Could new Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon begin his first season with just nine scholarship players? That's a possibility after he lost Sterling Gibbs and Martin Breunig, who both asked out of their commitments when Gary Williams retired. Those two departures mean Turgeon is down to nine scholarship players, and if his comments Tuesday are any indication, it might stay that way.
Via Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times:
"That's the million dollar question," Turgeon said. "We'd like to add a piece, but it has to be the right piece. I'm not going to add a stiff to add a stiff. We're going to be very selective. It's obvious we need a player with length to compete in the ACC next year. If you get the job in the middle of May, it's tough to add that piece. We'll see. We've got a lot of things going on. If we can, we will add someone. If not, we'll save the scholarship for 2012."
Of course, it's not like Turgeon has many choices this late in the recruiting process anyway. Either way, this has to be good news for anyone thinking about walking on to the team.