Maryland’s successes in its first year in the Big Ten have not gone unnoticed.
Coach Mark Turgeon was named the Big Ten coach of the year by a panel of reporters that cover the conference, the school announced Monday, while senior guard Dez Wells, junior forward Jake Layman and freshman guard Melo Trimble all earned various all-conference honors.
Turgeon, in his fourth year, has guided the Terrapins (26-5, 14-4 Big Ten) to their most regular-season victories in school history. The team lost five players to transfers before the season began and was picked to finish 10th in the preseason Big Ten poll, but defied those expectations and finished the regular season with a seven-game winning streak.
“I am thrilled for Mark as he is very deserving of this honor, particularly with it being our first season in the Big Ten,” Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson said in a statement released by the school. “Mark’s tireless work ethic and commitment helped established a new school record with 26 wins [and] I’m happy for the success that Dez, Melo and Jake had during this remarkable regular season.”
The Big Ten sponsors honors from the conference’s coaches and from the media, with Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan named the coach of the year by his peers. Wells, Trimble and Layman were honored by both groups, with Wells on the coaches’ first team and the media’s second team, Trimble on the media’s first team and the coaches’ second team and Layman on the media’s third team and recognized as an honorable mention by the coaches.
Trimble, who was also named to the Big Ten all-freshman team, led Maryland with 16.1 points and 3.1 assists per game. Wells averaged had 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, shooting 46 percent from the floor, while Layman averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished,” Turgeon said in that statement. “This is award is a testament to our coaching staff, players and administration who did a tremendous job preparing for our first season in the Big Ten. I am very excited for Dez, Melo and Jake. The hard work they put in starting this summer paid off and I am very happy for this well-deserved recognition.”
Maryland will begin play in its first Big Ten tournament on Friday, when, as the No. 2 seed, it will face either Indiana or Northwestern in Chicago.
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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