Mark Turgeon Escaping Hot Seat as Maryland Turns Tide Behind Talented Freshmen

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As soon as Maryland secured the rebound that sealed a win over No. 13 Iowa State on Tuesday night, Mark Turgeon turned toward his bench and let out a "Yes!"

The only thing missing from the moment, and the celebration that followed the 72-63 victory and CBE Classic title, was Turgeon on the receiving end of a Gatorade bath from his players. 

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At the very least, they cooled his seat.

Turgeon enters his fourth season at Maryland with his job on the line. Two wins in Kansas City highlighted the good the coach has brought to the program—a talented and highly ranked freshman class—and distracted from what will be a season-long job watch.

"I don't think of it as my fourth year or this year or that year," Turgeon said. "We're just trying to make the most of this team." 

He may not focus on what year this is, but it's a good bet the Maryland administration is well aware. NCAA tournament appearance are how we judge coaches these days, and Turgeon has yet to make one at Maryland. 

Fair or not, that's the nature of the business and the expectations that come with a storied program. Most coaches don't get more than four or five years to get to the dance. In fact, only six major-conference coaches in the last 10 years survived five NCAA tourney-less seasons, and none of those six resided at a pressure-cooker of a job like Maryland.

Gary Williams missed the tournament only four times in his final 18 years at the school.

So Turgeon's fourth year and Maryland's first in the Big Ten will be examined under a microscope, and as insignificant as most November games are, this carried with it some weight.

It was the first nonconference win over a ranked opponent for Turgeon at Maryland, and it's one that will look good on the resume come Selection Sunday.

"I don't want this about me, guys," Turgeon said, in response to a second straight question about the significance of the win for him and his program. "You know I don't worry about anything that people put on us. I know I can coach. I just have to get the right people."

Translation: I just needed to get the right talent.

In other words, it was all about him.

Sure, he can coach. Let's make that clear. That much is evident by what he's done at other places. He took Wichita State to a Sweet 16 and set the foundation for what Gregg Marshall has turned into a mid-major powerhouse. He followed that up with four NCAA tournaments in four years at Texas A&M.

Turgeon has had some nice players at Maryland. Alex Len developed into a lottery pick, and senior Dez Wells was one of the toughest covers in the ACC and will be the same in the Big Ten. But whether he can coach or not, the talent had not been on par with the top teams in the ACC.

That's why the biggest win Turgeon has had at Maryland was when he put the finishing touches on his most recent recruiting class.

That group, ranked as the 12th-best class in the country by Rivals.com, had its fingerprints all over two wins at the CBE.

Point guard Melo Trimble, the gem of this class, dropped 31 points on Monday against Arizona State and followed that up by playing his best floor game of the year against Iowa State. After struggling with turnovers over the first few games of his career, he played poised, got his team into its offense and wisely picked his spots to score 11 points.

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Freshman wing Jared Nickens came off the bench to drill three momentum-swinging treys and score 15 points. Dion Wiley made his only shot—a three—and big man Michal Cekovsky led the Terps with eight rebounds, and his length was a big reason why Iowa State shot a dreadful 29.7 percent. 

"They're winners," Turgeon said. "There's a reason they were ranked so high as a recruiting class." 

What was Turgeon's sales pitch to land them? 

"He told me he wanted the type of recruit that knew how to win," Trimble said.

Turgeon is genuine when he says he doesn't want to make this about him, but it will benefit him to tie himself to his four freshmen. That class is the best card he has to play if this season, off to a 5-0 start, ends up going south. He has a core group there that has a chance to be really good. 

Hopefully, not for the next guy.

C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.