Illinois comes to Comcast Center with plenty of depth When Mark Turgeon looks down the sideline Tuesday night at Comcast Center, he will see the type of team he hopes to build at Maryland.
In eight seasons at Illinois, Bruce Weber has delivered six NCAA tournament appearances and one trip to the national title game. In addition, he has done it largely with homegrown talent. This year’s roster of 15 includes 11 players from Illinois.
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| Illinois at Maryland |
| When » Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. |
| Where » Comcast Center |
| TV » ESPN |
It’s similar to the composition Turgeon envisions for the Terrapins in a few years.
“I’d like to think within a five-hour radius of our campus would be where we’re going to recruit and recruit heavily,” Turgeon said. “I’d like to think Baltimore’s going to be a great area for us, P.G. County and D.C.”
When Maryland (3-2) faces Illinois (6-0) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Terps will be at a serious disadvantage, playing a fully formed team. While depleted Maryland will depend heavily on seven rotation players, Weber can chose from 11 who average at least 12 minutes a game, including guard D.J. Richardson (13.5 ppg) and 7-foot-1 center Meyers Leonard (12.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.2 bpg).
“The thing that scares me with anybody right now is if they have quality depth,” Turgeon said. “They’re relentless. Eleven guys pressuring in the backcourt do a great job in their motion. They’re hard to guard. It will challenge us. It’s great for me this early in the season to play a team that’s this well coached.”
When Weber arrived in Champaign in 2003 as Bill Self’s successor, he inherited a trio of All-American guards — Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head — who sparked the Illini to three straight Big Ten titles.
When Turgeon landed in College Park, there was no such bounty. The departures of Haukur Palsson and Gary Williams’ recruits Sterling Gibbs and Martin Beunig, combined with a 10-game suspension for freshman Alex Len and a broken foot for guard Pe’Shon Howard, have further crippled an already thin roster.
“I had no idea what I was getting into,” Turgeon said. “But I know what I’m into now. I can handle it.”
