For longtime ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, there’s no doubt who has the toughest task this season among the D.C. area’s first-year basketball coaches: Mark Turgeon at Maryland. “Replacing Gary Williams is going to be tough, man. We’re looking at a potential Hall of Famer,” Vitale said on a conference call Wednesday, noting that Williams will be one of the honorees at Vitale’s annual gala for the V Foundation for Cancer Research next spring.
As for Turgeon: “He knows basketball. He knows people. I just hope and pray people are patient.”
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Vitale said George Mason coach Paul Hewitt would be better regarded if it weren’t for the players he lost early to the NBA. He also blamed Georgetown’s recent up-and-down seasons on the toughness of the Big East, in which Connecticut went 9-9 last year before its run to the national title.
“[John Thompson III] has done a good job in a tough, tough situation,” Vitale said. “This year, I’m really curious about them. I’m wondering what they’re going to be like.”
– Craig Stouffer
