Montrose Christian Clinic Features Top Coaches

University of Maryland head basketball coach Mark Turgeon was one of several coaches from top college programs featured at 's coaches clinic on Oct. 1.

The all-day event was open to boys and girls basketball coaches at all levels and designed to help coaches prepare for the upcoming season.

Turgeon was hired earlier this year to replace longtime head coach Gary Williams, who stepped down after coaching more than two decades at his alma mater. Williams led the Terrapins to a national title in 2002 and was twice named the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year during his tenure in College Park.

Turgeon said he looks forward to coaching basketball in the ACC against teams like Duke and North Carolina.

“They hired me to continue what Maryland has done for a long time,” said Turgeon, who spent four seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M. “Maryland is a fantastic job.”

Turgeon, who owns a 250-159 record as a head coach, was twice named Big 12 Coach of the Year during his tenure in College Station.

“I’m a big defensive guy,” Turgeon said. “I really want to stress defense and get after it man-to-man.”

During the clinic, Turgeon demonstrated how to build a successful man-to-man defense.

“Every day we’re working on defense,” he told the coaches in attendance. “We’re preparing for the best teams.”

The clinic featured on-court demonstrations by the Catholic University men’s basketball team and was highlighted by rare East Coast clinic appearances by Gonzaga University’s Mark Few and Rick Barnes of the University of Texas. George Mason University head coach Paul Hewitt and Montrose Christian head strength and conditioning coach Matt Johnson were also among the speakers.

Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter has built the Rockville private school into a national powerhouse since taking over the program in 1999.

Vetter’s predecessor at Montrose Christian was Kevin Sutton, now a first-year men’s assistant coach at George Washington. Sutton played for Vetter at in Oakton, Va. and was later an assistant coach on his staff at St. John’s Prospect Hall in Frederick.

“He is one of the top high school coaches in the country,” Sutton said about his mentor, Vetter, who has built nationally-ranked programs at four different high schools in the D.C. area. “He’s got a great basketball mind and he challenges you to have a great basketball mind as well.”    

Montrose Christian finished 25-1 last season and captured the 2011 ESPN RISE National High School Invitational Tournament by defeating Oak Hill Academy in double overtime, 71-64.

Tyrone Johnson (Villanova), Tyler Hubbard (Loyola) and Carmelo Betancourt (Akron) have graduated but the Mustangs return standout seniors Justin Anderson, Michael Carrera and Kevin Larsen, among others. Anderson has already verbally committed to the University of Virginia. Carrera and Larsen are still undecided.

Ismail Wainwright, a 6-foot-5 junior from Kansas City, and Canadian Kevin Zabo, a sophomore point guard, have also joined Montrose Christian this year.

“We have a great team,” Anderson said. “We’re going to be pretty tough. We’re going to be defensive oriented and hopefully we can play together, we can gel real fast and start the season great.”