COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland basketball team hosted its 2018 preseason media day Tuesday afternoon at the XFINITY Center. Members of the local media attended head coach Mark Turgeon's annual press conference in Heritage Hall before meeting with student-athletes after  their open practice session to preview the upcoming season.

Turgeon addressed the media in his opening presser touching on the celebration of the 100^th season of Maryland basketball, the Naismith Hall of Fame enshrinement of coach Lefty Driesell, while expressing his excitement for this year's team.

"This is a great season for us," said Turgeon. "100 seasons of Maryland basketball. We've gotten the chance to look at all the great things our program has done. I've said many times that I took this job because of Lefty Driesell — who we honored last night with the Midnight Mile — Gary Williams because of the National Championship and the great job he did with the program. We want to honor those things this year. It's very important that we do that. We started last night, it was a great way to kick-off the season."

Maryland fans will have their first opportunity to see the men's and women's 2018-19 basketball teams at this year's installment of Maryland Madness Fan Fest on Friday, October 26 starting at 8:00 p.m. at the XFINITY Center.

The Terps will hit the hardwood for the first time this season on Tuesday, October 30 at the XFINITY Center for an exhibition game vs. Lynn University. UMD will open up the 2018-19 regular season on Tuesday, November 6 vs. Delaware at the XFINITY Center at 7:30 p.m. and broadcast on BTN Plus.

Below are quotes from Coach Turgeon, junior Anthony Cowan Jr. and sophomores Bruno Fernando and Darryl Morsell from today's media session.
 

Head Coach Mark Turgeon

On if his team has enough of a veteran presence:

"I think Bruno Fernando and Anthony Cowan have really come a long way. We were disappointed in last season. It didn't go the way we wanted. Since that season has ended, we've done everything we can do to get back to the way we were the three years before that, which were terrific years. Our culture is back where it needs to be and we've worked really hard. All of our veteran guys have improved tremendously, not only on the floor but in their leadership skills and maturity. Anthony and Bruno will be a big part of than. Obviously Ivan Bender has been fighting through some injuries, but he's been back practicing. He'll be a big part of that leadership. Even a guy like Andrew Terrell. I know Andrew doesn't play, but I've asked him to take over more of a leadership role. He's in his fourth year and so I really feel good about our upperclassmen and what they're doing. Our young guys are willing learners and listeners. They're also very confident and good players. It's a really nice mix. It's a little young, but it's a nice mix. I think those guys can do it, but we'll see. We just want to stay healthy and continue to get better. But, each day and each week this team continues to get better."

On where the young players on his team have improved the most since practice started:

"I look back to June when we started this summer and across the board — whether it's Jalen Smith putting on 20 pounds of muscle, Serrel Smith becoming a better defender or Eric Ayala becoming a better defender and leader and understanding that he's a really good player who belongs out there — I think we've done a lot of stuff on team building since last year. We got whipped by — we played a softball team and they whipped us, we played dodgeball and they whipped us. All club teams on campus. So we did a lot of team-building stuff. I think our culture is really good and I think our guys understand what it takes to win because they've listened. Just because we're young doesn't mean we're not talented. We have a talented group and I like the mix. I'm really proud of Anthony Cowan because by nature he's a quiet kid. He had a great freshman and sophomore year — he's going to put up incredible numbers. But what he's done in preparing for Italy and starting this season, I think — Don, you'll appreciate basketball and how far he's come as a leader and a passer and facilitator, as well as a dynamic scorer for us. A lot of positives."

