The Maryland Terrapins are losing basketball coach Mark Turgeon after the school announced Friday that the program and the coach would split. Maryland appoints assistant coach Danny Manning as interim head coach.
“After a series of conversations with Coach Turgeon, we agreed that a change of coach was the best move for Coach Turgeon and for the Maryland Men’s Basketball program,” said Damon Evans, director. sports in Maryland, said through a statement. “He’s dedicated more than a decade of his life to the University of Maryland, and has coached with excellence and honor. He leaves College Park as the Big Ten Conference 2020 champion and with over 225 wins He’s a great coach and a great person, and I wish Mark, his wife Ann, and his entire family all the best in the next chapter of the series. their lives.”
Turgeon added to Maryland’s statement, and he said the decision appeared to have been negotiated for a short time.
“After many in-depth conversations with Damon, I have decided that the best thing for Maryland Basketball, myself and my family, is to step down, 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 create a new voice to guide the team forward.
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Jeff Goodman of the Stadium provided more context for this change, which was somewhat of a shock to college basketball fans. Reportedly, the Maryland government wanted to go a different route, and Turgeon was “wearied by work and fanbase”.
It turned out in Maryland and Danny Manning temporarily.
The timing of this is somewhat insane. But have talked about time in some respects. Management wanted to go in a different direction and Mark Turgeon was exhausted from work and fan base. https://t.co/6PqHz4LaEE
– Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 3, 2021
The change comes mainly as a shock because Turgeon just signed a three-year contract extension in April, meaning he will stay at the coach until the end of the 2025-26 season. Details on the reason behind this change have yet to be released.
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Maryland under the leadership of Mark Turgeon
During more than 10 years of coaching in Maryland, Turgeon had a record of 221-113. Maryland has appeared in five of the previous six NCAA Tournaments, and would be six of the seven if the tournament were not canceled in 2020. The farthest the Terrapins have reached in the NCAA Tournament under Turgeon is to Sweet 16 in the 2015-16 season.
During the 2019-20 season, Maryland won 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 being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 10 postseasons in Maryland, Mark Turgeon didn’t win an NCAA game against a higher-rated team until last season.
He went 3-6 in the Big Ten tournament.
He has never had a team rated higher than 11th place on KenPom.
Terps can do better.
– Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 3, 2021
So far this season, the Terrapins are 5-3, with their latest 63-58 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Turgeon appeared to have been defeated in the press conference after this loss.
Mark Turgeon’s Maryland Contract
In April, Turgeon signed a three-year extension with Maryland for $3.3 million per season. The contract also includes bonuses for any milestones Turgeon has reached, such as winning a Big Ten tournament or appearing in an NCAA Tournament.
Because Maryland and Turgeon have agreed to part ways, it is unclear whether Maryland owes Turgeon a certain amount. His contract states that if he is fired before May 1, 2022, Maryland will pay him $5 million. If Turgeon leaves Maryland for any “sports related work or consulting in high school athletics or professional sports,” he will owe the school $500,000.
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Who is Danny Manning?
Danny Manning was hired as assistant coach of Maryland in April under Turgeon. The two played college basketball at Kansas together from 1984 to 1987.
Before taking the job in Maryland, Manning had worked the previous year as an analyst for ESPN. He was Tulsa’s head coach from 2012 to 2014, then Wake Forest’s head coach from 2014 to 2020. While neither of those schools had a league stop during his coaching years. In his coaching career, he coached 14 future professional players at Wake Forest, including John Collins and Jaylen Hoard.
Manning’s original assistant coach contract was a $275,000-a-year contract. His contract is set to expire on April 30, 2022. No new contract details have been announced.
