Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: News

Brad Honer - THE BATTALION Aggie men's basketball head coach, Mark Turgeon, addresses the 12th Man Tuesday afternoon at Reed Arena. Turgeon said his first order of business is to retain all of the Aggies' current recruits.

Video of the Press Conference

Video of the Yell Practice

Texas A&M basketball took another step when athletic director Bill Byrne announced that Mark Turgeon, the former head coach of Wichita State University, will try to continue the winning tradition that Billy Gillispie started. At 3 p.m. Tuesday, close to 2,500 students packed into the student section of Reed Arena to watch a news conference and were later given an opportunity to welcome Turgeon as the new head basketball coach at A&M. Interim A&M President Ed Davis introduced Turgeon with a quote he read from a Wichita State fan commenting on the character of Turgeon. Despite the fan's disappointment at losing him, he was excited for A&M in the type of person the University was gaining. "He has proven he can win at anything he does," the fan wrote. "He can build, he can rebuild. He can win a conference. He can win in the dance. Oh yeah, he is still a better person than a coach." During the press conference, Turgeon mentioned how excited he was to be coaching for A&M, and said that Larry Brown, a former coach on the collegiate and professional levels, told him A&M was the right decision. However, he made it clear that the decision was a difficult one, and that he cared immensely about Wichita State. Turgeon said he ultimately made his decision Monday night. When asked what he could tell his players, he choked up noticeably. "Besides that I love them, and that I want the best for them? I guess I'd just want to tell them that I know they can succeed," he said. One of the toughest challenges that Turgeon will have in front of him is recruiting. In spite of the challenge, he has a srong track record in recruiting, which was one of the primary reasons he is coaching at A&M today. "We will recruit in Texas," Byrne said. "We need to defend our borders." This comment brought raucous cheering from the crowd, owing to the fact that DeAndre Jordan, one of the biggest recruits in A&M history, is from Houston. Turgeon said that the team is going to play in a similar system to what they had under Gillispie. "I follow the motto 'play hard, play smart, play together.' I am a student of it," Turgeon said. "My players go hard every practice. I expect that from myself and from them. I don't like to make promises, but I promise that I will give everything I have to this job." The team showed up to support the coach, wearing new T-shirts that read, "Turgeon 2007." Josh Carter, a junior small forward, said that the team is happy. "There are a lot of changes going on, but we met with coach Turgeon and are really excited for next year," Carter said. "We're going to keep on giving it all we have and go from there. That's all we can do." Carter has been one of the primary agents in keeping the team together and sent messages to the other players to encourage them. He said he has also contacted Jordan as well. For the students of A&M, Turgeon had one message: "One of the things I've always heard of A&M is the passion of the students," he said. "I share that passion, and am excited to see it from you. This team needs you, and feeds off your energy. And I'll see you next year."

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