Three hours elapsed Saturday as Maryland's team bus wound over the hills on Route 29 while hurtling back to College Park.
The sounds of another Maryland loss were amplified more than usual Saturday, a function simply of playing a game in the grand basketball cathedral known as the Palestra.
Alex Len's initial impact on Maryland's basketball fortunes came at both ends of the floor.
Mark Turgeon offered a consistent mantra throughout the first two months of his debut season as the Maryland men's basketball coach: The Terrapins had a long way to go on defense.
First-year Maryland men's basketball coach Mark Turgeon is a breath of fresh air, and not just because first-year football coach Randy Edsall is emitting so much funk. No matter who occupied the head office at the Gossett Team House, there's little doubt that athletic director Kevin Anderson at least got the hoops hire right.
Maryland appeared headed for a rout in its ACC home opener. But with this Terrapins team, that just isn’t going to happen.
Maryland forward James Padgett made it look effortless on a possession early in the second half at N.C. State on Sunday. After Sean Mosley's 3-point attempt was errant, Padgett simply collected the miss, went up, made a layup and went about his business.
There were no indictments of Maryland because of its loss to Illinois on Tuesday, only a statement of the obvious.
Mark Turgeon didn't get everything he wanted Tuesday night, most notably a victory. He did receiving something important: More renewed belief in his first Maryland team.
