Former Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon, Maryland part ways

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The Maryland Terrapins basketball program made a move on Friday that affects two notable basketball figures from Kansas.

Mark Turgeon, who coached at Wichita State from 2000-07, revitalizing a nationally irrelevant program, and Maryland have mutually agreed to part ways, the school announced. Turgeon said he’s stepping down effective immediately.

Danny Manning, the former University of Kansas Star from Lawrence who guided the Jayhawks to the 1988 national championship, was named interim coach.

“It’s truly been an honor to be the men’s basketball coach at the University of Maryland,” Turgeon said in a release from the school.

Turgeon, who also played at Kansas after graduating from Topeka Hayden, became WSU’s head coach in 2000, one of many transition periods for the Shockers after their success in the 1980s. Turgeon executed a quick turnaround at WSU, getting the Shockers to a winning record in 2002-03 and winning 20 games the following three seasons. WSU advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

The following year, WSU finished 17-14, stumbling after reaching No. 8 in the country. Turgeon left following the season for Texas A&M, where he coached four seasons before beginning at Maryland in 2011.

Manning played at Lawrence High before a career at KU that culminated with a national championship and Manning’s Naismith Award as the nation’s top player in 1988. Manning spent 15 seasons in the NBA before getting into coaching, first as an assistant at KU and then as head coach at Tulsa and Wake Forest. He was hired as Turgeon’s assistant in April.