In the summers after my first two years at this university, I worked as a baseball counselor at a camp in Maine. Every day, I taught youngsters the fundamentals of America’s pastime: keep your eye on the ball when you swing; step and point before you throw; get your glove on the dirt when fielding grounders — the basics.

The practices usually lasted 50 minutes. But by the end of those short periods, I would often see dramatic improvement from the kids. One camper who couldn’t even touch a pitch with a bat at the beginning was hitting line drives by the end.

Whether those outcomes derived from my coaching is a point of debate; however, the satisfaction I received from watching the kids develop was substantial.

Take my feeling and multiply it by 100. That’s the fulfillment Terrapins men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon has found this season with a young group of players who, above all else, listen.

Saturday’s victory over Winthrop was a perfect example.

Six times, the Terps inbounded the ball out of a timeout. Turgeon called a set play in five of those instances. Four of them resulted in made 3-pointers, including two from freshman Jared Nickens and one from freshman Dion Wiley.

The fifth set provided forward Jake Layman with an open layup that went halfway down before rimming out.

It’s one thing to execute play calls out of timeouts; it’s an entirely different one to make the shot. The Terps did both with poise and consistency Saturday, and Turgeon voiced his approval after the game.

“I brag about the guys,” the fourth-year coach said. “They were good after timeouts today, they were concentrating.”

It’s the type of focus that was often absent last year, when the team featured a number of players — some of who transferred — seemingly unwilling to commit to certain roles. Everyone wanted to put the ball through the hoop; no one wanted to set the pick that freed up an open shot.

This season’s squad is different.

The Terps’ trust and belief in one another — and more importantly in their coach — is evident in their reliability out of timeouts despite the absence of two starters and the presence of significant youth and inexperience.

It goes both ways, too, as Turgeon has placed uncompromising faith in his freshmen.

The Terps got off to a slow start against the Eagles on Saturday and fell into an early 5-0 hole before Turgeon called a 30-second timeout to regroup less than five minutes into the contest.

Nickens and Wiley entered the game after the break. And despite neither player having touched the floor, Turgeon called Nickens’ number on a designed play, bringing the freshman off two staggered screens in the half court for a wide open 3-pointer.

He drained it to end the sloppy scoreless drought, and the Terps went on to score 79 more points over the final 35 minutes to secure their eighth victory.

“We just provide sparks,” Nickens said.

Since media day Oct. 21, Turgeon has gushed about how much he “loves” coaching this team. His players have pride on defense. They share the ball on offense. They communicate. They know their roles and embrace them.

And it’s resulted in a brand of basketball that produces victories and is enjoyable to watch. The Terps’ 8-1 start speaks for itself.

But more significantly, Turgeon is proving his coaching ability. Skeptics in the past have questioned the former Kansas standout’s in-game competence and labeled him a better recruiter than schematic mind.

This season, with attentive players, Turgeon is laying those doubts to rest.