Mark Turgeon Will Help Coach Team USA This Summer
By Cory Forsyth
Mark Turgeon will serve as a court coach this summer at the U.S. Pan American men’s basketball team training camp.
Mark Turgeon will be trading in his red, white, gold and black for red, white and blue this summer.
No, the Maryland men’s basketball head coach will not be throwing a big Fourth of July party, but he will be helping Team USA get ready for the 2015 Pan American games.
Congrats @CoachTurgeon on being named a court coach for the 2015 U.S. Pan American Team! #FearTheTurgeon pic.twitter.com/zpsaVihNln
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) June 22, 2015
The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee selected the court coaches. This will be Turgeon’s first coaching assignment with USA Basketball.
He will be joined by two other court coaches; Jason Flanigan (Holmes Community College) and Ron Hunter (Georgia State).
"“In coach Flanigan, coach Hunter and coach Turgeon, we have three successful coaches who are also excellent teachers,” said Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Hall of Fame head coach and chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee.“Their involvement as court coaches will help have our USA Basketball squad fully prepared for the high level of competition in the Pan American Games.”"
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Turgeon and the other court coaches will help the USA coaching staff of head coach Mark Few (Gonzaga) and assistant coaches Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Mike Brown prepare the team for the games. Training camp will run from July 7-13 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Team USA will begin group play Venezuela on July 21, Puerto Rico on July 22 and Brazil on July 23. The top two placing teams in each preliminary round group will advance to the medal-round semifinals on July 24, while the third and fourth place finisher in each preliminary round group will compete out for 5th-8th places. The finals are on July 25.
Turgeon, who Jim Boeheim called an excellent teacher, has found himself going from the hot-seat to possibly having the preseason number one team in the nation. Coach Turgeon is only 50 years old and seems to be on track to become one of the best in the business. The opportunity to help get Team USA ready for the Pan American Games is a great example of why Maryland has a keeper in Turgeon.