8 — Friday, January 6, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Behind Enemy Lines: Talk with
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon
The
Maryland
men’s
basketball team will visit Crisler
Center on Saturday for just
the
second
time
as
a
member
of
the Big Ten
Conference.
Coach
Mark
Turgeon,
in his third
season in the
conference,
has
overseen the
Terrapins’
transition
from
the
Atlantic
Coast Conference to the Big
Ten. Maryland has one of
the youngest rosters in the
conference this season, as 10 of
its 16 players are underclassmen.
Turgeon gained experience
coaching younger players last
summer. He was an assistant
coach
on
USA
Basketball’s
under-18 national team that won
gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas
U18 Championship.
The Daily sat down with
Turgeon at Big Ten Media Day
in October to discuss the Big
Ten
Tournament’s
move
to
Washington D.C., his experience
coaching with USA Basketball
and the challenges Maryland
faced switching from the ACC to
the Big Ten.
The Michigan Daily: Coach,
you talked previously about how
excited you are about having
the Big Ten Tournament in
Washington D.C. What does it
mean to have the tournament
here next March?
Mark Turgeon: As far as I
can remember, Maryland fans
have always had to travel for
their tournament. So it’s good
to have it here. It was part of
the promise when we went into
the league that we would have
a tournament here in DC and
in New York. It’s good it has
happened so quickly. I’m really
happy for our fans not having to
travel as far, to save a little bit of
money and getting to see quality
basketball in their backyard.
TMD: When you coached
the USA under-18 team over
the summer, what, as a coach,
do you gain coaching at the
international level and outside
Maryland?
MT: I think it was just great
to be a part of USA Basketball.
That was fun. I got to hang
around other coaches in (Texas
coach)
Shaka
Smart
and
(Connecticut coach) Kevin Ollie
and be around great players, and
then travel the world a little bit.
It was a good experience, as far
as we won the gold, so it was a
good time.
TMD: What experiences can
you particularly bring back from
the under-18 tournament and
instill at Maryland?
MT: You steal a little bit from
Shaka Smart, you steal a little bit
from Kevin Ollie, and I’m sure
I helped them a little bit too.
Then you’re dealing with the
best players who are under 18
and you realize you have pretty
good players too (at Maryland).
Just the experience (of) being
with the coaches and being in
tournament play and preparing
guys in a short time, it all helps
you as a coach move forward.
TMD: Has there been a
difference for you between how
basketball was played in the
ACC and the Big Ten?
MT: I think basketball is
basketball.
Every
league
is
different, yet every league is
the same. What I mean by that
is, there’s 14 teams, so you’re
going to have a lot of different
teams. You’re going to have
coaches that play fast, coaches
that play slow, teams that are
really physical and teams that
are finesse. And you have that
in every league. I think the
biggest difference in the leagues
is just the venues and the crowd
support. It’s just amazing in the
Big Ten, and it’s hard to win on
the road.
TMD: Was there any learning
curve for you in your first couple
years in the Big Ten?
MT: I’ve been in a lot of
leagues as a coach. I’ve been
able to adjust everywhere I
went. I think I had an advantage
the first year because none of
the teams knew my system and
we had a great year (finishing)
14-4. In terms of the learning
curve, are we much better
guarding Michigan’s stuff than
we were when we first entered
the league? Yes, it’s a complex
offense. There is a learning
curve in everything you do.
They also had a learning curve
with us to learn our system.
We feel pretty locked in, pretty
comfortable with where we are
and our understanding of the
teams.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Surprising outcomes throughout the start of the Big Ten
season could give Michigan better shot in the conference
The Michigan men’s basketball
team may have a fighting chance
in the Big Ten after all.
The Wolverines started their
conference slate with an 86-83
overtime loss to Iowa, before
notching
a
come-from-behind
victory against Penn State at
Crisler Center on Wednesday
night.
If not for a handful of wasted
possessions in Iowa City, Michigan
(1-1 Big Ten, 11-4 overall) could
be sitting in a three-team tie for
second place in the conference
standings.
But the Wolverines don’t have
the luxury of wondering what
could have been, as they will
play their third Big Ten game of
this week against Maryland on
Saturday.
Though the Terrapins boast a
13-2 overall record, the majority
of those wins have come against
inferior
competition.
And
Maryland’s losses to Nebraska and
Pittsburgh — the latter of which
was a 73-59 blowout — have shown
that it is vulnerable.
Still,
led
by
guard
Melo
Trimble, who is fourth in the Big
Ten with 17.8 points per game,
the Terrapins should prove to be a
significant test for Michigan.
Maryland’s
loss
to
the
Cornhuskers is one example of
an early and chaotic conference
landscape, but it’s worth noting
that Big Ten play only began Dec.
27.
Either way, those surprises
have given Michigan a confidence
boost that it can play with any of
its opponents.
“We make sure we know that,
we look at that,” said Michigan
coach John Beilein on Tuesday.
“…So I think the thing is that, you
know, this is a long season and
anybody can beat anybody, and
that you better be ready for every
game.
“And that there’s a lot of teams
will start slow. Sometimes (it’s)
just scheduling, sometimes it is
just a matter of just not being
ready or injury or something like
that.”
