Mark Turgeon
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Mark Leo Turgeon (born February 5, 1965) is an American
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach. Turgeon served as the head men's basketball coach at
Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...
from 1998 to 2000,
Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
from 2000 to 2007,
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
from 2007 to 2011 and
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
from 2011 to 2021.


Personal

Mark Turgeon was born and raised as one of five children in
Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
. After graduating from Hayden High School, Turgeon attended
The University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
, where he earned a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in personnel administration in 1987. He is married to Ann Fowler, whom he met at KU, and together they have three children.


Playing career

Turgeon played basketball at Hayden High School, helping the team post a 47-3 record and capture two consecutive Class 4A state championships in 1982 and 1983. Turgeon earned All-State Tournament team honors in both of those years. Although only 5 feet 10 inches out of high school, Turgeon earned a scholarship to play basketball at
the University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
under coach Larry Brown. Turgeon played in four straight NCAA tournaments, becoming the first KU player to do so. He was a reserve point guard for the 1985–86 Jayhawk team that won the Big Eight Conference regular season and tournament title and also advanced to the Final Four in the
1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the champion ...
. The team finished that season 35–4 overall. Turgeon was a team captain for both the 1986 and 1987 squads, was a member of the Big Eight All-Freshmen Team in 1984, and was also a Big Eight All-Academic Performer in 1986. Fans called him "The Surgeon" because, in addition to the phrase rhyming with his surname, he had the ability to "carve up defenses." After his freshman year, Brown told Turgeon that he would likely never play in the NBA and should consider becoming a coach after college. Turgeon agreed, and Brown soon began asking his advice during games and practices, inquiring "What would you do here?" Turgeon remembers that he never got the answer right; Brown always sighed, rolled his eyes, and did something differently.


Coaching career


Early positions

After Turgeon earned a degree from the University of Kansas in 1987, he immediately took a position as an assistant to his former coach, Larry Brown. In his first year of coaching, he helped the team win a national championship in the 1988 NCAA tournament. That team has been dubbed "Danny and the Miracles" due to the leadership of National Player of the Year
Danny Manning Daniel Ricardo Manning (born May 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the Associate Head Mens Basketball Coach at the University of Louisville. Manning played high school basketball at Walter Hin ...
. Turgeon remained on the Kansas staff when Roy Williams took over after Brown left for the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
in 1989. He also served as the head coach of the junior varsity team. During this time, Kansas won back-to-back Big Eight Conference championships in 1991 and 1992, and also captured the conference tournament championship in 1992. Following the 1992 season, Turgeon left Kansas to become the top assistant to recently hired
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
head coach Jerry Green, who had also been an assistant at Kansas. During his five years as an assistant at Oregon, the Ducks were invited to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 34 years, earned a spot in the 1997 NIT, and had three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in two decades. Turgeon also served as the team's recruiting coordinator in 1995, and recruited a class that ranked 35th nationally. The following year, he signed two of the top 100 prospects in the country. Turgeon briefly left college coaching in 1997. When head coach Jerry Green left Oregon to coach at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
, Turgeon again chose to work for his former coach, Larry Brown, becoming an assistant for the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's Philadelphia 76ers for a year.


Jacksonville State

Turgeon accepted his first head coaching position in 1998 with
Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...
in
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
. In his first year as head coach, the team accumulated an 8-18 record, finishing tied for 10th in the Trans America Conference. The following season, his team improved to 17-11, 12-6 in conference, with a 3rd place conference finish.


Wichita State

After the 1999–2000 season, Turgeon returned to his home state as head coach of the
Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference (A ...
, a team which had had only two winning seasons in the previous 11 years. In his first season with the Shockers, the team lost their first 11 games before winning 9 of their last 17 for a 9–19 record. Of their losses, two came in overtime and four others were decided by fewer than four points. They improved the following season to 15 wins and 15 losses, the most wins the team had had in a season in four years. For the next three seasons, the team steadily improved, earning a berth in the National Invitation Tournament for each of the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons. During the 2006 season, the Shockers continued to improve, winning the
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...
for the first time since 1983. The team earned a trip to the 2006 NCAA tournament, the program's first since 1988. The Shockers defeated 10th-seed
Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...
by 20 points in their first round game and upset 2nd-seed
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 25 years. The Shockers were then defeated by the eventual Final Four participant
George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
, 63-55. Turgeon and the Shockers started the 2006-2007 season 9-0, winning on the road at
George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
,
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
, and Syracuse. The Shockers were ranked as high as #8 on the
AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...
before entering a slump, ending the season 17-14 and without a postseason.


