Gary Williams to Retire

An era ended in College Park today as Gary Williams announced his retirement as men's basketball head coach.  If you've followed me over the last few years, you would know that I have been calling for his ouster for a while...ever since the years of John Gilchrist and Darryl Strawberry.  In my opinion (perhaps a tad stained because of what I do for a living), he placed no emphasis on academics, and allowed his players to do the bare minimum to get by in school (if that...).  Players he recruited in the 2000s (especially characters like Gilchrist, Garrison, McCray, and Caner-Medley) had absolutely zero likability. 

However, I am not here to trample on the man's legacy.  He did build an outstanding program at Maryland from less than desirable circumstances.  When he first took the job in 1989, he did so under the assumption that there would be no NCAA sanctions stemming from recruiting violations in the Bob Wade era.  However, before the ink was dry on his contract, the NCAA levied some of the worst penalties on a major sport's program since SMU received the "Death Penalty."  Maryland was barred from postseason play for 2 years, could not play on TV for 1, and lost several scholarships.  This severely weakened Williams' recruiting potential.  Nevertheless, he was able to hang on to one blue-chipper: Walt Williams.  Walt Williams carried Maryland through those dark days.  While Walt himself did not get to experience postseason play himself, he set the stage for more successful recruiting classes that included the likes of Duane Simpkins, Exree Hipp, Keith Booth, Terrell Stokes, and Joe Smith.  Williams coached the Terps to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 for the first time since the sanctions were levied, where the Terps scored an upset over #2 seeded UMass in the 2nd round.  That season was also remembered for the only time the Terps would play Georgetown in the regular season in the Gary Williams era.  Maryland scored an OT win over the Hoyas at the Cap Centre.  Take a look at this retrospective. 

More after the jump.

In the years following that season, Willams would earn a reputation as a recruiting genius, thanks in no small part to the contributions of Smith, Booth, and late decade acquisitions Terrence Morris, Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, and Steve Blake.  The latter two would be the two integral cogs in what would be Williams' crowning achievement as a head coach.

The 2002 season was one which saw high expectations for Maryland.  Early season losses to Arizona  and Oklahoma tempered those expectations somewhat, but high-profile non-conference wins over Temple, UConn, and Illinois set the stage for what would be an amazing run through the ACC.  Despite North Carolina's struggles that season (9-20 overall), Maryland raced to a 15-1 conference record, the best in the Williams era (the only loss coming at Cameron Indoor Stadium).  Despite an upset loss to NC State in the ACC Semifinals, the Terps earned their only #1 seed in school history, slated to play in the East Region.  NCAA Tournament wins over Siena, Wisconsin, Kentucky, UConn (again), Kansas and Indiana (in one of the worst played NCAA title games until 2011) gave the Terps their first and only NCAA National Title.  This title came on the heels of the school's first Final Four appearance in 2001.  They would back that title run up with a Sweet 16 run in 2003...then it all went downhill.

It is my opinion (you may agree you may not), that after Maryland won it all in 2002, Gary Williams got cocky.  He never strongly emphasized academics, but at least he was able to recruit likable guys who could be easy to root for.  He usually shied away from McDonald's All Americans.  However, his first recruiting class in 2003 included McDonald's All Americans Travis Garrison and Mike Jones (who was apparently rated 2nd in the nation behind a certain LeBron guy...).  Yes, we won the ACC Tournament in 2004, but that was lightning in a bottle.  That season was just the first in a string of years where NCAA berths were in doubt.  Maryland had become accustomed to expecting NCAA berths as a regular occurance, but for the first time in 2005 (my senior year...grumble), Maryland missed the NCAA tournament.  It didn't help that guys like Gilchrist kept getting in trouble with the law, McCray skipped too much class (even by Gary Williams standards) and was suspended, and Caner-Medley got into a barfight in Maine.....and oh yeah there was that Strawberry guy.  It was at this point that my interest in the program started to wane considerably and I started looking for something else to watch.  It all culminated this season in Maryland's first year of not making a postseason tournament (not even the NIT) since 1993. 

There had to be pressure from the new powers that be (Kevin Anderson the AD and Wallace Loh the president) on Williams to make this decision.  I have mixed feelings about him staying on as an assistant AD.  According to the press release, it looks like his primary role will be in fundraising, which is OK I guess.  I'd rather he not play an active role in the basketball program anymore.  Let whoever the new coach is make a name for himself and not worry about working in the shadow of Gary Williams.  In any event, Gary Williams will be leaving quite the legacy in the history of Maryland athletics.  He deserves to be in the athletic Hall of Fame for his contributions as a coach, and he was an excellent coach and recruiter.  I just wish he would have emphasized to his players a bit more strongly that there is life beyond basketball.  The NBA is not the only place to get a job.  Other than that, we here at Caputo's Corner salute Coach Gary Williams and his legacy at the University of Maryland.