Maryland Basketball Q&A w/ Chris Knoche

For the 4th time, Terps Radio Analyst Chris Knoche has been kind enough to answer a few questions from Baltimore Sports and Life.

In addition to his radio gig, Knoche is also a contributing writer to Comcast Sportsnet. You can find his blog at: http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/chris_knoche

Baltimore Sports and Life: “You recently wrote an outstanding retrospective on Gary Williams (http://www.csnwashington.com/05/07/11/Chris-Knoche–Gary-Williams-Retrospectiv/landing_maryland.html?blockID=518572&feedID=276) at Comcast Sportsnet, documenting your long shared history, and your obvious admiration for Williams. As someone that provides professional analysis on Terps Basketball, do you find the beginning of the Coach Turgeon era invigorating? Meaning after the continuity of the past two decades, are you looking forward to seeing how the program changes/evolves?”

Chris Knoche: “Thanks for the kind words on the article. Given the long relationship I wasn’t sure where to start or how to finish. As for your question, this is a basketball program that, for all intents and purposes, has had two head coaches over the last forty years. Given the fluid nature of the sport, it’s probably a good thing when a program regenerates itself like this. I think Mark enters with all the capabilities of doing great things. That said, there’s an incredible amount of work to do from the jump.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “At Texas A&M, Coach Turgeon had two Assistants (Scott Spinelli, Alvin Williamson) who had followed him from Wichita State, and a third Coach (Bill Walker) who had been part of his staff the past three years. Coming to Maryland, there is a lot of sentiment from Terps fans for Coach Ranson, and Coach Eshan to remain part of the staff. For 7 years, you were the Head Coach at American University. As a former Head Coach, what do you think is the larger part of the equation for Turgeon as he puts his staff together? The comfort of past/known relationships, or making sure to have ties to the inherited players and the recruits recently signed and sought?”

Chris Knoche: “Tough question. I love Rob and Bino but my gut reaction is that you always err on the side of loyalty. If you’re Mark Turgeon, Scott and Alvin are known commodities. I thought it was interesting at the Turgeon press conference he specifically said he needed some east coast roots on his staff. I’m not sure what all that means but we’ll see soon. I expect the staff issue will be ironed out quickly.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “We understand that 2011 commits Sterling Gibbs, and Martin Bruenig have asked out of their Letters of Intent. Still, it is my belief that if Coaches Eshan, and Ranson return; they are likely to remain Terps. For the purposes of discussion, let us go with the idea that there are no defections, and the 2011-12 Terps Roster looks like:

Guards: Stoglin, Howard,  Faust, Gibbs
SF: Mosley, Palsson, Parker
Bigs: Padgett, Bruenig, Weijs, Pankey

Obviously it is a team with a talented group of guards and wings, and some limitations in the front-court. Do you think Parker can play up as an undersized 4, similar to what we saw out of Milbourne his Jr, and Sr years?”

Chris Knoche: “It took Landon a while to get to that point and even then there were some ups and downs when he played against taller guys. Mosley might be a better option short term because of his strength.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “As a Freshman, Terrell Stoglin was second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) in just 21.5 minutes a game. In a 6 game stretch in February against ACC teams, Stoglin averaged over 19 points per game. Overall, he shot 46% from the floor, 83% from the line, and 36% from 3. Going forward, would you like to see Stoglin regularly have the ball in his hands, or play off the ball? In December you talked about Stoglin needing to improve defensively. Did you see improvement as the year progressed?”

Chris Knoche: “Those defensive liabilities can be found in any freshman in the country. The best part about his game is that he completely unafraid to make plays. As for playing the point or the two spot, players play. You find a spot for guys like that and change according to matchups and who plays well along side. While he’s primarily a point guard, his fellow freshman Pe’Shon Howard had some terrific minutes at the point last year too. They play well together.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “Fellow Freshman Guard Pe’Shon Howard was becoming more consistent as the year ended. Showed some great interior passing, and the ability to hit open 3’s (36%). For the year he averaged 3.2 assists to 1.7 turnovers. Needs to improve at the line (68%). If the biggest progression in a player comes between their Freshman and Sophomore years, what is the most important thing for Howard to improve between now and next November?”

Chris Knoche: “Can he grow a couple of inches? If he did he’d start on the Maryland football team and be drafted in the NFL. This guy has big heart and I like to watch him play. His free throw percentage was low but I remember him hitting some big free throws during the season. He’s a natural leader. You find time for guys like that.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “In December you talked about liking Palsson’s demeanor and versatility. While he would occasionally get minutes at the 4, his minutes were primarily at the 3. Effort never appeared to be an issue for him, and good things seemed to happen for Maryland with him on the court. As the season ended, I thought he was getting his shot off quicker. He finished the year shooting 41% from 3. Your current thoughts on him?”

Chris Knoche: “Hawk was a really pleasant surprise last year. He shoots it well and is really competitive around the bucket. This is a huge off-season for him to work on the athletic part of things…his quickness and speed largely.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “As a former Top 60 recruit, coming off of a productive Sophomore season; expectations were high for Sean Mosley last year. Without Vasquez, Milbourne, and Hayes on the floor – Mosley faced increased defensive pressure, and his numbers regressed across the board. (FG% from 51% to 41%, FT% from 81% to 77%, 3pt% from 39% to 27%.) With expectations dialed down for his Senior year, would you be surprised to see his numbers rebound?”

Chris Knoche: “Some things you see in sports are inexplicable and make no sense. Sean just never, ever found a rhythm offensively and it affected a lot of other parts of his game. It was tough to watch. I think he’ll settle down and have a great senior season. Sometimes you can want things a little too much for yourself. If he relaxed a bit it might help him.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “It would be unfair to ask anyone individually to try and replace Jordan Williams. Even collectively, I think everyone understands that the Terps are not going to replace Williams’ interior scoring. However, if Pankey is healthy (which is a question after back-to-back years of leg injuries) I think Maryland has 3 athletic bigs ( including Padgett, Weijs) that are capable of running the court and helping defensively and on the boards. If you were their coach, what goals would you be setting for each?”

Chris Knoche: “I think I would tell them that their singular focus in any game should be to get every rebound they possibly can. If you’re working the glass on the offensive end, easy points will follow. If you do it on the defensive end you allow your team to control tempo. Any way you cut it you’re going to miss a guy who was a lock double double in every game. One other thought…it was just two years ago that Padgett and Jordan started school and a lot of people were expecting that Padgett would be the guy inside. If he works at it he’ll have a shot now.”

Baltimore Sports and Life: “In our recent interview (https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/?p=2467) with Jay Bilas (ESPN), Mike DeCourcy (Sporting News), and Jason King (Yahoo Sports) those analysts stated Coach Turgeon’s teams play disciplined, tough physical defense, value possessions, get high quality looks on offense, provide max effort, do not beat themselves, and get the most out of their talent.  If the ’11-’12 Terps (based on the assumed roster above) max out their effort, and provide consistent defense; is there enough talent on the team for a Tournament appearance?”

Chris Knoche: “Wow…putting the pressure on. Of course there is enough talent for that because when you do all of those things- play defense, play hard, get quality looks and don’t beat yourselves then you will be in every single game. The other thing is that if you do those things the sum of the group will far exceed the value of its individual parts. Simply put, that’s why you coach…to see that happen.”