A Round of Applause for Gary Williams

Gary Williams' 20th season at Maryland was certainly one to remember. Sure, he didn't win the ACC Championship. Nor did he win the NCAA Tournament. But what he managed to do this past season was nothing short of amazing.

Sure, his team lost games they should have won - most notably against Boston College, Miami, Virginia, and Morgan State - and was left for dead after finishing 7-9 in the ACC regular season. All they had to do was beat Virginia, and they would probably be in the tournament. They lost, and many, including Tony and I, believed the team would not show up for the ACC Tournament after choking away their season in Virginia.

Both Gary and the team proved us wrong, and they beat N.C. State and upset Wake Forest before losing to Duke for the third time this season (though the team looked much better in the last two meetings than in the first). It looked as though the Terps had saved their season. They were seeded 10th in the West Region when the NCAA Tournament brackets were announced and would play 7th-seeded California.

Maryland then went out and beat the Golden Bears before falling to 2-seed Memphis, in a game in which every shot the Tigers took went in, especially from 3-point land. The talent difference was obvious, but you have to applaud the Terps for all they accomplished this year, and I believe Gary deserves most, if not all, of the credit.

He took a team that had 6'7" Dave Neal - who probably wouldn't crack the roster on most of the top teams in the nation - as its starting center to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. He had no front court, one established scorer, a freshman who played great defense but couldn't make a layup to save his life, inconsistent backup guards (Bowie, Tucker, Hayes), and disappointing seasons from big men Braxton Dupree and Jerome Burney. Williams had to rely on Neal, Landon Milbourne (who is generally a small #4), and Dino Gregory to handle other teams' centers and fowards, who almost always were bigger, stronger, and better.

Still, Williams got his team to fight every game. He got them to fight for him while questions about his future at the school circulated. He controlled his explosive superstar as much as he could, and helped him develop into a great all-around guard. Next year's outlook is suddenly much more optimistic for Terps fans than it was 2 weeks ago. Williams already has two top recruits coming in, both of which while contribute to the team's front court as freshmen. Oh, and he could end up getting Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson to commit to Maryland as well (who will announce April 1st). Even if Stephenson doesn't come to Maryland, next year looks promising - though Vasquez's senior year is up in the air at this point.

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at what the Terps did this year. Tony and I thought they had a chance at the tournament because of a soft non-conference schedule. We knew it was a little optimistic to predict a tournament appearance, but they surpassed that and actually won a game. The only thing I can do is tip my hat to Gary and his staff; he really is one of the best in the country at maximizing talent and getting players to fit his system.

(Photo: Washington Post)