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| For Mark Turgeon, NCAA tournament brings a familiar foe | For Mark Turgeon, NCAA tournament brings a familiar foe |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The NCAA tournament’s unforgiving schedule will wreak havoc on Mark Turgeon’s home life in Kensington for a second consecutive week, which is exactly the kind of problem he wished to have when the season began five months ago. There are piles of laundry and dry cleaning. There is the family dog that needs care. There are travel plans to make with extended family members for Thursday night’s Sweet 16 appearance in Louisville, where Maryland will appear in its first region semifinal in 13 years. | The NCAA tournament’s unforgiving schedule will wreak havoc on Mark Turgeon’s home life in Kensington for a second consecutive week, which is exactly the kind of problem he wished to have when the season began five months ago. There are piles of laundry and dry cleaning. There is the family dog that needs care. There are travel plans to make with extended family members for Thursday night’s Sweet 16 appearance in Louisville, where Maryland will appear in its first region semifinal in 13 years. |
| There has been very little time for Turgeon and his wife, Ann, to reflect on the team they will be playing. Kansas is where the couple first met. Turgeon was a young assistant with the Jayhawks after a memorable four-year career with the school, and Ann was a team manager. They had no idea that, nearly 30 years later, Turgeon would be guiding Maryland against the Jayhawks in perhaps the most important game of his coaching career. | There has been very little time for Turgeon and his wife, Ann, to reflect on the team they will be playing. Kansas is where the couple first met. Turgeon was a young assistant with the Jayhawks after a memorable four-year career with the school, and Ann was a team manager. They had no idea that, nearly 30 years later, Turgeon would be guiding Maryland against the Jayhawks in perhaps the most important game of his coaching career. |
| “We have a great love for the state of Kansas, as well as love for our alma mater,” Ann Turgeon said. “Ever since it’s become part of his work, it becomes really different when it’s your work.” | “We have a great love for the state of Kansas, as well as love for our alma mater,” Ann Turgeon said. “Ever since it’s become part of his work, it becomes really different when it’s your work.” |
| [Steinberg: Dez Wells stays connected to these Terrapins] | [Steinberg: Dez Wells stays connected to these Terrapins] |
| Turgeon has never been afraid to show his affection for his alma mater throughout his five years in College Park. In January, after the Jayhawks held on to beat Oklahoma in a triple-overtime classic, Turgeon was asked about the game: “We were able to pull it off,” he said of Kansas at one point, maybe out of habit. But he has largely downplayed the personal significance of meeting Kansas in the Sweet 16, reminding himself this week that he has already gotten it out of his system. | Turgeon has never been afraid to show his affection for his alma mater throughout his five years in College Park. In January, after the Jayhawks held on to beat Oklahoma in a triple-overtime classic, Turgeon was asked about the game: “We were able to pull it off,” he said of Kansas at one point, maybe out of habit. But he has largely downplayed the personal significance of meeting Kansas in the Sweet 16, reminding himself this week that he has already gotten it out of his system. |
| “The first time I coached against Kansas, it was weird,” said Turgeon, a Topeka, Kan., native who played for the Jayhawks from 1984 to 1987 and served as an assistant from 1987 to 1992. “But I was at Texas A&M, so I’ve [played Kansas] five, six, seven times . . . so it’s really not about that. It’s about the Sweet 16. We’re playing the No. 1 seed in the whole tournament, not just this bracket, and it’s a great opportunity for us.” | “The first time I coached against Kansas, it was weird,” said Turgeon, a Topeka, Kan., native who played for the Jayhawks from 1984 to 1987 and served as an assistant from 1987 to 1992. “But I was at Texas A&M, so I’ve [played Kansas] five, six, seven times . . . so it’s really not about that. It’s about the Sweet 16. We’re playing the No. 1 seed in the whole tournament, not just this bracket, and it’s a great opportunity for us.” |
| By shifting the focus on his players this week, Turgeon has been at ease. He has often told them about his own experiences as an undersized point guard at Kansas. He has used self-deprecating humor whenever he is asked about how he might help mentor sophomore Melo Trimble as a point guard, and he pays homage when referring to Larry Brown and Roy Williams, the coaches he played and coached under while at Kansas. He has also spoke at length to his team about his Final Four experience as a player — he became the first player in Kansas history to make the NCAA tournament all four seasons — trying to plant seeds of inspiration in his players as they set an early-season goal to win a national championship themselves. | |
| [It’s been more than 20 years since Maryland, Virginia both made Sweet 16] | [It’s been more than 20 years since Maryland, Virginia both made Sweet 16] |
| “We know coach went to Kansas. He always talks about making it to the Final Four, how great of an experience that was this week,” junior forward Robert Carter Jr. said. “He always talks about his mentors. His mentors are the guys who helped him be who he is today . . . as far as his mentors and stuff, coming up from Kansas and different stuff like that, he definitely applies it to our style.” | “We know coach went to Kansas. He always talks about making it to the Final Four, how great of an experience that was this week,” junior forward Robert Carter Jr. said. “He always talks about his mentors. His mentors are the guys who helped him be who he is today . . . as far as his mentors and stuff, coming up from Kansas and different stuff like that, he definitely applies it to our style.” |
| Turgeon has told in particular about the 1985-86 season, when he was a reserve point guard on a Final Four team. Turgeon became a fan favorite that season, earning the nickname “the Surgeon” for his ability to carve up defenses. Current Kansas Coach Bill Self was just starting his own coaching career as an assistant with the Jayhawks that season. | |
| “Mark was one of the beloved Jayhawks during his time in Lawrence,” Self told the Topeka Capital Journal on Sunday. “I was a graduate assistant coach at Kansas when Turg was a junior. He has had a great coaching career and has really got that Maryland program on a very solid foundation.” | “Mark was one of the beloved Jayhawks during his time in Lawrence,” Self told the Topeka Capital Journal on Sunday. “I was a graduate assistant coach at Kansas when Turg was a junior. He has had a great coaching career and has really got that Maryland program on a very solid foundation.” |
| [Rasheed Sulaimon got the silent treatment after sparking Terps win] | [Rasheed Sulaimon got the silent treatment after sparking Terps win] |
| Turgeon took over at Texas A&M in 2007 and faced his old school six times with the Aggies, going 0-6. | Turgeon took over at Texas A&M in 2007 and faced his old school six times with the Aggies, going 0-6. |
| Carter said that Turgeon hasn’t brought up his ties to his opponent this week, and he hasn’t needed to. The team has recognized for much of the season where his foundation as a coach was built. He often cites Brown as the man who informs his coaching philosophies. He gave his mentors at Kansas credit for another coaching tick earlier this season, when he decided not to call a timeout in the final seconds of a tie game at Wisconsin in January. He was taught to not interrupt in that situation, but rather defer to the rhythm of the game. So he just watched in silence as Trimble brought the ball up and hit the game-winning shot right before the buzzer. It was one of the highlights in an up-and-down season, which Turgeon will try to extend without emotional attachment to his alma mater Thursday. | |
| “He’s never wanted anything to be about him. He’s humble, kind of wants to be behind the scenes,” Ann Turgeon said. “It’s about his guys, about his team, about his players. I think he is so truly thankful that they get to experience this.” |