Kansas State Basketball: 8 candidates to replace Bruce Weber as head coach

Mark Turgeon

If Turgeon is the hire for Kansas State, one could be concerned that they are doing exactly what they did ten years ago, settling for a retread hire recently dismissed from a power conference program. However, the experience that Turgeon has picked up these last few decades cannot be overlooked and he’s certainly in a better position than some of these young mid-major coaches.

Turgeon played under Larry Brown at Kansas and was an aide when that program won the national title in 1988. He’s been a head coach at four different D1 schools, engineering a turnaround at Jacksonville State, leading Wichita State to a Sweet Sixteen, and taking Texas A&M to four straight NCAA Tournaments. He’s coming off ten and a half years of solid work at Maryland, leading the Terrapins into the Big Ten, and being a consistent contender; he just didn’t get the job done, especially in the NCAA Tournament.

Turgeon is from Kansas and he had arguably his most consistent success with the Aggies in the Big 12. His time in Maryland didn’t end with the greatest success, but Turgeon could honestly do great things at a program like Kansas State. If he could turn Maryland into a Big Ten champion just two seasons ago, he can definitely bring glory back to his home state, even if it’s at a program rivaling his alma mater.