Mark Turgeon wanted to make sure his four Terrapins men’s basketball freshmen didn’t have any misconceptions about the program. Each member of the highly touted recruiting class has the talent to score and will have the opportunity to pile up points this season, but the fourth-year coach values what happens on the other side of the court even more.
So Turgeon took the freshmen aside during three practices earlier this month to put the rookies through workouts targeted at improving their individual and team defense.
“Coach Turgeon has preached, preached, preached that defense is going to be our main objective the whole year,” said point guard Melo Trimble, ESPN’s 29th-ranked recruit for the class of 2014. “At first, we were like, ‘We’re all scorers and we just want to score and defense comes last,’ but now defense is a priority to us. Now defense comes first.”
The freshmen class’s willingness to fine-tune its defending represents a teamwide shift in focus, Turgeon said. After the Terps lost five transfers in the offseason and brought in the four rookies along with fifth-year senior Richaud Pack, Turgeon believes the team has become more invested in guarding opponents and working together to protect the rim in preseason practice.
He hopes the effort will help a unit that ranked 82nd in the country in field-goal percentage defense last season.
“We’ve had a great commitment to defense,” said Turgeon, whose team will play its first exhibition Saturday against San Francisco State. “Our guys have worked really hard. Once again, smart players learn quickly, do it right. They might not be as talented, might not be as fast, but they’re in the right position, and that makes up for a lot of things.”
Last season, an inability to slow mediocre offenses cost the Terps in several unsightly losses that played a part in keeping the team out of the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season. In home defeats to Oregon State and Boston University, the Terps gave up 90 and 83 points, respectively.
Turgeon thinks this season will be different because the Terps have added length in the interior. After spending much of the season sitting on the bench while learning the system his freshman season, 6-foot-11 Damonte Dodd is the likely starter at center for the Terps. And 7-foot-1 freshman Michal Cekovsky can also block shots, Turgeon said.
Plus, Turgeon expects the Terps to improve on last season’s plus-3.3 average rebounding margin, which ranked 70th in the nation. Dodd and senior Jon Graham figure to shoulder the load in the category once the season begins with a Nov. 14 bout against Wagner.
“Jon Graham, his motor never stops,” Dodd said. “So one thing I know I had to work on was boxing out, because he always goes to the boards.”
Beyond the lengthy big men and committed rebounders, Turgeon’s confidence in the Terps defense is rooted in the individual improvements his perimeter players have made.
Turgeon said Pack, a combo guard, will play significant minutes because he’s an established defender. He also lauded veteran forward Jake Layman, who led the team in minutes and ranked second in points per game last season, for reshaping the way he defends.
“It’s phenomenal how far he’s come defensively since last season,” Turgeon said. “It started to show late last year, he really started to guard, but he’s at a much higher level right now, really confident on the defensive end.”
Arguably the Terps’ two most important offensive players, leading returning scorer Dez Wells and Trimble, touched on their intent to play improved defense at the team’s media day Oct. 21.
Turgeon said he’s always pushing the 6-foot-5 Wells to use his athleticism on the defensive end and that Trimble has impressed on that side of the floor in practice.
“He’s one of our best team defenders,” Turgeon said. “That says a lot for a young guy to do that.”
Much has changed for the Terps since they bowed out of the ACC tournament last season and ended a disappointing 17-15 campaign. They’ve added five rotational players, lost five others and moved into the Big Ten.
It’s unclear if the defense will also morph from a shaky unit into a stingy one. But according to their sideline general, the Terps have developed an understanding of how important it will be to stifle their opponents.
“No matter what conference or country you play in, you still got to put the ball in the hoop,” Wells said, “and you still got to defend to win.”
