• Spinelli arrives at College Park after spending four
seasons as Associate Head Coach at Texas A&M, where he was
recognized by several media outlets as one of the top assistant
coaches in the nation, and helped lead the Aggies to
four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Known as a solid tactician and outstanding recruiter,
Spinelli has been responsible for landing many nationally ranked
recruiting classes at various coaching stops including A&M and
fellow Big 12 school, Nebraska, where he spent three
seasons.
• Possessing a keen eye for talent, Spinelli spent time
earlier in his career as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers --
evaluating Atlantic 10 and Big East players.
Diary Series: Scott Spinelli, Asst. Coach - Maryland
Currently at the University of Maryland, we are off to a 3-2
start. Our team has shown great improvement from the
tournament in Puerto Rico. Each practice we are getting
better and more acclimated to Coach Turgeon’s system on both
offense and defense. Although we went 1-2 in Puerto Rico, we
felt that the trip benefited us not only on, but also off the
floor. Our team bonded over the six days and we were able to
experience some highs and lows that brought us all closer
together. As a staff we had a chance to do some fishing on
our off day as the three assistant coaches chartered a boat and
seven of us went out trolling for Sailfish and Mahi-Mahi.
During the fishing trip, we too had a chance to bond and enjoy some
time away from the office together.
We are currently preparing for tonight's ACC/Big Ten showdown against Illinois on ESPN at 7:30 here at the Comcast Center. We are expecting a great crowd, especially from our well-renowned student section coming out in Terrapin Force. The Fighting Illini come in to our house tomorrow night undefeated at 6-0 and are extremely well-coached under the leadership of Bruce Weber. We are going to have to be extremely disciplined on defense to defend their motion. Our offensive execution in the half court is going to be crucial to us being in a position to win at the end of the game. We had way too many turnovers in the past two games and we expect to face pressure defense for the full 40 minutes tonight.
Terrell Stoglin has consistently shown great improvement on both ends of the floor. He has the “heart of a lion” and plays the game to win. In our three wins, “T” has averaged 25.5 points and he will be again counted on tomorrow night to score. Other players who have been consistent and have shown great improvement are: Sean Mosley, Nick Faust, James Padgett and Berend Weijs. Two of our walk-ons, John Auslander and Jon Thomas have done an outstanding job for us in practice and in games. They have represented our walk-ons with great pride.
On December 28th, we are looking forward to the addition of our 7-foot-1 center from the Ukraine, Alex Len. Alex will be playing in his first official game as a Terp against Albany. Alex continues to improve in practice and he has been working extremely hard in the weight room in preparation for the start of his career as a Terp. We are also waiting the return of our starting, injured point guard who is expected to return around the same time as Alex.
Thanksgiving in the Spinelli house usually means great food and a family football game. My body is still sore over the 56-49 loss to my nine and eight-year-old boys. My 10-year-old daughter and I played a great game but in the end, lost on a kickoff return by my one of my sons. My father and mother-in-law had the chance to spend the holiday with us and my wife cooked a great meal that we all enjoyed. It was the first time that we had extended family over for a holiday in many years.
Hopefully everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Most Sincerely,
Scott Spinelli
