Coach Mark Turgeon speaks to the crowd during Maryland Madness at Xfinity Center on Oct. 17, 2015.

As Mark Turgeon and the Maryland men’s basketball team embark on what looks to be a special season, Mark’s older brother, Jim, is in the midst of beginning another year of coaching, too. But he’s doing so 1,600 miles away from his sibling at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he coaches the women’s hoops team.

After eight successful campaigns leading the women’s squad at Iowa Western Community College, the elder Turgeon is now at the helm of the ThunderWolves, a Division II program that competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. While the two Turgeons coach on different sides of the sport and are far away geographically, when it comes to getting to know more about someone, few people can help you do that better than that person’s brother.

Therefore, I decided to give Jim a call and ask him some questions in an attempt to gain further insight into his and Mark’s relationship. He did not disappoint.

Below are some of the best and most insightful exchanges between Jim and I, including dialogue about which Turgeon is the better 1-on-1 player, how their coaching styles compare and if Jim follows the talented Terps from Colorado.

Terps Watch: Take us back to the beginning…was yours and Mark’s relationship the typical “older brother beats up on younger brother” dynamic?

Jim Turgeon: I think it was a little bit different. We actually got along really well. I was the older brother and still the dominant one, but he hung around me a lot growing up, and I think that’s why he was such a good basketball player, because he hung around me and my friends. Everybody in our neighborhood was a little bit older than him, and I think that developed in him a little toughness and the ability to play basketball against bigger people.

TW: There must’ve been some pretty intense matchups out in the driveway during those younger days, so tell us: Which Turgeon was better? Who has the most 1-on-1 career victories?

JT: Well, it’s interesting. I kicked his butt all the way growing up. And then during his freshman year at Kansas, we both came home for Christmas, and in one year’s time, I went from beating him like 15-3 to him beating me like 15-1. He made a big jump that year at Kansas. He’s a lot better [of a] player.

TW: Obviously, one big difference between you and Mark is that you coach women while he coaches men. Can you talk a bit about the different challenges you think that you guys face on your side of coaching?

JT: There’s problems on both sides, just different types of problems. I think the girls are usually a little more mature, they take care of stuff in the classroom. I think in general, their attitude is better and they’re a little more coachable. The problems with guys are — hell, I was the same way when I was in college — you just do dumb things. Meanwhile, with girls, it’s more about the jealousy part. On the girls side, if you don’t make everybody, 1-15 on your roster, feel like they’re a part of the program, you usually have problems.

TW: Another glaring difference is the size of schools that you guys work at. Can you speak about the advantages and disadvantages that come from being at a small school like CSU-Pueblo compared to being at a big one like Maryland?

JT: First of all, in [women’s] recruiting, there’s a pecking order. It starts at UConn, Tennessee, Baylor and those types of programs, then trickles down. While I’m not saying the recruiting is easier for Mark being at a big school at Maryland, I think it definitely helps. But Mark lives in a fishbowl, where I can go to Target and nobody knows who the hell I am. He can’t go to dinner with his family without somebody knowing who he is. So it’s kind of nice not to be noticed.

TW: So you guys coach different sides of the game and at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of school size. Does that mean your coaching styles are different, too?

JT: We’re a lot alike. We’re both tough-minded, defensive coaches. We both yell — we get that from our dad. We both stomp our feet. We walk alike, talk alike, just a lot of the same mannerisms when we’re coaching. When I’m watching him on TV, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s just like me.’ We’re very, very similar, I think. We’re intense.

TW: How often can you guys see each other, considering how demanding your profession is?

JT: It’s really, really hard. I think I’ve been out to Maryland one time over Christmas break when my team wasn’t playing and his team was playing. When he was at [Texas] A&M, I was able to go to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City one time. And then I went to Chicago for the NCAA tournament to watch them play. But it’s really, really hard. And the same thing with phone calls. We both get busy — sometimes we talk a lot, and sometimes we might go a month without talking on the phone.

TW: OK, so you don’t get to see him that often, but do you still follow the Terps? If so, what are your thoughts on them and their potential this year?

JT: Oh yeah, I was watching the Georgetown game. I don’t know why Ceko wasn’t playing more (laughs). I think their ceiling is very, very high. But I do worry that they’re getting so much publicity right now, because they’re dependent on — I mean, everyone’s talking about Melo, and Melo’s great, but he’s a sophomore. They’re talking about Diamond, and he’s a freshman. And I just think the expectations are a little bit out of control. But I think people see the potential, and they could be there at the end.”

TW: To wrap up, give us a breakdown of you and Mark’s social media game. Who’s better?

JT: I don’t think either one of us are very good at it. I think he’s on Twitter more, and I do Facebook more than him. And I think I’m better on Facebook and he’s better on Twitter. But nobody cares what I say, and they care about what he says, so that makes a difference.

You can learn a bit more about Jim Turgeon here, and you can follow him on Twitter, too. 

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