There is not a more respected individual in College Park.

Gary Williams has built quite the reputation at the University of Maryland.  He has won a national championship (2002) and an ACC tournament championship (2004) and three ACC regular season championships (1995, 2002, 2010).  He has coached and developed players like Walt Williams, Joe Smith, Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox, Steve Blake (my all time favorite Terp) and Greivis Vasquez. Williams consistently gets the loudest round of applause in the Comcast Center during the introduction of players and coaches, plus has his fist pump as he enters the arena has become a fan favorite.  Gary Williams is University of Maryland basketball.

Gary is also known for a few other things.  The loudest criticism of him has always been about recruiting.  I have largely considered that his inability to sign the top local prospects stems from his old-school style.  He is strict, a class-act and very very stubborn.  Interestingly enough, in the latest edition of ESPN the Magazine the latest “Coach X” column, written by an anonymous coach, touched on this topic a bit.

Gary has been doing the same thing forever.  He runs the flex offense and likes to press.  He treats no player better than any other, verbally blasting them from the sideline at the slightest mistake.  He has no problem benching the senior, and putting the freshman in the game.  With Gary its about hard work, teamwork, respect and understanding of the system.  You play the game how he teaches you to, or you sit on the bench. It is that simple.  He gives second chances, but you can get in his doghouse pretty quick.  I think that’s what happened to Mychal Parker this year.  My suspicion is that Parker has not been a great practice player this season and does not understand this system as well as Hawk Palsson, which is why Hawk gets minutes. Parker has far more potential than Maryland’s new fan favorite from Iceland, but he does not get it yet.  Some players never do.  Think Travis Garrison, Mike Jones and Sterling Ledbetter.  Three great talents, all who underachieved.

Many people can say Gary has not adapted to the ways of college players and it has cost him a chance to get local players such as Kevin Durant, Ty Lawson, Nolan Smith, Rudy Gay, the list goes on and on.  My theory for a long time has been that Gary does not like players that are likely to leave and not stay for four years.  For him it is about player development, and the relationship he builds with his players (think Greivis Vasquez). The other consideration is that he is clear with players when he does talk to them.  He lets them know that they will have to change their game in certain ways to play in HIS system.  Last year one of Maryland’s highest ranked targets was Tobias Harris.  Harris is a 6’9 point forward.  He likes bringing the ball up the floor after he gets rebounds and likes playing on the outside a lot, a bit like Lamar Odom.  Gary likely made it clear that this is not how Maryland plays basketball, and Tobias ends up at Tennessee.

Nevertheless, I am a huge fan of Gary’s style.  It’s tough when the local recruits head to UNC, Duke and Villanova year after year, but William’s is a phenomenal coach of basketball.  I have always considered him to be a top-5 college BASKETBALL coach, when you leave recruiting out of the equation.  This may be futile because recruiting is such a huge part of the system now, but he is on par with Coach K, Tomo Izzo and Jim Boeheim when it comes to teaching the game. Having played for many years and studying the game, I really respect how he coaches.  He forces his players to play with discipline, play good defense and work together.  Plus, he is a phenomenal developer of talent.  He turned Greivis Vasquez into ACC player of the year, Steve Blake into one of the best point guards ever in the ACC and look what he has done so far with Jordan Williams, someone who was not even a top 100 recruit.

Last, he is a class-act, who I admire.  I truly believe that he does not participate in many of the schemes that many other college coaches put together. Cough, Calipari.  Players AAU coaches don’t miraculous work for the team and I don’t think he is throwing money at them on the side.  He’s a guy who does his best to honor the University, and there is something to be said for that.  Certainly the criticisms are there, and some rightly so.  He does not recruit well, and I’ll admit that.  But when people bring up that he does not push his players academically, I do not believe that.  I really thing he does his best to get these athletes who are completely disinterested in academics to at least try.

Call me naive, fine I probably am.  I certainly am biased, and I know it.  But Gary Williams is not only the most respected individual in the University of Maryland’s athletic department, but he is a huge icon of the University as a whole.  He represents Maryland well.  He’s stubborn and a hothead, but he’s a respectable man, who knows how to coach the game the right way.