The Maryland Terrapins are losing basketball coach Mark Turgeon after the school announced Friday that the program and the coach are parting ways. Maryland appointed its assistant coach Danny Manning as its interim head coach.
“After a series of discussions with Coach Turgeon, we agreed that a coach change was the best move for Coach Turgeon and for the Maryland men’s basketball program,” said Damon Evans, Maryland’s director of athletics. through a statement. “He has dedicated more than a decade of his life to the University of Maryland, and has trained with distinction and honor. He leaves College Park as the 2020 Big Ten Conference champion and with more than 225 victories. He is a great coach and a great person, and I wish Mark, his wife Ann, and their entire family the best in the next chapter of their lives. “
Turgeon added to the Maryland statement, and made it look like this decision has been in the talks for a while.
“After several in-depth conversations with Damon, I have decided that the best thing for Maryland Basketball, for me and for my family, is to resign, effective immediately, as head coach of Maryland Basketball,” said Turgeon. “I have always preached that Maryland Basketball is greater than any individual. My departure will allow a new voice to guide the team in its advancement.
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Jeff Goodman from the stadium It provided more context to this change, which was something of a shock to college basketball fans. The Maryland administration reportedly wanted to take a different path, and Turgeon was “worn out by work and the fan base.”
Turgeon in Maryland and Danny Manning interim.
The timing of this is a bit crazy. But that time was mutual in some respects. The administration wanted to go in a different direction and Mark Turgeon exhausted from the job and the fan base. https://t.co/6PqHz4LaEE
– Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 3, 2021
This change was primarily a shock because Turgeon had just signed a three-year contract extension in April, which means he would remain as coach until the end of the 2025-26 season. No further details on the reasoning behind the change have been released.
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Maryland under Mark Turgeon
In his more than 10 years as a coach at Maryland, Turgeon has a 221-113 record. Maryland has appearances in five of the last six NCAA Tournaments, and it would have been six of seven had the tournament not been canceled in 2020. The furthest the Terrapins have come in the NCAA Tournament under Turgeon is in the Sweet 16 in the 2015-16 season.
In the 2019-20 season, Maryland won its share of the Big Ten Championship title for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The team was predicted to go far in the NCAA Tournament before it ended up being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During 10 postseason games at Maryland, Mark Turgeon didn’t win an NCAA tournament game against a higher-ranked team until last season.
He was 3-6 in the Big Ten tournament.
He never had a team rated higher than No. 11 at KenPom.
Terps can do better.
– Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 3, 2021
So far this season, the Terrapins are 5-3 with their last 63-58 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Turgeon appeared defeated during the press conference after this defeat.
Mark Turgeon’s Maryland contract
In April, Turgeon signed a three-year extension with Maryland at a payout of $ 3.3 million per season. The contract also included bonuses for any milestones Turgeon had achieved, such as winning the Big Ten tournament or making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Because Maryland and Turgeon mutually agreed to separate, it is unknown whether Maryland owes Turgeon a certain amount of money. His contract stated that if he was fired before May 1, 2022, Maryland would pay him $ 5 million. If Turgeon left Maryland for any “sports-related employment or consulting in intercollegiate athletics or professional sports,” he would owe the school $ 500,000.
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Who is Danny Manning?
Danny Manning was hired as Maryland’s assistant coach in April with Turgeon. The two played college basketball in Kansas together from 1984 to 1987.
Before taking the Maryland job, Manning worked the previous year as an ESPN analyst. He served as the head coach of Tulsa from 2012 to 2014, then as the head coach of Wake Forest from 2014 to 2020. While none of those schools had tournament slots during his coaching years, he coached 14 future professional players at Wake Forest. , including John Collins and Jaylen Hoard.
Manning’s original assistant coach contract was a one-year, $ 275,000 contract. His contract would expire on April 30, 2022. No details on a new contract have been released.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.