Field Level Media
04 Dec 2021, 23:25 GMT+10
Being merely a good coach isn't good enough at Maryland.
So, after winning 66.1 percent of his games and helping the Terrapins clinch a berth in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions, Mark Turgeon is gone.
The bar is high in a program built by charismatic coaches Lefty Driesell and Gary Williams. And Turgeon never quite reached it, taking the Terps to one Sweet 16 appearance in his 10 seasons.
The last straw came Wednesday. On a night when the program paid tribute to Len Bias, the Terps frittered away a second-half lead and lost to Virginia Tech, prompting fans to boo as Turgeon and his 5-3 team walked off the court.
Now it is up to Turgeon's former Kansas teammate, Danny Manning, to pick up the pieces as the interim coach. Manning begins his new assignment Sunday against visiting Northwestern (5-2) in the Big Ten opener for both teams in College Park, Md.
"Our staff remains focused on making sure we are there to support our players in every facet," Manning said upon his promotion.
Manning, formerly the head coach for two years at Tulsa and six at Wake Forest, takes over a team with enough talent to be ranked No. 21 at the start of this season.
Eric Ayala leads Maryland by averaging 13.5 points per game, while Fatts Russell (12.3 points, 3.5 assists) brings speed to the offense. Qudus Wahab, who averages 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds, provides a presence on the interior.
The Terps have been hampered by crooked shooting as they've hit just 26.8 percent of their 3-point attempts.
Long-distance shooting is a weapon for Northwestern.
Pete Nance, who leads the Wildcats in average points (17.3) and rebounds (7.9), has made 45.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Boo Buie (16.7 points per game) has hit 15 shots from beyond the arc, tying him for the team lead with Ty Berry.
Northwestern is coming off a 77-73 overtime loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
"We're gonna be in a lot of close games. We know that. We gotta win our share," coach Chris Collins said. "If you're gonna have a good season, you gotta win more than you lose when you get in those situations."
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Kansas City Post news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kansas City Post.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
CAIRO, Egypt: This week, both Hamas and Israel shared their views ahead of expected peace talks about a new U.S.-backed ceasefire plan....
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...