Gary Williams, 66, is done at Maryland after 22 seasons at his alma mater and bringing and end to a 33 year career. Though he says he still feels he could coach, he has a craving to do something else while he still can. What will that be? Who the heck knows…maybe hyper-sweating disorder research? One thing I do know is Gary Williams was a great coach for Maryland, leading them to a National Title in 2002 and winning more games than any other coach in Maryland history.
Here is a quick list of possible replacements for Gary at Maryland, a highly regarded job that could draw high profile candidates. Frank Martin the coach at Kansas State could be a fiery replacement for a fiery coach in Williams. Tubby Smith is a guy that seems to always be brought up for every job opening across the country and it has been rumored Maryland maybe his dream job. A long shot could be Sean Miller who is currently the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats. It’s always a tough call and those are just some big names that could be interested even though they are running quality big programs already.
Another thing, I have to wonder about the timing of this announcement. Gary Williams has always, it seems, run a clean program. With that in mind I should just take this as Gary Williams deciding, “I am done I don’t need this anymore.” Yet with college basketball being what it is these days with recruiting and academic infractions always in the news, I am forced to wonder. Wonder if the bit odd timing of this announcement could be a bad omen of things to come for Maryland basketball. Could Gary have some info on an upcoming investigation on possible violations and now decided to go “Calipari” on it and get out ahead of it? I hope not, and again I have no reason to believe this other than the current “Calipari” sleaze laden college basketball scene that exists and forces a person to always wonder when something seams off.
Effect on Duke –
Positively, depending on the replacement, you have to think that trips to College Park could be less intimidating without a great coach like Williams waiting for you. Maryland with Williams has been a thorn in Coach K and Duke’s side year after year. Depending on the hire again, if Maryland takes a step back it will be one less big time challenger for Duke to fight for recruits and the top of the ACC.
Negatively though, the ACC has already it seemed become more weak and the loss of Gary Williams seems to continue that trend. A weak ACC will take away from the RPI strength and national respect for Duke’s wins within the conference. Even if UNC and Duke continue to be great as they have been, with less quality in conference games it could affect chances at high seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
In the end it’s a bit of a bittersweet announcement for Duke fans.
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