Mark Turgeon reached a simple conclusion at the end of last season: For his Terrapins men’s basketball team to make noteworthy strides during his second campaign at the helm, James Padgett would need to give him more.
Not necessarily in production. Not even in minutes. Turgeon just needed more vocal leadership from his consistent forward. Padgett would be one of two seniors on the 2012-13 squad. He’d be the elder statesman in a rotation featuring a host of newcomers.
And even when freshmen big men Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare started replacing Padgett in Turgeon’s starting lineup earlier this season, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native fulfilled his part of the bargain. He never complained, trying instead to make the most of a suddenly reduced role.
But Padgett’s responsibilities have expanded in recent days. Hoping to capitalize on a small and inexperienced Wake Forest frontcourt, Turgeon started Padgett Saturday for the first time since a Jan. 13 loss at Miami. The co-captain responded with perhaps the most efficient performance of his playing career, shooting 6-of-6 from the field in a team-high 26 minutes.
He connected on a baby hook during the team’s first possession, and cruised to his highest point total since late November.
“I was just working on finishing, making as many shots as I can and following through,” Padgett said moments after the Terps’ 86-60 win. “I don’t think I ever went 6-for-6 ever.”
That milestone came three days after Padgett tallied six points and three rebounds in a season-high 31 minutes during the Terps’ buzzer-beating loss at Florida State. He sat just one minute after halftime and earned praise from Turgeon during the postgame press conference for his solid interior defense.
Padgett has now scored more points (18) over his past two games than he did in his previous seven games combined. In that span, he has also paced the Terps from the field with an 88.9 shooting percentage.
Turgeon is taking notice. The second-year coach said yesterday he plans to start Padgett at Virginia Tech on Thursday. In fact, he went so far as to say the team needs Padgett to continue his solid play if it hopes to have any chance of doing “what we need to do down the stretch.”
At first glance, it may have seemed a bit of an overstatement considering Padgett’s limited role during the weeks preceding the Florida State defeat. After starting 10 of the Terps’ first 11 games, Padgett hadn’t topped the 20-minute mark in 2013. He was averaging 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds during that span — a far cry from the 8.8 points and team-high 5.8 boards he averaged as an everyday starter last season.
The reduced playing time wasn’t a punishment for mounting turnovers or decreased production. Turgeon simply wanted to create minutes for Mitchell and Cleare, two highly touted rookies with substantially higher ceilings than Padgett.
Padgett is consistent, sure, but he possesses little flash. He’s good for a few rebounds, a couple high-percentage hook shots and the occasional trip to the free-throw line. Mitchell and Cleare, meanwhile, have more star potential. They can use their burly frames to dominate during stretches, attacking the glass with force.
With that in mind, Turgeon felt compelled to tinker with his lineup as the Terps readied for ACC play in late December. He wanted to see how Mitchell and Cleare would hold up against high-major competition, to see if they could provide a much-needed spark during a tough stretch that featured games against N.C. State, North Carolina and Duke.
Padgett accepted the decision and quietly waited his turn on the sideline.
“He was a little bit down, but James is a senior,” center Alex Len said. “He knows how to handle it.”
Perhaps Padgett’s biggest asset this season is his grasp on his role. He knows he’s not the Terps’ go-to scorer, and realizes he’s no All-ACC candidate. He’s just trying to give what he can, to follow through as a vocal leader of a youthful group.
So after Seminoles guard Michael Snaer hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to hand the Terps’ their fourth-straight road loss on Wednesday, Padgett wasn’t content sitting passively in the visitors locker room. He told his teammates time was running out. He said they needed to start winning soon, that the ACC tournament was closer than they thought.
And then he hit 100 percent of his shot attempts against the Demon Deacons three days later.
“James was just tremendous the whole [game],” Turgeon said. “It was a welcomed sight.”
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