Congratulations

We all thought college basketball was over with until next fall.  We've heard of a few star playings signing letters of intent, but that's about it.  Well, last week there was some pretty big news developing, that Gary Williams was retiring at the University of Maryland.  Gary Williams built that program into something special.  It's not Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, or North Carolina, but it's right up there with it.  But what's more important is that it's in a very talent rich part of the country.  This job could be a win win for both Maryland and the next head coach.  Maryland would have the luxury of being able to choose a good quality coach, and for a coach that's established himself at a good school that's not a national powerhouse, to take that next step up.  And let's face it, Coach K, Bill Self, John Calipari and Roy Williams aren't going anywhere any time soon.  Most schools like a Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Missouri, etc. look to a mid major coach, such as Brad Stevens or Mark Few to revive their program.  Well, as we saw with Kansas hiring Bill Self from Illinois, Maryland would be in the same position.  They could afford to look at those coaches and give them a shot at the big time.  Well, I was very suprised, and very happy to see that Maryland was considering someone who was also rumored to be Williams replacement at Kansas.  I don't know for sure, but I imagine a big part of the reason Mark Turgeon wasn't picked at Kansas was because he hadn't yet coached at a bigger school, in a power conference.  He was the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year in 2006 then took the Wichita State Shockers to the Sweet 16.  I was really pulling for him to get the Kansas job, and if he had, I'd probably be one of the biggest Jayhawk fans in the country.  Yes, you could say I have a "man crush" on Mark Turgeon.  He comes from basketball royalty.  He played for Larry Brown at Kansas, and was an assistant for Roy Williams at Kansas.  He did at Wichita State what many before him failed doing, resurrecting their basketball program, making them a powerhouse in the Missouri Valley.  He would ultimately leave WSU for Texas A&M to replace Billie Gilespie.  At the time, I was skeptical.  I thought he could do much better than Texas A&M.  But at the same time, I knew he wouldn't be there forever.  I figured this would be a stepping stone to something better.  A&M is a football school, and I wasn't sure if he could succeed.  Well, bottom line, he did.  His accomplishment at A&M is similar to what he did at WSU.  This year had to be one of his best coaching seasons after the way it started.  Just before the season, his top recruit was killed in a car accident.  To be able to take a football school and make it relevant in basketball is quite an accomplishment, and was unfortunately one of the contributing factors to him taking the job at Maryland.  A&M's football program is coming back, which means more competition for him.  I was VERY happy to read last night that Turgeon got the job at Maryland.  As I said earlier, this is a win-win for both parties.  Turgeon gets his shot at a big-time, tradition rich school, and Maryland gets a proven, winning coach.  He is taking over at a good time too, with the ACC being down.  He will be able to make a run at the ACC title almost immediately.  Another factor is the respective conferences.  The Big XII is headed for major changes next year.  They will be going from 12 teams to 10, and play a round robin format, playing each team twice, home and away.  It's not know how this will work out.  It's not known if this will help or hurt the Big XII's status as a power conference.  The Big XII isn't going anywhere, but they may not be a top 3 like they have been the last few years.  The (old) Big XII was also football conference.  Now he goes to the ACC, who is down, but on the way back up.  The ACC is a basketball conference.  They tried to make themselves relevant in football by adding Miami and Virginia Tech several years ago, but since have been even more irrelevant in football.  Bottom line is, Turgeon WILL succeed at Maryland.  As one of Turgeon's biggest fans, I am extremely happy for him, and hope this works out for him.  I am confident that he will succeed, but nothing is guarranteed.  Matt Doherty (another one of my favorite coaches) got his dream job in North Carolina, and that didn't work out.  I still think it had nothing to do with him, but I won't go into that.  I am excited to see this, and it's already got me looking forward to next season.  Good luck Mark, and I wish you the best of luck in your new job.