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New Maryland Basketball Coach Mark Turgeon Prefers A Slow Pace

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Now that Mark Turgeon has been hired as Maryland basketball's new head coach, it's time to figure out exactly what Terps fans should expect. We know that Turgeon is a successful coach, having led Texas A&M to four straight NCAA Tournament berths. We know he did a nice job building the Wichita State program.

But those are peripheral facts. The most important characteristic of Turgeon may be in his team's style. As Testudo Times notes, Turgeon is a huge contrast from outgoing coach Gary Williams in one key way: pace. Whereas Williams liked to press and force a fast tempo, Turgeon is known as a slow-paced coach. Here are his teams' pace rankings (possessions per game, adjusted for level of competition) at Texas A&M, via KenPom.com.

 

  • 2010/11: 326th in the nation (62.2 possessions per game)
  • 2009/10: 246th (65.6)
  • 2008/09: 231st (65)
  • 2007/08: 296th (69.2)
  • 2010/11: 17th (71.6)
  • 2009/10: 46th (70.3)
  • 2008/09: 128th (67.3)
  • 2007/08: 33rd (71.2)
That's a major change. We don't yet know whether Turgeon will successful as Maryland's next coach, but the team will certainly play differently.

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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