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Maryland Basketball Is BACK And I Could Not Be Happier

 

 

My god, it's been such a long time coming. But finally, at long last, Maryland hoops is BACK and I could not be happier.

Growing up, all I cared about was Maryland basketball. All of us kids in Maryland, we grew up watching the Maryland vs Duke rivalry. Dixon, Blake, Mouton, all of em. And then...Mark Turgeon happened. For a decade we watched Mark Turgeon try and fail over and over and over again. He would bring in great recruits only for nothing to come from it. He led us to one, ONE single Sweet 16 in a decade and by the end of his run as coach he was the most hated man in the state. He was never a good fit but kept getting extended for a myriad of reasons. Finally he quit, the Terps hired Kevin Willard, and he has the Dirties off to an 8-0 start, including tonight's win over number 16 Illinois. 

I cannot remember the last time the energy around this team was so palpable. There is a buzz for Maryland hoops that I haven't felt in a decade. Even the 2020 team with Ant and Stix, it didn't feel like this AT ALL. You can tell the team wants to play for Willard. He's not a stick in the mud like Turgeon. (Sorry to him for the ricochet shots, it's just...he stunk, dude. His attitude, the way he carried himself, the way he couldn't coach in-game or draw up an inbounds play to save his life...for a decade!) And the students, these students who were born in the 2000's and don't even remember the glory days, are responding and it's amazing.

This is what Maryland hoops should be. When Maryland is in the mix, when College Park is shaking, college basketball is better off. When teams are scared to come into Xfinity and face the Terps and the student section, that's when college basketball is at its best. And we're so close to getting back to there and it makes me grin ear to ear.

In 2018 I wrote 1,000 words about how disappointed I was and how we needed to make Maryland great again

 

 

After the loss in 2021 to Alabama I wrote this:

 

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The bar shouldn't be so low that we now clap at "at least we made the tournament". That's the goal now? To make the tournament??? Fucking every team with a pulse makes the tournament these days. You realize when you say "this team overachieved and shouldn't even be in the tournament" you are making my argument for me? The team is so bad because of Mark Turgeon. He didn't even bother recruiting a point guard. No center. Hasn't made an in-game adjustment since 1995. He simply is not a high-level coach. He's just not.

 

Turg is now gone, and the expectations were supposed to reset. But instead, Willard has us at 8-0, ranked, and beating ranked Big 10 teams. In his first season, no less! It's amazing what a coaching change can do for a school, a program, a fanbase, all of it.

After the game Kevin Willard said "I'm gonna have a beer…and then 9 more." and boy does he deserve each and every one of those. I could just kiss that man on the mouth right now. Thank you for bringing Maryland basketball back out of the darkness and into the spotlight where it belongs. And he's just getting started. Fear the Turtle, baby.