Sports in Stilettos

Ok, I admit it. I did not like Terrell Stoglin at first.

He played a little too crazy and out-of-control and I may or may not have hurt my throat screaming at him through the tv for throwing the ball away - again.

But after he played so phenomenally well that he earned ACC Rookie of the Week recognition for two straight weeks, I’m happy to say I was wrong.

Early in the season, he seemed like he was trying to be too fast and too flashy - and it didn’t work. He had a lot of Greivis Vasquez-like moves - only when Vasquez made them last year, they were successful.

Maybe Stoglin just needed a little time to settle in and get his feet under him, because those crazy shots I hated him taking? They’ve started falling. In the last two weeks, he’s scored 25, 25, 17, and 28 points. The second-leading scorer for Maryland, Stoglin’s like a 6’1” whirling dervish of offense.

Sure, he still makes mistakes, but like Vasquez, he does so many other things that help the team that he gets away with them. And I’ll gladly take Stoglin’s freshman mistakes over Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker’s senior screw-ups any day.

I don’t even want to think about where this team would be without Stoglin at this point, and that’s something I never thought I’d say. Here’s hoping he only gets better from here.

I’m gonna miss this so, so much….

Clip from Gary Williams’ press conference after being hired to coach his alma mater.

This afternoon, he’ll have a press conference announcing his retirement.

Full circle, but man. What a sad day.

When a blog reader emailed me the link to the breaking news about Gary Williams’ retirement yesterday, it was like a torpedo that came straight through my inbox and hit me right between the eyes. Not gonna lie, it was no easy task holding myself together and getting through the rest of the work day.

In a recent post about Jordan Williams leaving for the NBA, I wrote, “Maryland was successful before he showed up and the team will be successful after he leaves. It’s really not the end of the world.”

The same, hopefully, will hold true for Gary Williams, but when I got the news, it legitimately felt like the end of the world.

It’s partly because I’m a young’un (relatively speaking), and partly because I didn’t become a diehard Maryland fan until fairly recently, but I’ve never known Maryland basketball without Gary Williams - and to be honest, I don’t really want to. Of course, Maryland basketball existed before he was the coach (otherwise, how could he have played for the Terps??) but a team without Gary on the sidelines is a totally foreign concept for me.

Maryland could get a really great coach to take over the program next season. But it won’t be Gary. The fist pumps, the screaming, the sweating, the yelling at the bench for the mistakes of the guys on the court, the ridiculous Midnight Madness entrances - the overall passion for the game, the school, and the fans can’t be replaced. Gary Williams can’t be replaced. Maryland basketball will go on without him, of course, but it’s the end of an era. My only regret is that I didn’t get to see more of it.

Dear Maryland:

Please pull an Uncle Sam and say “We Want YOU” to Butler coach Brad Stevens and then make it happen.

K? K.

—

After Gary Williams retired, the University targeted Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller, who apparently pretended to be interested long enough to finagle a contract extension out of Arizona AD Greg Byrne.

On Saturday, Byrne tweeted: “During our ongoing conversations, Sean is very aware & has been very aware that we want him to be our coach… We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that happens…”

And it worked. Bully for them.

What needs to happen now is for Maryland to go after a coach, preferably Brad Stevens whom I adore, and do everything in its power to make him the new Maryland basketball coach. Whatever they promised Miller? Not enough (provided he was ever legitimately interested in the first place, and I have my doubts).

Someone - someone who can coach and recruit and win despite having a pretty darn tough act to follow - needs to get an offer he can’t refuse. Asap.

And I would very much appreciate it if that person was Brad Stevens.

I get that Stevens is an Indiana guy, not an East Coast guy, and I really admired him for everything he said about sticking with Butler, but he’s young and I would be shocked, even more than I was by Gary Williams’ retirement announcement, if Butler wasn’t just a springboard to bigger and better things for Brad Stevens. Things like the ACC. And Maryland.

Stevens has done a superb job at taking players who were overlooked and under-recruited and coaching them into the tournament, and at Maryland, he can still play the underdog card. The Terps might play in one of the premier college basketball conferences in the nation, but they’re always third-fiddle behind Duke and North Carolina. Gary Williams had a lot of success coaching with a chip on his shoulder, always pushing his players to defy what he saw as low expectations. Stevens has had success with similar methods, but at Maryland, he’d have even better resources to work with.

If he can get thisclose to winning at national championship at Butler, I think he’s got a good shot at cutting down the nets with a program like Maryland, with a supportive administration and alumni base, passionate fans, great facilities and MD/DC/VA talent.

Maryland - Make this happen. Stat.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.

At least Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson better hope we do.

After a weekend of speculation, the Maryland Terrapins have hired Mark Turgeon, who until today was the head coach at Texas A&M, to fill the (huge) vacancy left by Gary Williams’ retirement.

