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)
By contrast, here are where Williams' Terps teams ranked.
- 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.