any time. I feel like if he had his way, he would play a lot more complacent, and I feel that you always just have to bring [aggressiveness] out of him. He's formed better habits as far as playing harder and tougher as the season's gone on, but it's definitely not his makeup. I don't have a problem with that. I tell guys all the time, you can be the nicest guy in the world off the court; it makes my job a lot easier. But when we get between the lines, we've got to be a different person. He's trying, but I don't know how else to describe it. I don't ever worry about James. I know he's going to class, and I know he's doing his homework, and I know he's showing up on time for tutors. Nothing ever comes across my desk about James Padgett doing something wrong. That means he had good parenting, which he did and still does. Those guys are fun to coach, guys that produce on the floor and produce off. Those guys are nice. I don't know how to put it into words -- maybe his teammates could because they're around him more."
On motivating the team:
"When you're coaching and you're playing 30-something games, it's really hard. What I found out with coaching is you never use the same motivation two games in a row. It just doesn't work with my teams. You always have the goals, defend, rebound, execute and things like that. Right now, I think going into the Georgia Tech game, our motivation is more about toughness than anything else. We haven't been very tough on the road and Georgia Tech is a very tough team. They play very physical, so that's going to be our motivation. As far as talking about [using postseason tournaments as motivation], we're not even approaching that. And we won't, we won't ever approach that. We'll always talk about, hey, how are we going to figure out a way to beat Georgia Tech and then now go play North Carolina. It's always more about the next game than it is about the big picture. We'll talk about small opportunities leading to big ones. Each game is a small opportunity that could lead to a big one down the road. I know it sounds cliché, but we just want to keep getting better. We do, and the kids want to do that. If we keep getting better and pressing hard, then good things might happen for us down the stretch."
On looking at RPI to rate the team:
"I did it when I was at Wichita State. It used to be at Wichita State that RPI played a much bigger factor in a lot of things. I don't think it's a huge factor anymore. I'll be honest with you guys: I haven't looked at the RPI. I haven't looked at one thing, and I really don't care about that stuff. I don't think the RPI is a big factor anymore. I do think it kind of gives you a guideline for the committee to see what teams to look at and the breakdown. I think it's so thorough now -- it's who you play and who you beat more than anything. But I couldn't tell you any of that stuff. I just don't ever look at it and I won't in the future either. I like to think my team is always getting better, if we stay healthy. At the end of the year it's because we just focused on us and not on RPI or any of that other stuff that's out there."
On preparing for Georgia Tech and the suspension of Glen Rice, Jr.:
"They're going to run their system and we're going to run ours. We're going to guard and they're going to guard. They went to Virginia Tech and should have won without [Glen Rice, Jr.]. They didn't play that well against Clemson, but they also had a kid that was hurt, he hurt his ankle and he played about 17 minutes -- [Jason] Morris. So they had [Rice] out and [Morris] hurt, so that made it hard for them that night. I'm sure he'll be closer to healthy on Saturday. They've proven they can play without [Rice], so we'll keep everything the same."
On playing in the same location as the ACC Tournament:
"I didn't know [the tournament] was in Philips Arena, I wasn't sure it was there or in the Georgia Dome. Shows you how far I've been thinking ahead. There's only one thing that matters to me, and that's Saturday's game right now. It's going to be kind of good for us. Late in the year, to play down there and then come back in a couple weeks. I hope we don't have to play Georgia Tech again when we go down there. We'll look at it as a dress rehearsal, and a lot of teams won't get to play down there. We get the opportunity late in the year, so I think it'll be an advantage for us."
On motivating the team after each game:
"It's more difficult after a win than it is after a loss [to motivate the team]. I think that's the same for every team out there. We've lost quite a few, but my job is probably a little bit easier after a loss than it is after a win. We acted like we just won a national championship after we beat Boston College, and the next day they were just awful in practice and uninspired. When the game ended Tuesday, I told them, `Guys, just really enjoy this.' I understand it. It's just one game and a nice win, but we've got to come to work. They did, they were good in practice yesterday and I expect them to be good today. Hopefully we've learned from that, the way we acted after Boston College."
