NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - MARYLAND VS ALABAMA

March 22, 2021

Mark Turgeon

Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Maryland Terrapins

Postgame Media Conference

Alabama - 96, Maryland - 77

COACH TURGEON: It's not the way we wanted to go out, obviously. We started well. I think we were up 12-4. And the game got away from us. But I think Alabama was terrific. Quinerly was off the charts. I mean, he controlled the whole game. We couldn't keep him in front of us. And nine assists at halftime. Not sure what he ended up with. I think they made 16 3s. They shot the heck out of it. They haven't been shooting it well lately, but they shot it well today.

And we're a good defensive team but we were just a step slow all night. We never could get caught up with their offense. So our offense was good enough at times for us. It just we just couldn't guard them. But give them credit. There's a reason they won the league and won that conference tournament. They're a heck of a team. I said before the game they were the fifth No. 1 seed in my mind and they played like it tonight. They were terrific.

Q. You mentioned Jahvon Quinerly and how much he attacked off the dribble. Do you think that was just a byproduct of the guys not being in the right spots and not being quick enough defensively or do you think that was just his explosive quickness from the point guard position?

COACH TURGEON: Probably not quick enough would be an answer, but also you've got a lot of really good shooters around him. They were all making shots. It's hard to come help. They spaced the floor well. And some teams will have one guy out there that can't shoot. And you can come help. And they were all making shots tonight. So it made it difficult for us.

Were we a little out of kilter, a little bit out of it? Yeah, and I think it took our mojo a little bit when they just kept making them. The start of the second half it felt like everything they threw up went in. And so, yeah, it took a little bit of our mojo out of us. But I think they were really good and we were just a little bit off our game. But you've got to give them credit.

Q. How much do you think the lack of depth kind of hurt you guys when Alabama is running and gunning like that and really just being able to sub in and play as fast as they wanted tonight?

COACH TURGEON: Well, Charles Barkley will say it: You are who you are; you are what your record is. And we are who we are. Certain teams we can match up with and really guard and figure out how to win games. And certain teams that were elite, like Alabama was tonight, was tough for us.

So, yeah, we couldn't sub. I subbed in that first half and the game got way from us. And guys got tired. We had a couple of guys that didn't play up to their potential tonight, which is disappointing.

But we are who we are. We talked about it all year. So it doesn't take away how proud I am of this group and what we accomplished this year and the fight we had. And we could have quit many times; we could have went a lot of different directions. But we stayed the right direction.

And we were able to get here and win an NCAA Tournament game when we were picked 12th and looked like our season was over in late January, early February. And we just to get here and be a part of this game says a lot about the young men in the locker room.

One, that we never had a positive COVID test. One, that we showed up for every game to play. That our coaches never had a COVID problem. We sacrificed a lot. So they're going to look at the record and say, oh, man we were 24-7 and this team was 17-14. But I think this team's going to be remembered for just unbelievable grit, unbelievable fight, unbelievable sacrifice.

We had Hakim Hart move to point guard just because we had to. We had Donta move to center just because we had to. And a lot of guys sacrificed -- coaches, players, managers. So many people sacrificed for this to happen.

So, I'm proud of every team. But this one will -- this takes it to another level for me. I always remember this team what they went through, how we fought. And we could have quit easily and never did. We were able to play in this game. Didn't play well we were able to be in a final 32 game with a chance to play in the Sweet 16 when it was a rebuilding year. I know I answered more than your question but I had to get that out.

Q. In the coming days, weeks, months, whenever when you think back on this team what are you going to remember the most?

COACH TURGEON: I think what I'm going to remember most is that we figured it out. And, so, like we kept losing and I'd look at my upper classmates and I'd say, guys, I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to figure out how we're going to be the best team we can be. Just stick with me, do what I ask.

And we did it. And we started on the defensive end. And to not have a shot blocker, which was really evident tonight, you know, we did some amazing things. We never became a great rebounding team. We were below-average all year, but on the defensive end we became a really, really, really good basketball team. It started there.

And just the fight. Just great leadership of Darryl Morsell and Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala, just to never give in. Just a, all right, guys, we're going to do this. We're going to practice hard. They brought it every day.

I learned a lot about coaching. I learned a lot about myself. I think I became a better coach this year because of the things I had to go through.

So, that's how I'm going to remember it. It's a team that I'm going to be really proud of and it's the building blocks hopefully for a better season next year. So we could have went the other way. It's easy to go the other way. We didn't do it. We kept fighting. And just really proud.

Q. It seems like when a team plays so fast it can unravel equally as fast. Especially at the beginning of the second half, what's going through your mind, what's it like when you're kind of watching it totally get away from you?

COACH TURGEON: I had to use two timeouts in the first half and probably waited too long on the first one. And the second one I was down 15. I almost had to call another one. We just couldn't get anything going offensively during that stretch either and they were making some tough ones. They're good when they get going. They haven't been shooting the ball that well the last few games -- the SEC Tournament. They haven't been shooting the ball well. Tonight they made some tough ones.

We knew they could make them. It wasn't like, there's certain guys we wanted to shoot it, and there's certain guys we didn't want to shoot it. But I just thought Quinerly was -- their best player didn't play. And so instead of playing through him they played through Quinerly. And it actually -- they probably learned a lot about their team tonight, too, which might help them moving forward.

It's no fun, especially for the last eight or nine weeks, we've been able to guard everybody but Michigan and maybe Ohio State at home, we've been able to guard pretty well. There was no answers tonight. We really had no answer.

Q. Specifically that first sub, usually you might bring in Galin and Jairus in at the same time or one of the two. But you brought in all three of the subs. Seemed like that was kind of different from what you do normally. Could you explain that?

COACH TURGEON: There wasn't a dead ball until almost the 13-minute mark and our guys were tired. That's why I did it. I probably should have called timeout earlier, but I didn't. You've got to play your guys. I mean, only got a few of them. Gotta play them, gotta give them a chance.

Q. What did you sort of tell your guys, especially like Darryl Morsell there in the locker room, this possibly being his last game? I know he could come back next year. But especially after such a loss like this.

COACH TURGEON: What I told him is don't let this night ruin what we've accomplished. I mean, as coaches you know and as players you know how hard it is to win. So we ran into a hot team that played extraordinarily well. So we kept battling. It wasn't like we stopped trying. We just couldn't guard them.

Our offense was pretty good. We had ten assists on three turnovers in the first half. I don't know what it ended up because I just left the meeting. But I told our guys, don't let this night ruin what you accomplished. Let's talk about all the great things. I said earlier -- and I went through every senior and all the players -- and I love 'em and love being the leader of this program.

And we could have gone -- we could have quit -- I'm telling you, it was dismal. And losing is no fun. And we didn't have a ton of confidence. And we just kept battling. We just kept trying to figure it out. And we had some really good stretches. We became more consistent. And I think they're going to be remembered as a team that sacrificed, was undersized, guys played out of position, and they went to the final 32. Right? I mean, come on.

We weren't a Final Four team. Come on, let's be real. And I think we maximized this team extremely well. And that's what I told them. I said you guys need to walk out of this building with your head up and proud of what you accomplished, because a lot of teams would kill to be where we were. There's 359 teams. There was only 32 playing this week, this last two days. And we were one of them. And it was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

I told Darryl, I didn't think Darryl was going to be player of the year and 1,000-point scorer. Reese Mona was incredible. Galin Smith is a guy that we respect like crazy; I feel bad for him because came from Alabama. But, hey, you can't control everything. We're not control; God's in control. But I'm really proud of this group, and I'm proud of every group but this one will have a special place in my heart as I grow older.