Added
redshirt
sophomore
forward DJ Wilson: “I think it
just shows how good the Big Ten
is, and there’s not really a big drop
off from the first and last. It’s all
kind of just even, and I think that’s
something we just need to take
our chances and kind of just attack
it, get as many wins as we can and
take advantage of it.”
While the Big Ten season
is still young, the quest for the
conference title is shaping up to be
an unpredictable battle, and with
that, the Daily breaks down what
has happened across conference
play so far.
Michigan State (3-0, 11-5)
Tom Izzo’s Spartans fell prey to
tough scheduling in the early part
of the season, as they dropped
games against No. 2 Baylor, No. 6
Kentucky, No. 8 Duke and No. 17
Arizona before swallowing a bad
loss to Northeastern.
The start of Big Ten play, though,
seems to have helped Michigan
State return to its expected form.
The Spartans have rattled off
three wins against Minnesota,
Northwestern
and
Rutgers,
a
stretch during which they are
averaging 76.3 points per game.
Through
that
three-game
stretch,
Michigan
State
has
showcased an ability to score from
anywhere on the floor. Forward
Nick Ward posted 22 points
against
the
Golden
Gophers,
guard Alvin Ellis III notched 16
against the Wildcats and guard
Eron Harris recorded 24 against
the Scarlet Knights.
Even more impressive is that
the Spartans managed to start
conference play 2-0 without their
freshman phenom Miles Bridges,
who sustained an ankle injury in
the matchup against Duke that
sidelined him for over a month.
Despite the injury, the young
forward is averaging 15.4 points
and 8.4 rebounds per game.
With Bridges healthy again, and
a versatile offense coming into its
own, Michigan State looks poised
to maintain its status among the
Big Ten’s best.
No. 13 Wisconsin (2-0, 13-2)
This season has gone as expected
for the Badgers so far, as they have
just two losses on the year.
The first was against then-No.
22 Creighton, but that loss looks
a lot better now that the Blue Jays
have jumped to 10th in the AP Top
25. The second, a 71-56 blowout,
came against then-No. 4 North
Carolina.
But the Badgers dismantled
Rutgers
in
their
conference
opener before beating Indiana in
Bloomington.
Wisconsin returned all five
starters this year, and through
15 games, each has continued to
produce at a high level. Forward
Ethan Happ is nearly averaging
a double-double with 13.1 points
and 9.4 rebounds per game,
while guard Bronson Koenig and
forward Nigel Hayes are averaging
14.3 and 13.7 points, respectively.
While it’s still early, it appears
everything is going according to
plan in Madison.
Nebraska (2-0, 8-6)
At
the
beginning
of
the
season, the Cornhuskers were an
afterthought in the Big Ten. As
their non-conference schedule
rolled on, that sentiment seemed
to gain more validity.
Granted, Nebraska’s schedule
was difficult — it faced No. 3
Kansas, No. 4 UCLA, No. 10
Creighton, No. 21 Virginia Tech
and Clemson. But after losing
each of those games, in addition
to another against Gardner-Webb,
the Cornhuskers certainly weren’t
turning any heads.
Their start to Big Ten play,
though, has made some noise.
Nebraska opened with a win
at then-No. 16 Indiana, before
toppling Maryland in College
Park. While the Cornhuskers won
both games by a combined margin
of just nine points, those wins
have been both impressive and
unexpected.
Over the two contests, guards
Glynn Watson Jr. and Tai Webster
averaged 21.5 and 19.5 points,
respectively.
There’s no way of telling if that
kind of production is sustainable,
but if it is, Nebraska may turn the
Big Ten on its head.
No. 25 Indiana (0-2, 10-5)
The Hoosiers couldn’t have
asked for a much better start to
the season.
After winning two exhibitions,
Indiana toppled No. 3 Kansas
at the State Farm Armed Forces
Classic in Honolulu and notched
a win against then-No. 3 North
Carolina on Nov. 30. But since
those
marquee
victories,
the
Hoosiers have struggled.
They
faltered
against
No.
18 Butler and are currently on
a three-game losing streak —
dropping two Big Ten matchups
against Nebraska and No. 13
Wisconsin, and another against
No. 9 Louisville.
Still, it doesn’t appear to be time
for Indiana to hit the panic button.
Nebraska and Wisconsin are
undefeated in the Big Ten, and
guard James Blackmon Jr. is still
sixth in the Big Ten in scoring
with 16.8 points per game.
While their start has come
as a shock, with guard Robert
Johnson, center Thomas Bryant
and
forward
OG
Anunoby
each
averaging
double
digits
surrounding
Blackmon,
the
Hoosiers appear to have the pieces
in place to right the ship.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein will lead his Wolverines against Maryland after they split their first two Big Ten games amid a chaotic start to the conference season.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
Maryland at
Michigan
Matchup:
Maryland
13-2;
Michigan
11-4
When:
Saturday
3:15 P.M.
Where:
Crisler
Center
The Daily sat down with the head coach of the Terrapins at
Big Ten Media Day in October to preview their new season.
“There is a
learning curve
in everything
you do.”