Should Gary Williams be worried about his job ?

I'm a Maryland Alum that lived through the Bob Wade years. We're not going to do better than Gary Williams. Yes, he has some deficiencies, notably with high-caliber recruits. Appreciate what he gives, the effort he brings, and the success he's brought.

I really have to say that if anyone who calls themselves an MD fan but wants Williams gone is really not a true Terp. Gary is a fantastic coach and there are only a handful in the NCAA at his level or better. He does struggle with getting five star recruits, but he has shown the ability to get them occasionally (we got two top guys coming in next year). He is now just six years removed from a national title, and in my mind, until MD starts having losing seasons or a recruiting scandal, Gary can do no wrong.

Also, as a fan I actually love the fact that most Terps stick around for four (or at least three) years. Gives fans the chance to really follow the team and appreciate the growth of the players. Think about right now, Greivis is going to be unreal by his senior year. If he played for Duke or UNC he would be ACC first team easily. I'm actually really excited for two years from now, when Vasquez, Hayes, and Millbourne are seniors, I think that team should be one of the best in the country. Starting five of Vasquez, Millbourne, Bowie, Dupree, Gilchrist?

Hayes maybe coming off the bench (I'm not too keen on his play lately), Cliff Tucker getting some serious time, maybe starting in place of Bowie when they want to go big, Burney continuing to develop, falling into that Sleepy Randle role... I'm excited about this squad.

coursenot wrote:

Also, as a fan I actually love the fact that most Terps stick around for four (or at least three) years.

Good post -- I agree that people who say that Williams should be replaced are delusional, but couldn't it be argued that the statement above just a byproduct of Williams' recruiting issues?

Who are you going to replace him with?

no

If Gary goes to the NIT next year he or Yow will be gone. Yow will attempt to can Gary, we will see who wins. Maryland is not even the second best team in the DC area. ACC coaches who go to the NIT 4 out of 5 years are sent packing.

I'm not a fan of Yow to begin with, but if she cans Gary you're going to see a lot of donors turn their backs on UM. The other posters are right: who are you going to replace him with? To me, he's Maryland basketball, and after all that he's given to the program over the years, he should be able to leave or stay on his own terms.

How about Dave Leitao?

Gary will not get fired by MD for anything short of a scandal or back to back losing seasons.

REAL Terp fans care about Gary and the players.

placido wrote:

How about Dave Leitao?

Leito has only been at Virginia three years. Last year he was the coach of the year and tied for the regular season title. This year was not very good but he is not going anywhere. He has nothing to worry about for at least two more seasons.

Do REAL Terp fans care about Gary's horrific graduation rate ?

His players do not graduate and his team fails to make the NCAA's. That is not a very good combo is it ?

landover Hills Greaser wrote:

Do REAL Terp fans care about Gary's horrific graduation rate ?

Uh, no. Nor do fans of any other team care about their team's graduation rate.

We differ here, 0% graduation rate is something to care about.

Yes....garymustgo.com

You idiots should be ashamed to even be asking that question. Gary Williams should be able to coach at Maryland as long as he wants to.

This is from wiki:

Williams was announced as head coach of Maryland on June 13, 1989. The basketball program and the Maryland athletic program as a whole was still reeling from the aftershock of the 1986 death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias. Williams coached the 1989-90 squad to a respectable 18-13 record and an NIT berth. However, the following year saw the beginning of NCAA-imposed sanctions on the school for actions committed under previous coach Bob Wade. Maryland received a three-year postseason ban and a television ban, punishments that hampered the rebuilding process. With the help of highly regarded local standout Walt Williams, Maryland stayed competitive through a low-point of the program.

Williams coached the Terrapins to increasing success through out the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Williams led the Terrapins to the NCAA National Championship, defeating Indiana 64-52. He became the first coach to direct his alma mater to a national title since Norm Sloan accomplished the feat with North Carolina State in 1974.

As of March 2007, Coach Williams is the 8th winningest active coach in the country and the 3rd winningest coach all-time in the ACC. In his 29 years as a Head Coach, Williams has amassed an overall record of 585-328 (.640) and 377-200 (.653) at Maryland. Williams' Maryland teams have performed exceptionally well at Cole Field House and Comcast Center. Under his direction, the Terps are 226-49 (.823) at home including a 125-2 (.984) mark against non-conference foes. Between 1989 and 2003, Williams and Maryland won 87 consecutive non-conference home games. That streak was ended on December 14, 2002 by Billy Donovan's Florida Gators.

Coach Williams has an overall NCAA tournament record of 27-14 (.659, ninth among active coaches), 23-11 at his alma mater. Williams has coached Maryland to twelve NCAA tournament appearances, including a streak of eleven consecutive appearances (1994-2004), as well as three post season NIT appearances, allowing Maryland to own the longest current consecutive streak of postseason appearances in the ACC (Wake Forest, the previous record holder, failed to qualify for the postseason in 2006-07.) Additionally, Williams has sixty-five wins over top-25 ranked opponents, 14 wins over top-10 ranked opponents, two ACC regular season titles (one outright), an ACC tournament title, seven Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights, two Final Fours, and a national championship. Williams also leads active coaches with seven wins over top-ranked teams, the most recent coming against North Carolina on January 19, 2008. Since 1995, Coach Williams and Maryland have averaged 22.5 wins per season. Williams has led the Terrapins to at least 20 wins in 10 of the last 13 seasons and ranks 6th among active coaches with 16 career 20-win seasons.