Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams has not coached a game since the Terps lost to Manhattan in their first-round National Invitation Tournament contest in March.
Williams, however, has remained extremely busy in this off-season, as he has dealt with coaching staff changes, players contemplating leaving school for the NBA and dispelling rumors about discontented recruits.
Still, Williams is confident that Maryland will return to the NCAA tournament after two frustrating seasons that included the early departure of point guard John Gilchrist, and the loss of leading scorer Chris McCray midway through last season for academic reasons.
“I?m feeling pretty good right now,” Williams said. “Our players are doing great academically and I feel that except for maybe North Carolina, we have the best nucleus returning.”
The returning nucleus Williams referred to includes forward Ekene Ibekwe, who withdrew his name from the NBA draft. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 11.1 points and 6.6 rebounds. Other key returnees include Mike Jones (10.5 ppg), D.J. Strawberry (10.3 ppg) and James Gist (8.4 ppg).
Five incoming freshmen will join these players, all of whom Williams said could contribute immediately. Among those players is point guard Eric Hayes. Hayes? arrival frees up Strawberry, who was forced into the point guard role following Gilchrist?s departure.
Williams said there is no truth to the stories that Hayes ? who has signed a letter of intent ? had concerns about coming to Maryland.
Williams also is excited about the latest addition to his staff, as he hired Chuck Driesell ? son of former Terps coach Lefty Driesell ? to replace Rob Moxley.