Texas A&M


2007–08 season

After former head men's basketball coach
Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas A ...
left Texas A&M to coach at
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, Turgeon was immediately hired as head coach on April 10, 2007. Turgeon acquired all of Gillispie's recruits for the 2007–08 season, including 5 star-rated
DeAndre Jordan Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies. Jordan was se ...
. The Aggies started the season ranked 14th in the preseason
Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officiall ...
. Once the season progressed, they won the 2007
NIT Season Tip-Off The NIT Season Tip-Off is an annual college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year, toward the beginning of the season. The first two rounds are held at campus sites, while the semifinals and the finals are held during the ...
to extend their winning streak to 7–0. They would lose their first game of the season to unranked
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, compiling a 7–1 record after the loss. After the Arizona game, they would then win eight straight home games against unranked opponents. Team performance spiraled down once conference play had begun, losing three straight unranked teams—at
Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
, at
Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Univers ...
-led
Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
, and at home to Baylor. The Baylor game took five overtimes, becoming the longest game in Big 12 history. The Aggies could post wins at their next five matchups, including one over the 10th-ranked rival
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
and three away games. They then regressed, losing to
Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
at home. Another high point came when they defeated Texas Tech 98–54 at home, matching their highest margin of victory in school history (set in 1959 against Texas). The Aggies regressed once again, this time losing 64–37 at Oklahoma. The game had marked the worst loss in history since 1967 and had the third-worst shooting percentage (.255) in history. The team also had only one
assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
and 18 turnovers in the game. After the blowout, the Aggies were able to revenge Baylor in
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
, though came back home to lose their final regular season game to eventual national champion
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
to finish 8–8 in conference play. The team received a No. 6 bid to the Big 12 tournament, defeating Iowa State and Kansas State in the first two rounds, but lost to Kansas again in the semifinals. With their 24–10 record after the Big 12 tournament, the Aggies received a No. 9 at-large bid to the West Regional of the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they defeated 8th-seeded
BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
67–62 at Anaheim. In the second round, they faced
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
at the same site, losing in a close 51–49 contest. The Aggies finished the season with a 25–11 record. The 25 wins matches the record for most wins by a first-year coach at a
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...
school, set by former Texas coach
Tom Penders Thomas Vincent Penders (born May 23, 1945) is an American retired college basketball coach, who last coached from 2004 through 2010 at the University of Houston. He is from Stratford, Connecticut and has a 649–437 career record. As a college at ...
in the 1988–89 season.


2008–09 season

Turgeon's Aggies started the year unranked, with senior
Josh Carter Joshua Neville Carter (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for PAOK of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He played college basketball for Texas A&M. He also played fo ...
receiving preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention. The team won its first four games before falling against
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
. After that, the Aggies won 10 straight to close out non-conference play with a 14–1 record. They lost four of their first five Big 12 games, the win coming against then-#21 Baylor. Following a three-game losing streak, A&M won two straight at home against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State before bookending it with another three-game losing streak. The Aggies then won their final six games to close out the season, including wins over rival Texas, Nebraska (on Carter's three-pointer at the buzzer), and then-#12 Missouri. Finishing the regular season with a 23–8 record, the Aggies lost to Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. They earned a #9 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Regional and, for the second straight year, a matchup with
BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
. After defeating BYU for the second straight year, 79–66, the Aggies came up short against #1 seed and eventual Final Four participant
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
. Texas A&M finished the season with a 24–10 record; Turgeon's 49 wins in his first two seasons was the most by any new coach in Big 12 history. Junior Derrick Roland was selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Turgeon's recruiting class for the Class of 2013 was ranked #25 by ESPN.


2009–10 season


2010–11 season


Maryland

Prior to his last year at Texas A&M, Turgeon had negotiated a contract extension and salary increase. On the evening of May 9, 2011 at 8pm (local time), Turgeon met with his coaching staff and players to inform them that half an hour earlier he accepted the head coach position at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
. He had visited the campus earlier that day and left with an offer. When asked about his decision at an Aggie Athletics press conference, he said "Maryland's got a great basketball tradition. exas A&M and Maryland arereal similar. It's a gut feeling." In their meeting earlier that night he told the Aggie players "it was the hardest decision eever had to make... because of
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the g ...
" Turgeon said that fan attendance at A&M did not factor into his decision. After his arrival, Maryland students adopted the phrase "Fear the Turgeon," a play on the school's motto, "Fear the Turtle." Some students, known as the "Turgeonites," created a fan club for the coach and dressed like him on game days. Turgeon captured his first win as the University of Maryland head coach on November 13, 2011 after defeating UNC Wilmington 71-62. In his first three seasons, Turgeon led Maryland to one postseason, an appearance in the NIT Semifinals in 2013. In 2015, Turgeon was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, after coaching Maryland to a 14-4 conference record. The 2015-16 Terrapins advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, defeating South Dakota State and Hawaii as the #5 seed in the South region. On February 19, 2019, Maryland knocked off #21 Iowa for its first road win against a ranked opponent since January 19, 2008. It was Mark Turgeon's first such victory since December 2, 2006 while coaching at Wichita State. On December 3, 2021, Turgeon and Maryland mutually agreed to part ways, ending his nearly 11-year tenure as head coach."Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon steps down after 10-plus seasons"
''ESPN''. Retrieved 2021-12-03.


Head coaching record


References


External links


Maryland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turgeon, Mark 1965 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kansas Basketball players from Kansas College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball coaches Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball coaches Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball coaches Oregon Ducks men's basketball coaches Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches Sportspeople from Topeka, Kansas Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball coaches Wichita State Shockers men's basketball coaches Point guards