When asked whether Gilchrist's departure had anything to do with Goins' decision
to come to Maryland, Williams replied thusly: "This has nothing to do with Gus
Gilchrist. I'm tired of hearing about Gus Gilchrist. He was never here. Steve
Goins came here because he wanted to play basketball at the University of
Maryland."
Coach Williams is responsible for the only Men's National Championship in school history and was able to reach back to back Final Four's, something coach Lefty Driesell was never able to accomplish.
Here were the stated arguments:
Writer Andrew Skwara puts GARY WILLIAMS ON THE HOT SEAT:
"Last season sealed it for me. Maryland didn't just disappoint. The Terrapins underachieved – woefully. This should have been the team with which Williams beat back the critics. He had one of the nation's best playmakers at point guard (Greivis Vasquez) and another guard (Eric Hayes) who could also dish the rock. Vasquez ranked first in the ACC in assists and Hayes was sixth. There was also depth and experience on the inside. Senior big men James Gist and Bambale Osby ranked second and third in the league in blocks and fourth and 11th in rebounding.
The potential was there. The Terps knocked off then-No. 1 North Carolina in the Dean Dome.
However, that same team lost to Ohio and American at home. Maryland went 1-6 against the top five teams in the ACC. The Terps lost six of their last eight games, including four by double digits. The bulk of the blame has to go to Williams. He's not getting the most out of his players, not even close. That becomes a bigger problem when you're not a great recruiter, something Williams has never resembled. Williams has a great résumé and it's tough to look past that national title, but I think someone else can do better. Maryland, with the fertile D.C. recruiting area nearby, has a big fan base and one of the nicer arenas on the East Coast. If Williams doesn't get it done this season, I say give someone else a chance. "
Editor Bob McClellan says GARY WILLIAMS IS NOT ON THE HOT SEAT
"I can't argue that Williams' recent teams have underachieved, particularly last season.
But I come at this from a different perspective. My alma mater is Northwestern, a school that has never been to the NCAA Tournament. As in never, zip, bupkus. So when you talk about getting rid of a guy who has brought your school its only national title, not to mention another Final Four appearance and a bunch of NCAA bids in a row, it's kind of hard for me to fathom.
No, Maryland isn't on a par with Northwestern. But in a league with North Carolina and Duke, Williams got the Terps to the Holy Grail. The Left-hander couldn't even do that, but Williams did. I'm not saying you can live off a national title forever, but you ought to be able to come pretty close. He still gets players a lot of other schools would like to have. I'm somewhat alarmed that he isn't getting more out of them, but who's to say he can't find a way to light the fire this season or next? Williams hasn't forgotten how to coach. It's not like he has been losing lately, it's just that he hasn't been winning enough. His teams have won at least 19 games for the past 14 consecutive seasons. A couple of the recent NIT teams were "just-missed" NCAA Tournament teams. Maryland would be foolish to jettison Williams. Until he fields a losing team, he ought to be considered plenty safe."
You can read the full article on Rivals.com here.
Where do you feel the Gary Williams debate is at?! Please do comment.
"Williams, once lauded for resurrecting Maryland from the depths of NCAA probation, now enters his 20th season dogged by questions about himself, his program and his status with the university administration.
"Is this a big year? Absolutely," said Kent Greenway, coach of the Richmond Squires AAU team, a power in the D.C.-Baltimore-Virginia hub. "People are questioning how good of a coach Gary is, how good of a job the team is doing recruiting and whether the AD wants [Williams] out. This is a very, very important year."
Yet, in a season with conceivably so much on the line, Maryland starts with only 10 scholarship players. Shane Walker transferred, would-be recruit Tyree Evans never got past the administrative smell test and heralded rookie-to-be Gus Gilchrist elected to transfer to South Florida, where he hopes an appeal will restore a year of eligibility. "
" In the past two years, the Maryland area has produced three top-five NBA
draft picks -- Texas' Kevin
Durant went second and Georgetown's Jeff Green
fifth in 2007, and Kansas State's Michael
Beasley went No. 2 just this past Thursday. Mix in Carmelo
Anthony in 2003, and you get an idea of just how deep the talent pool is
around College Park.
"There's no reason they're not getting some of these
guys," said Curtis Malone, co-founder of the powerful D.C. Assault AAU team.
"It's a great campus, a great facility, great conference. Gary is a good coach.
There's so much talent in the Baltimore-D.C. area, they should be getting more
kids to stay home. I can't put my finger on it."
