The message boards, where fans rant and rave online about their favorite teams, erupted a week ago.
After Maryland’s 85-44 loss at Duke — its most lopsided in 46 years — Terrapin Nation was furious.
It needed an answer, and now: How could a team that won a national championship just seven years ago fall on such hard times?
On the TurtleSportsReport.com message board, one posting read: “Not too long ago our program was on par with Duke. So sad.”
Another offered: “I’m in hell. Down 40 É Duke fans going crazy. This is what hell feels like.”
Then: “This is the state of basketball under Gary Williams now. Pathetic.”
And then, in all caps: “FIRE GARY ASAP!”
At TerpCenter.com, one fan followed Tuesday’s 76-67 loss to Boston College with: “Gary has to go. I can’t stand him anymore.”
Such is the life of Maryland coach Gary Williams, who took the program from the lows in the early 90s to the ultimate high by guiding it to its first national championship in 2002.
“You win a national championship and people think unless you get to a Final Four, [it’s a disappointment],” said Williams, who turns 64 next month. “I remember going to seven straight Sweet 16s before we got to the Final Four, and people would go, ‘Ehh, you’ve only got the Sweet 16.’ Now, it’s become harder. There are more good teams.”
And now, it seems, there are better teams in the state.
Last month’s loss to Morgan State — the Terrapins’ first to an in-state opponent since early in Williams first season in 1989 — coupled with one to American University last season, raises questions about the state of the program.
And Williams’ future.
“The top 5 jobs in the country are Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and UCLA,” Doug Gottlieb, an ESPN college basketball analyst said. “After that, then you start to have schools like Connecticut, Maryland and Texas. Maryland isn’t at the top, but is in that next grouping of 30 teams where every time you fill out a top 25 ballot, you expect to see their name. I do think Maryland is a really good job. Not one of the top-5 teams in the country, but not far off. Gary has proven you can win a national championship, you can go to the Final Four and you can be competitive in the Atlantic Coast Conference.”
The parent of one high profile Baltimore prospect — speaking on the condition of anonymity so his son is not cast in a negative light — suggests Williams and his staff are lazy.
“There’s no reason, before you go out to Comcast, not to stop out to school and show your face,” the parent said. “You’ve got coaches from Florida, Connecticut, Texas. They spend 15, 20 minutes to say, ‘We’re still here, still interested.’ Maryland is only a few minutes away.”
But it’s become worlds away when it comes to landing the state’s top players. The University of Maryland is in the heart of Prince George’s County, which recently was proclaimed America’s No. 1 amateur basketball hotbed by ESPN The Magazine. The county has produced dozens of top high school players, including many who are playing in the NBA. But instead of Williams funneling the best of the best to his program, teams such as Duke, Texas, Kansas State, Villanova and Pittsburgh have created a pipeline that continually pumps talent to their schools.
“A lot of things need to change,” said Maryland student Marty Handelman, 20, of Bowie. “Maybe Gary is done and needs to move on. I’m not a basketball expert to say Gary is done and needs to go. I think new life needs to be breathed into the team. I just don’t know what needs to happen. Something needs to happen.”
Still, Williams, who makes about $1.8 million annually –not including compeitive and academic incentives — and is under contract through the 2012 season, is an anomaly in college basketball. Of the six major conferences — the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big 10, Southeastern and Pac-10 — just two of a combined 73 coaches have been at their schools longer that Williams, who was hired before the 1989-90 season.
The difference? Williams has won one NCAA title (2002) and ACC Tournament championship (2004). But Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun has won two national titles (1999, 2004) and six Big East titles, and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has three NCAA championships (1991, 1992, 2001) and 10 ACC Tournament titles.
Williams, however, does have a fan club, as his 617 career wins entering yesterday’s game against Miami rank 46th all-time and sixth among active coaches in Division I. Bobby Knight, who had his greatest success at Indiana and retired while he was at Texas Tech, has 902.
“I think [what’s happening to Gary] is unwarranted,” said Len Elmore, a former Terrapin great who works as an analyst for ESPN. “I’m not joining the bandwagon where people say ‘Gary has to go,’ or something like that. I think it’s foolish. The one thing you have to say, is, be careful what you wish for.”
“Gary is a great coach,” said fan Larry Capps, 48, who attended the Terrapins’ recent loss against Boston College. “He won a national championship. I don’t think it falls on Gary. That’s just an excuse.”
And entering the conference season, Williams had the backing of his boss, Debbie Yow, the school’s athletics director.
“Coach Williams persevered through the very challenging early years at Maryland to eventually win the National Championship in 2002,” she said. “Every Terp I have talked to since then has been grateful for his leadership of the men’s basketball program.”
And here’s why: Without Williams, Maryland basketball would not be the marquee program it is today. Upon qutting as head coach at Ohio State, Williams inherited a team that had been barred from postseason play or playing on TV for two years by the NCAA, which ruled the program committed academic and recruiting infractions under then-coach Bob Wade.
“Ohio State was a great job,” said Williams, who played guard at Maryland for three seasons before graduating in 1968. “I would have never left there except for here. And if I knew the problems that were here, I would have never left Ohio State. I was told we were going to get a slap on the wrist. We got the worst penalty of any school in the last 20 years. I thought I wouldn’t be here after five years, after the sanctions came down.”
Still for Williams, who has signed a pair of sought-after forwards for next year — Jordan Williams, a 6-foot-10, 245-pounder from Connecticut and James Padgett, a 6-foot-7, 210-pounder from New York City.
“Some of the big recruiting classes have a sense of entitlement,” Gottlieb said. “Some of those big name recruits, like [former Terrapin] Mike Jones, don’t think they have to work hard. Now, you aren’t getting those hard scrappy kids. You aren’t having kids begging to come, you have to beg them to come to you. Once you lose the momentum, it’s hard to get it back.”
And with a growing strain between Williams and athletic department, and the Terrapins having lost four of their past five to fall to 13-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play, will Williams still be in College Park when his latest recruiting class arrives?
“People say, ‘Fire the coach.’ That’s the easiest,” he said. “That doesn’t affect walking on the court for practice, or talking with your players, or the games. You still have what you do. They can’t take that away from you.”
