BLOG: Sizing Up Maryland Basketball Coaching Change
I've always said to the critics that Gary Williams earned the right to stay at Maryland until he wanted to retire. His retirement came earlier than anyone expected. Now the Mark Turgeon era begins. I like the hire. He's a proven winner, a guy who has built programs (Wichita State) and maintained a program's success (Texas A & M). It could have been a disaster for Maryland, not getting a proven coach, but having to settle on an up-and-comer, especially in May. Instead, they got Turgeon, who clearly knows how to coach. His biggest challenge will be recruiting in this area, and recruiting athletic players that can compete in the ACC. There is a positive to what happened over the last week. Now, Kevin Anderson never has to worry about how long Gary will stay, or even worse, having to run him off like he did Friedgen. He gets a clean slate, and hires a coach on his terms. Early impressions are that Anderson did a good job.
