Maryland's Mark Turgeon on team's turnaround: 'I always felt like it was going to change'

After surprising many by returning to the NCAA tournament last season after a three-year absence, Maryland men's basketball team enters the 2015-16 campaign tabbed as a top-tier contender.

The whirlwind transformation from Big Ten afterthought to national heavyweight even managed to surprise head coach Mark Turgeon, who admits that he was somewhat taken aback by the pace of the turnaround.

"Yeah, it is," he said when asked if the rapid change in perception was a little hard to believe, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. "I always felt like it was going to change. I knew things were going to be great when I took the job because it's a great job. It probably happened a little quicker than I thought - 28 wins last year, 26 in the regular season, and the way people are talking about us for this upcoming year.

"Things have gotten to this point a little quicker than I thought they would, but we're excited about it."

The Terrapins finished second in the Big Ten in 2014-15, securing themselves the fourth-seed in the midwest region during last season's NCAA tournament. Maryland would eventually fall to fifth-seed West Virginia 69-59 in the Round of 32.

But, with so many key players returning for the upcoming season, the Terrapins have become a fashionable choice to label as the top-ranked program in the country to start the year.

"In April when everybody decided to stay, we talked about being great and having a chance to be great. Since then we've worked really hard," Turgeon explained. "We've just created an unbelievable work culture. Our guys have worked really hard. In April we talked about being great and being one of the best. We knew (we) had to work hard and we've really worked hard."