Maryland Basketball: Is 2018-19 a make-or-break season for Mark Turgeon?

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COLLEGE PARK, MD – FEBRUARY 13: Diamond Stone #33 of the Maryland Terrapins looks on against the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at Xfinity Center on February 13, 2016 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

FBI investigation

Of course, there’s also NCAA (and potentially legal) trouble in the program as well. The school received two subpoenas stemming from the FBI’s ongoing investigation into corruption and bribery in college basketball.

The subpoenas involve former Maryland big man Diamond Stone, who reportedly received $14,000 as an enticement to sign with former NBA agent Andy Miller’s agency, ASM Sports, after leaving College Park following his freshman year, and Kansas big man Silvio De Sousa, whose guardian reportedly accepted a $20,000 payment from Adidas (Maryland, an Under Armour-sponsored school, was recruiting him before he picked KU, an Adidas-sponsored school).

The school released the following statement earlier this month about the subpoenas:

"On March 15, 2018 and June 29, 2018, the University received grand jury subpoenas for documents related to the ongoing federal investigation of college basketball. The University complied with the subpoenas by providing responsive records. None of the responsive records shows evidence of any violations of applicable laws or NCAA bylaws by University coaches, staff or players. The University has cooperated and will continue to cooperate fully with the ongoing federal investigation."

This may be something for Turgeon, or it may be nothing. However, those semantics simply may not matter.

Just look at what happened to Kevin Ollie at UConn. Just four years after leading the Huskies to their fourth national championship, he was fired due to poor on-court performance.

Well, technically, he was fired after the school discovered NCAA violations that included conducting improper workouts and having illegal contact with recruits – but those are relatively minor violations that would have been dealt with if UConn felt that Ollie was worth keeping around. The school clearly didn’t and used those violations as a reason to fire him for “just cause.”

Basically, UConn was looking for a way to part with Ollie while also getting out of the remainder of his contract. Maryland already has that with Turgeon and the links to the FBI investigation. Now, if the Terps don’t perform, he could meet the same fate – even with a contract that lasts through the 2022-23 season.

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