Howard is out of boot, participating in drills Like many of his generation, when it comes to social networking tool Twitter, Maryland basketball coach Mark Turgeon doesn’t get it.
“Who cares if you’re going to lunch?” Turgeon, 46, asked. “To have that kind of ego to think that people would actually care to read about it?”
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But Turgeon knows Twitter can be a destructive tool when used recklessly. Last weekend, a Lehigh All-America wide receiver was suspended for a playoff game after re-tweeting a message that contained a racial slur. Twitter trash talk also inflamed hostilities between crosstown rivals Xavier and Cincinnati, teams that brawled in the closing seconds of the Musketeers’ win on Saturday.
| up next |
| Florida International at Maryland |
| When » Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. |
| Where » Comcast Center, College Park |
| TV » ESPN |
Maryland allows players to use Twitter and Facebook. Turgeon said that two of his assistants are charged with monitoring the accounts.
“I don’t want to take that from them until they screw up,” Turgeon said. “If it gets to be a chronic problem, we have to get rid of it. I don’t want to have to do that. I want guys to mature and become men. And the only way to do that is to give them responsibility and see how they handle it.”
In four seasons at Texas A&M, Turgeon never shut down a player’s account, though he admitted there have been moments of exasperation.
Turgeon knows controlling information — especially in the Internet age — isn’t easy. Since sophomore Pe’Shon Howard suffered a broken foot in late October, Turgeon has been careful not to reveal anything declarative about his return.
But last weekend, the point guard told a reporter that he was set to be back for Maryland’s Dec. 23 game against Radford. The revelation was news to Turgeon.
“Is he Tweeting it?” Turgeon asked with a wry smile. “Yeah, if that’s what the kid’s decided, then that’s probably when he’ll be back.”
Turgeon said that Howard was out of his protective boot and has participated in shooting drills. He ran on a treadmill for 45 minutes Sunday without pain but has yet to do anything “live,” the coach said.
Maryland sophomore Terrell Stoglin (22.5 points per game) missed two days of practice after spraining his ankle in the closing minutes of a 77-74 win last Wednesday over Mount St. Mary’s. But Maryland (5-3) expects to have the ACC scoring leader back for Wednesday’s game against Florida International (3-6) of the Sun Belt Conference.
FIU coach and former NBA star Isiah Thomas has assembled a talented cast that is striving for consistency. The Golden Panthers have beaten CAA defending champion George Mason 79-76 in overtime. But they’ve also lost to CAA also-ran Georgia State 73-47.
After it surrendered 11 of 21 shooting (52 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc to lowly Mount St. Mary’s, Maryland had two practice sessions that were nothing but defense.
“Building that identity — playing our man-to-man defense, standing in front of guys,” senior Sean Mosley said. “We’re working in practice, just holding that team to one shot. It’s hard to do, but it’s something we have to do to become a better team.”