Turgeon played college hoops at Kansas back in the day, and was 97-40 over the last four seasons at A&M, taking the Aggies to the NCAA tournament each year.

By all accounts, Turgeon is a solid hire, competent, capable, knows what he’s doing - which is more than many Maryland fans are saying about their athletic director at the moment.

After being seriously considered and then spurned by Arizona’s Sean Miller, reportedly because of Maryland missteps during the interview phase, the Turgeon hire is less than exciting. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know who he was before yesterday.

That doesn’t mean he’s not a good coach; he’s had success in the Big 12 and I would expect the same thing at Maryland. It just means he’s a lackluster hire, and because he was a dubious choice, he’s going to have less leeway in the eyes of Terps fans, through no fault of his own.

It’s been a wild week for Maryland basketball - Jordan Williams (unsurprisingly) left for the NBA, Gary Williams (shockingly) retired, Miller ended up staying at Arizona and Kevin Anderson somehow came up with Turgeon. Anderson better have his fingers crossed that Turgeon’s coaching abilities flourish in College Park.

In his first year as Terps’ AD, Anderson has had the opportunity to put a huge stamp on two of the school’s most visible athletics programs, football and basketball. So far, his picks have been pretty vanilla - safe, adequate, consistent. Time will tell if they’re the right choices, but neither one was the flashy hire fans craved. They’ll have to win, preferably early and often, to get Maryland fans’ attention - and if they don’t, there might be a good chance Anderson won’t be the one making the next hires.

“

Gary Williams was Maryland basketball. And I hope 15 years from now, 20 years, however long this lasts, that you’re going to say Mark Turgeon was Maryland basketball.

—

New Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon

I know a lot of Terps fans were disappointed Maryland didn’t hire Sean Miller and were skeptical about Turgeon, but I’ve heard nothing but praise for the coach’s performance at yesterdays’s press conference and even a little optimism and excitement for life after Garyland.

I’m glad his remarks reinforced the widespread opinion of many basketball experts that Turgeon is the right man for the job, and I hope it’s a sign of things to come.

It’s one thing to talk a good game, and quite another to coach one, but if Mark Turgeon can win games the way he won over so many Terps fans with one press conference, we’ll be in pretty good shape.

New Terps coach Turgeon wants to ‘do some great things’ - baltimoresun.com

I was disappointed and maybe slightly critical, but not at all surprised, when Jordan Williams left Maryland to turn pro, but I am majorly bummed out that Haukur Palsson is leaving after his freshman year to play professionally in Europe.

He only started three games but he appeared in 32, and while he only averaged 2.8 points per game, he had great energy every time he came off the bench. He always seemed to have a phenomenal attitude and wasn’t afraid to step up and take a shot when no one else was - and clearly he wasn’t afraid to take an elbow to the face, either.

New Terps coach Mark Turgeon said Hawk was leaving to be closer to Iceland, where he’s from, and also to start making the big bucks to help support his family. Can’t blame the guy for that, although Hawk will certainly be missed at Maryland this season (and not just by me!)

(via WashingtonTimes.com. Photo from AP Photo)

From ESPN.com’s College Basketball Nation Blog post “Gary Williams lives on a Maryland”

Take a close look at the bottom right.

Mark Gottfried’s coaching Maryland now?

LOL.

Pretty sure the name’s Turgeon.

Anonymous asked: How would you rank your preference for one of these to happen in the next few years? USC football national title, Terps basketball national title, Ravens Super Bowl title, Orioles World Series title.

Love this question! (But I have to choose? Why can’t I have them all??)

Here’s my order, with explanations:

1. Ravens Super Bowl title

USC would be my #1 choice, but since they’re ineligible this year, I’ll take a Super Bowl first. Today’s game aside, I think the Ravens are a great team and I’d like to see Ray Lewis get another ring while he’s still playing at such a high level

2. USC Football National title

It’s not an option this season, but this is the last year of the Trojans’ postseason ban, so next year…..

USC has a great quarterback in Matt Barkley, young receivers that are already among the best in the conference (Robert Woods is one of the best in the nation as a true sophomore), and a defense that keeps getting stronger. The Trojans are already playing much better than many expected, and if Barkley returns next year, it’s exciting to think how good this team could be.

3. Terps basketball national title

I wasn’t really a big basketball fan the last time around, so I’d love, love, love Maryland to win another national title. I’m excited about the future of the program under Mark Turgeon and I really really really want to see him succeed in College Park, because if he’s successful, that means the team is doing well.

4. Orioles World Series title

Sometime in my lifetime, please. This is almost a toss-up with Maryland basketball, but I made it my last priority just because it’s been SO long since it happened that I’ve managed to live without the O’s being any good. I remember what it was like when Baltimore was competitive in the division, but I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like for the O’s to be really good, World Series good.

I really hope I find out, preferably sometime soon, but right now, it seems like the Ravens and USC are better positioned to get the big wins.

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