Regulation size autographed Basketball signed by current Texas A&M Men's Basketball Coach Mark Turgeon

Mark Leo Turgeon (born February 5, 1965 in Topeka, Kansas) is the current head basketball coach of Texas A&M University. Prior to coaching at A&M, Turgeon served as head coach at Wichita State University and Jacksonville State University.^[2]

After former head men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie left Texas A&M to coach at Kentucky, Turgeon was immediately hired as head coach on April 10, 2007.^[2] Turgeon acquired all of Gillispie's recruits for the 2007–08 season, including 5 star-rated DeAndre Jordan. The Aggies started the season ranked 14th in the preseason Coaches Poll. Once the season progressed, they won the 2007 NIT Season Tip-Off to extend their winning streak to 7–0. They would lose their first game of the season to unranked Arizona, compiling a 7–1 record after the loss. After the Arizona game, they would then win eight straight home games against unranked opponents. Team performance spiraled down once conference play had begun, losing three straight unranked teams—at Texas Tech, at Michael Beasley-led Kansas State, and at home to Baylor. The Baylor game took five overtimes, becoming the longest game in Big 12 history. The Aggies could post wins at their next five matchups, including one over the 10th-ranked rival Texas Longhorns and three away games. They then regressed, losing to Oklahoma State and Nebraska at home. Another high point came when they defeated Texas Tech 98–54 at home, matching their highest margin of victory in school history (set in 1959 against Texas).^[14] The Aggies regressed once again, this time losing 64–37 at Oklahoma. The game had marked the worst loss in history since 1967 and had the third-worst shooting percentage (.255) in history. The team also had only one assist and 18 turnovers in the game.^[15] After the blowout, the Aggies were able to revenge Baylor in Waco, though came back home to lose their final regular season game to eventual national champion Kansas to finish 8-8 in conference play. The team received a No. 6 bid to the Big 12 tournament, defeating Iowa State and Kansas State in the first two rounds, but lost to Kansas again in the semifinals. With their 24–10 record after the Big 12 tournament, the Aggies received a No. 9 at-large bid to the West Regional of the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they defeated 8th-seeded BYU 67–62 at Anaheim. In the second round, they faced UCLA at the same site, though allowed them to escape with a close 51–49 win.^[16] The Aggies finished the season with a 25–11 record. The 25 wins matches the record for most wins by a first-year coach at a Big 12 school, set by former Texas coach Tom Penders in the 1988–89 season.^[17]

Mark Turgeon coaches a man-on-man defensive style, with occasional zone, and a guard oriented offense.^[18] Although he is known for his intense competitiveness and desire to win, Turgeon treats his players well, with some even saying they see him as a sort of father figure, as opposed to just a coach.^[6]