The four days following Gary Williams’ retirement last May were nothing short of chaotic.

Every day, it seemed, a new high-profile candidate to replace the iconic coach of the Terrapins men’s basketball team emerged: Arizona’s Sean Miller, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey.

By the time the dust settled and Mark Turgeon was announced as the Terps’ new coach May 9, many fans were left wondering, “Who is this guy?”

The program’s first season under the former Texas A&M and Wichita State coach may end today against Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament. With a win or two in Atlanta, it could very well continue in the NIT. With four wins, the Terps will have made a miraculous charge into the NCAA Tournament.

Regardless of this season’s final result, though, Turgeon has shown us one thing this season: He was the right guy for the job.

Now, hold on. I’m not saying that another coach wouldn’t have been able to do a comparable job here. Look at Miller — he took an Arizona program in similarly dire straits to the Elite Eight in his second season.

But Miller’s the new face of the Wildcats, and the Terps needed a face to call their own.

It seems they’ve found it in Turgeon.

This is not to say that this season was a rousing success. The circumstances surrounding this season notwithstanding, a 6-10 conference slate in the midst of a 16-win season is nothing special.

Let’s first, however, rewind about five months. The Terps were absolutely depleted by the exits of Jordan Williams and Haukur Palsson to professional leagues. Those losses, coupled with Pe’Shon Howard’s broken foot in the preseason and Alex Len’s suspension, made it look like the Terps were in for an absolutely pitiful season.

Even Turgeon, after the Terps’ Feb. 18 loss at Virginia, could be overheard in the hallway of John Paul Jones Arena saying he foresaw this team winning seven games — no, not in conference play. The entire season.

With all the adversity he’s faced, 16-14 is a damn good record. Now consider the games they were within a stone’s throw of winning — overtime losses to Virginia and Miami, a two-point loss to Georgia Tech, a five-point loss to N.C. State. Win two of those, and you’d be hearing different things about Turgeon and the Terps this week.

But the facts remain: He’s a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year who brought Texas A&M to the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons with the Aggies.

Before that, he brought Wichita State to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

You know what brings a Wichita State-type team to the Sweet 16? Coaching.

You know what keeps Texas A&M among the upper echelon of a conference with the likes of Kansas, Missouri and Texas? Coaching.

And you know what kept the Terps from embarrassing themselves this season? Well, you get the picture.

You saw one of his best coaching performances in the Terps’ regular-season finale Sunday, with Turgeon acting like an absolute lunatic on the sidelines to fire the team up and inspire an impressive second-half comeback to force overtime.

After the game, he lamented that he needed to act that way.

“Unfortunately, I thought I had to be like that to get us going,” Turgeon said. “I thought I had to get the building behind us to get us some energy. I don’t like acting like that, but when you’re a coach, you have to motivate everyone in the building. I don’t want to have to act like that.”

It’s stuff like that, though, that has made Turgeon’s coaching performance this year so impressive. He’s patiently nursed the development of freshmen Nick Faust and Len, while sternly managing the ego of Terrell Stoglin.

Turgeon just knows the game. He turned this year’s Terps into a respectable product, an outcome many would have seen as impossible entering the season.

He’s already got a top-25 recruiting class coming in next season. Those classes are going to only get better.

You’ve seen what he’s done with this year’s thin Terps team. You’ve seen what he’s done with the Wichita States of the world.

So when you watch the Terps today in Atlanta, imagine a Turgeon-coached team with superior talent, because that’s coming your way soon.

And when that day comes, you can bet that more than the die-hards inside Comcast Center will know just who this guy is.

cwalsh@umdbk.com