Prominent coach joins chorus blaming Turgeon’s resignation on Maryland fans

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Gonzaga coach Mark Few is the latest to blame Mark Turgeon’s resignation on Maryland fans. Asked about it on Friday, few said it was their fault he had resigned.

“That fan base made him so miserable it was no longer worth it. The toll it was taking on him and his family. And then I think you could see that effect, it was even wreaking havoc on his. team, ”said Few, one of the country’s most successful coaches and close friend of Turgeon.

The account that Maryland fans were to blame for Turgeon’s abrupt decision to quit his eight-game job in a tough season has been popular. Few’s tale featured an image of a crowd of foaming fans waiting in Turgeon’s bushes and booing his team during games. I

“I don’t think a college team should be booed. Not at home. You know, on the road, I get it. But you should never boo college kids at home. I have a real problem with that. But the word fan is short for fanatic, so there you go. “

In reality, it was a handful of hoots directed at their trainer.

Athletic’s Seth Davis, a longtime Terps fan antagonist, delivered a similar story earlier this week:

With each March the criticism from the fans grew louder and louder. Social media amplified the noise outside, but over the past few years there has also been a lot inside the Xfinity Center, the Maryland arena. It was bad when the Terps lost there to George Mason, 71-66, on Nov. 17, and it was worse when they fell to Virginia Tech last Wednesday at 4. I didn’t speak to Turgeon, but from my conversations with other sources, his decision to stop was cemented as he walked off the field that night as abuse rained down from the stands, ”Davis wrote.

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But Davis admitted that Turgeon’s playoff results weren’t good enough. He has appeared in five NCAA tournaments in nine full seasons, which would have been six out of 10 had the 2020 tournament not been called off, going 5-5 in March Madness with wins over Valparaiso, State. South Dakota, Hawaii, Belmont and UConn. Under Turgeon, Maryland went 3-6 in the Big Ten Tournament with a semifinal appearance, and 1-7 in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge.

“Maryland fans have every right to expect more from a Sweet 16 in 10 years. Of that, there is no doubt. The question is whether their desire for more will ultimately leave them with less. crawling into Turgeon’s chair will know exactly where he is and what he’s getting himself into. Maryland is a great job, but it has high expectations. If you win, they’ll cheer. If you lose, they’ll boo. way, it’s gonna be loud, ”Davis wrote.

The Washington Post’s John Feinstein also felt that the unceremonious divorce was to some extent the fault of the fans, writing that he should be happy to shake it off.

“Coincidentally, I was in the car driving home from another game on Wednesday and heard Turgeon’s post-game radio interview. He looked like a battered man. ‘asked, he noted the boos that followed his team to the floor and said he knew most of them were for him. He explained how frustrated he felt – and that this was only December 1, “he wrote.

“In the meantime, Maryland fans will be celebrating Turgeon’s departure. The only one who could celebrate more is Turgeon.”

That last part might be correct. It was clear years ago that Turgeon had lost the support of much of the fanbase and was growing more sensitive, although the local media never questioned his results, his recruiting or his safety. employment. Last spring, when fans were ready to leave him and his contract came to an end, many believed Turgeon would find a job elsewhere and start over before things got worse, as many coaches do when their marriage to a university deteriorated. It has been an eventful 17-14 season, and many fans have wondered how the roster has been put together so poorly; Line-up building was also a major issue in Maryland’s 5-4 start after starting the season in the No. 21 in the AP poll.

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In perhaps his best coaching job, however, he had won an NCAA tournament game with a very flawed team that started 1-5 in Big Ten. So he let it be known that he was not going anywhere. But fans, frustrated after 10 seasons and a Sweet 16, were inundating the team’s official social media posts with negative comments about him. A lot of those who weren’t yelling about him were just logging out. Apathy was spreading, subscriptions were not and were being renewed and bands of empty seats were multiplying at Xfinity Center.

It will take some time for Maryland to reinvigorate these fans.

“First of all, I don’t listen to criticism. I’ve never done it, I never will. Because I know who I am and what I do, and I’ve been proven myself ever since. very many years. But it’s satisfying because we were chosen 11th or 12th. I was disappointed that we lost our last two games because if we could have finished sixth in a league, you are chosen 12th, which is the best league in the country, ”he said last spring on the Kevin Sheehan Show.

He had glued it to his detractors. Finishing almost sixth (his team finished eighth) with a team so flawed that they were chosen 12th. A team he had built.

Evans – not a Turgeon fan – gave him an extension, but it was an extension that made his dismissal easier. He also loaded him with incentives based on playoff performance and made it clear that he expects a breakthrough season in 2021-2022 or that would be it.

And he leaned heavily on Turgeon to program tougher non-conference opponents after years of an easier schedule without renowned opponents, designed to stack 20-win seasons and avoid bad losses on Selection Sunday, which has garnered frequent criticism from bored fans. Turgeon, apparently starting to feel the stress of a bad start and a team not listening to him, stung Evans.

“You tell my AD [Damon Evans] this. It would help me. [Laughs] He wants me to always program hard. When we got the transfers we felt like we were going to be a good team. We want to challenge ourselves. I think the Atlantic-10 is a great League, ”he said.

Turgeon, clearly exasperated after the team’s poor start, alternated between blaming himself and his players on the rough start, in which his newcomers and returnees didn’t mix and his team scored 3 points. at one of the worst rates in the country. There were audible boos and a few chants about sending him back when Maryland lost to Virginia Tech in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge a week ago, but barely a damning chorus and audible boos were there. almost non-existent until this season.

It was his breaking point. He told Evans about his resignation and they had an announcement ready 36 hours later. Shortly thereafter, the series of comments and columns arrived, describing his decision to quit as the result of an insane fanbase, who expects perennial national championships in return for the roughly $ 30 million the Maryland paid him.

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