Net Gains
Texas Monthly Intern Kyle Adams talks to A&M Coach Mark Turgeon and UT Coach Rick Barnes about what fans can expect in the upcoming season.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Turgeon
Glen Johnson/Texas A&M Athletics
Q&A: Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Turgeon
First-year Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon has a tough act to follow. Before fleeing the Lone Star State to take over at Kentucky, Billy Gillispie took Aggie basketball to new heights, leading the team to two straight NCAA Tournament berths. A&M, long the bottom-dwellers of the Big 12, won 27 games last year, reached the Sweet 16, and finished the season ranked ninth nationally in both major polls. Turgeon will be tasked with maintaining that pace, albeit without All-American point guard Acie Law IV. Before coming to College Station, Turgeon spent seven years at Wichita State, where he led the Shockers to three consecutive 20-win seasons, four straight post-season appearances, and a Missouri Valley Conference title and Sweet 16 appearance in 2006.
How well are you adjusting to Texas A&M?
Well, adjustment’s hard. I was at one place for a long time, but I think each day the adjustment gets better. I’ve inherited a great group of guys. That’s making it easier. And they want to be good. So, that makes it easier too. Sometimes you can inherit a program where the guys really don’t care, and that makes it tough. I think each day we get to know each other a little bit better, what we expect out of each other. It’s a process that we’re going through, but I think both sides are pleased right now, players and coaches.
Was there a little bit of a culture shock at first?
There were some things that freaked me out early, but I love it now. You either get into it or you don’t, and I’m going to get into it. I want to make sure that people look at me as an Aggie, a guy that’s doing everything he can to be a part of what’s going on in our environment down here. I really enjoy it. I’ve really enjoyed the football games. I think that’s where I first got it. I was like, “Okay, now I see what everybody says about this place.” I think it’s a special place, and I’m really pleased with the administration and the school and just the whole environment of Texas A&M.
Where did you first meet Athletic Director Bill Byrne?
University of Oregon. I was an assistant coach out there. I met him in ’91 [or] ’92.
He’s done some great things for A&M athletics in his four plus years there. What’s your impression of him?
I just think he wants every program to win. It would be real easy for an AD just to come in here and put everything into football. But, he’s doing that plus raising money so the rest of us can be successful. I think Billy Gillispie should get a lot of the credit for what he did. I think Bill Byrne should get some credit too for putting money into basketball, investing in it, and giving it a chance to be successful. He’s continuing to do that. With the help of alumni and the 12th Man Foundation, we’re building a $23 million practice facility. They’re making a commitment for basketball to be good.
What are the positives and negatives of taking over a program on the rise?
All I see is positives. I had taken over programs that weren’t in great shape, and I didn’t want to do it again. The key, when we got the job, was to keep all the players here and keep all the recruits here. I see a great group of young men who know how to win, expect to win. They’re very coachable, very driven. And then you’ve got an environment with basketball here at A&M now…where fans expect to win, expect us to be good, and I like that. The only concern I have about this year is I think we’re a very young basketball team. We have three guys that have played a lot of minutes, and everybody else hasn’t played. We’re pretty highly ranked, and our schedule’s tough out of the chute. That’d be the only thing that I’d be concerned about with this program right now, because I do think as the year goes on we’ll get better, but we are a very inexperienced team.
On that point, how important is veteran leadership from seniors Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk?
Well, they’ve got to become better leaders. I think they’re very good leaders. I think Joe at times does what he has to do. Dominique leads by example. They’ve got to become more vocal leaders on and off the court. They’re good people, and they do things the right way, so I think they’re good role models for the young kids. Then hopefully the young kids will turn into Dominique Kirks and Joseph Joneses for us someday. I’ve been pleased with those two, but they’ve got a big task on their hands because we do have a young team, and quite frankly, off the floor, a pretty immature team, because they’re young, but they’re a fun group. And so, they’ve got their hands full. We all do. Those guys definitely need to lead for us.
How important is that going to be, especially with a tough non-conference schedule?
That’s the thing. If we had nine games that we’re supposed to win out of the chute and a couple tough ones, I probably wouldn’t be as concerned because our team could grow with that schedule. But we’re not going to be able to do that. So there is a little concern. These guys have been busting their tails. A new system is being put in on the offensive end. Defensively it’s basically the same. There are concerns with our schedule being so difficult so early in the year, staying confident, and getting through it. But the guys expect to play that schedule, they want to play that schedule, and I know they’re looking forward to playing that schedule. With that said, we just got to get them ready as coaches and do the best we can.
What’s different about your offensive system? What kinds of things do you emphasize?
We try to run a little more. They had some games last year where they really pushed the ball and did some really nice things, but I think we’ll try to run a little bit more. We’ll run our sets, we’ll have our secondary break, but we’ll also go into some motion—very simple motion, very easy motion, but motion that is going to be hard to guard for other teams. We’re always trying to get the best shot we can, and my philosophy is to share the basketball. So, I’ve got us working together at all times.
Replacing Acie Law is obviously a key. Do you expect Donald Sloan, Dominique Kirk, and B.J. Holmes to share time at point guard?
Yeah, they’re all going to do it. Today, my starting point guard is Dominique Kirk. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be my starting point guard a month from now, but today he is. He’s doing the best job. B.J.’s doing a great job, and Sloan just gets better every day. They all bring me something a little bit different. I think, right now, Kirk brings me the most. Sloan’s really good on the break, really good with the ball in his hands, has great vision, [but he] doesn’t always make the best decisions. He’s not as good at getting us into our offense as he will be three weeks from now, but he can do a lot of great things for us. B.J. understands how to be a point guard, understands how to lead, how to get us into our stuff. He’s just got to get better on the defensive end, and he’s doing that, he’s working hard. I’ve been pleased with all three of them. Are they ready? Not yet, but they will be.
In addition to leading the offense, do you expect Kirk to be a better scorer this year?
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