On how he's progressed into Maryland basketball culture during his tenure:

"It hasn't always gone the way I've wanted it to go, but we've stayed the course enough to continue to grind, work extremely hard and be positive. I think the 100th season has really helped me embrace it again, whether it's Lefty Driesell or Gary Williams — I've spent a lot of time with Coach Williams this past year, more than I had in the past. I love Maryland basketball and I love what it's about. I played in a program that had a lot of pride, so I think about it all the time and I'm always trying to do the best I can with the job. It's been good and we've had some great years. We had the best start in school history, we had the most regular season wins, we've had a Sweet 16 team. We've also had to rebuild it a couple of times. But I really like where we are right now. We have great young players. We have one senior on scholarship and one junior on scholarship. Recruiting is going well for us. I like where our program is and I hope we can get to the goals I set when I came here. We've done a lot nice things but we all know what our ultimate goal is at Maryland and it should be that way every year. We continue to strive for that every day."

On how talent from young players turns into on-court success:

"Sometimes young guys don't know and they just go out and play. Let's hope they continue to think that way. What's going to be the challenge is when it does get tough — how are we going to handle it? We have some incredibly tough parts of our schedule throughout the year. How are we going to handle that? An injury or adversity or whatever. Hopefully we can stay healthy but that's really going to be the key. These young guys are confident. I think when you guys interview our upperclassmen later today they'll say the same thing about these young guys. We believe in them and they believe in us and so I think it will translate. Kids coming out of high school play at the highest level. Jalen Smith played in a great Catholic league, Aaron Wiggins traveled and played a national schedule on top of his schedule, Eric Ayala has played at national schools the last few years, Serrell Smith was a leading scorer in the state of Florida last year. There's a lot of talent there and they're very confident so I think it will translate for them just like it did with Melo Trimble, Kevin Huerter, Anthony Cowan, and Darryl Morsell. We had to put Darryl in a lot of tough situations last year just to get through the season, so I'm sure it'll translate."

On his expectations for Bruno Fernando:

"I don't know if anyone has worked harder than Bruno. We've had a lot of guys work hard. And the most important thing is that my relationship with Bruno is great and much better than it was last season. What I mean by that is he trusted me through the process that he went through after the season and he let me work with him. During that time he was really getting better, so our relationship is terrific. There's a lot of trust there between us. He's worked really hard. I think you'll see a player that plays smarter defensively. Hopefully he won't forget who he is as a defender and a rebounder. He's become much more skilled and a much better low block scorer. He's learned how to get out of fifth gear. What I mean by that is Bruno's a player who's excited. So we're trying to get him to the point where he knows to dial it down sometimes. He's still emotional — he was probably the happiest kid at the Midnight Mile last night. Even more than the students. We couldn't get the microphone out of his hands. But I'm really proud of what Bruno's done and the improvements he's made. He'll be a huge part of our success this year."

On how Darryl Morsell has progressed this offseason:

"Nothing against Darryl but I thought Darryl would have been a great sixth or seventh man last year. He ended up playing 35 minutes at the four spot. He came in as a combo guard — a one, two or three kind of player. He didn't mind, he just loved being on the court. I look at some of the lineups we had to put out there late in the year and it's amazing we were as successful as we were and hung in there at times when we did. He's back to his natural position. I think he's going to be a lot more confident. I think Darryl made two three-pointers last year. He made four and a half in Italy so he's really worked on his shot. He will play some four again for us this year but it won't be his primary position. But he is more comfortable there. I think we had to ask him to do some things he wasn't planning on doing, but he did what he had to do to try and get us through last season."

On Eric Ayala:

"I think we all have a have a lot of confidence in Eric. Eric's a little bit older coming in, he's like Melo [Trimble] - extra year of high school. So I think that helps. Our players love playing with Eric. Anthony's really passing at a high level but Eric's our best passer and thinks pass-first. I'll say this about all our guys we signed - we knew we signed a good class but across the board, they're all a little bit better than I thought. Eric is probably the leader of that pack. He's been a real pleasant surprise for us. I thought I was signing a true combo guard, I think he's more of a point guard than he is a combo guard. Allows us to be a little more versatile with the way we're going to play."
 

Anthony Cowan Jr.

On how he feels he's grown as a leader:

"I think I've grown - just knowing how to talk to different teammates. It's a lot of personalities on the team, it's going to be like that on every basketball team. I understand that everybody receives criticism or even positive things in different ways, so I think I've definitely gotten better in that aspect."

On what he's learned from watching and playing with other players who took a leadership role like Melo Trimble:

"Just like I said. He knew how to talk to all of the freshmen. I think me, Justin [Jackson] and Kevin [Huerter] were a little different in the ways that we like to be led. That's just one of the things that I picked up from him. Now that I'm one of the older guys in the group, I think I'm carrying that over a little bit."

On what he sees from this year's team:

"I think we're going to play real fast. You could see today in practice that we have a lot of good shooters around, and I think when I've had a lot of good shooters around me, it makes me a better player, a better facilitator. And then we have a great inside presence with Stix [Jalen Smith] and Bruno and Ivan [Bender]. Even Josh [Tomiac] stepping up and playing big minutes. I think it's going to be an overall good team where everybody can contribute in different ways and everyone can just play their roles."

On Darryl Morsell's 3-point shooting:

"Yeah it's not surprising. Darryl's a workaholic. I think when he thinks that someone is challenging him almost, that makes him work even harder. So we all just challenged him to be able to hit shots and as you can see today, he's shooting it with confidence. To me, it looked really good. That's almost every practice now."

On how missing the postseason last year motivates the team for this season:

"It was super frustrating. A lot of people always can say at the end of the season to not worry about it and there's always next season. But I think for us, for the returning guys, to try to harp on the younger guys that we didn't make the tournament last year so stuff has to change around here and things are definitely starting to change in terms of culture and everyone just being bought in."
 

Bruno Fernando

On his relationship with Jalen Smith:

"We keep building chemistry. It's a lot better than it was when he first got here. He keeps getting better every day, we're just taking it one day at a time. We're working hard. I think he's a pretty dedicated guy; I see him in the gym every time I come in to shoot or workout, he's already in. I think it's just going to get better as the season goes on and as we practice more and more together."

On what he took away from the NBA Draft process:

"I think just being mature. Learning how to do things before you think you can do them. That was one thing with me, just learning about the game, about my own game. Learning how to play at a good pace and just trying to get better at everything I can instead of just trying to rush."

On being a "building block" of a younger team:

"Coach already mentioned to me pacing myself a lot. Sometimes when I start going hard, I just try to go hard the whole time. That's one thing that I've got to learn how to do, not just going hard every time, but knowing when to go hard and slow down myself a little bit. That's really what I'm really learning a lot about, not being in fifth gear every time. Sometimes I've got to slow down a little bit just to see how the game is going and let it flow."

On what he has seen from the freshmen:

"I think all of them are really good players. Really good additions to our team and our program. They all bring different things to the table. One thing they'll bring that really stood out to me is how dedicated they all are. They'll come in the gym and work out, they'll text you and ask you if you want to work out, text you and ask you whenever they're working out if you want to join, stuff like that. Obviously as a player, you always want to be around people like that, that makes you better.  
 

Darryl Morsell

On how he improved his game over the summer:

"Just becoming a better basketball player. This year, you all know we all have a lot of young guys that came in, a lot of freshmen. Me, Anthony [Cowan Jr.] and Bruno [Fernando] have all been focused on being leaders. Like Anthony said in his Big Ten Media Day interview, Coach Bino [Ranson] harps on being an everyday guy. So we have to be those everyday guys because the younger guys look up to us, so I've just been working hard every day."

On playing with former high school teammate Jalen Smith:

"It's a lot of fun, on and off the court. That's my guy. I loved him in high school, love him here. It's fun having him around."

On stepping into a leadership role as a sophomore:

"I've always thought of myself as a leader. Vocally and I try to lead by example. But it's something that has to be done. Somebody has to be a leader. We've got a lot of young guys, so in order for this team to win, if I've got to be that leader, I'm willing to be."

-Terps-