Article on why Gary needs to be fired

[ADAMWD_OsRavens]

I don't normally care much for Bleacher Report or the articles, but I thought this one hit the nail on the head.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/635337-maryland-terrapins-need-to-send-williams-down-the-road-with-friedgen

[BaltimoreTerp]

Do I even have to say it? :laughlol:

[Jagwar]

This type of article will be relevant when it comes from someone at the Sun or the Post.

[Jagwar]

Last year highly touted recruit Kendall Marshall had major thoughts about becoming a Terp. He had already visited Villanova and NC. At Villanova, Marshall toured the campus on a golf cart driven by Jay Wright. In Chapel Hill, he ate dinner with head coach with Roy Williams.

At Maryland, his mother was asked to wait outside the men’s locker room, where inside the assistant coach asked Kendall and his father to have a seat on bench that had to be cleared of clutter. Then on a dry erase board, he gave them both a short presentation about how Kendall would fit into Maryland’s program.

"That was it,” Dennis Marshall said. “The whole visit was over in 20 minutes. No, tour of the campus, no tour of the facilities … nothing. We just walked back to our car and went home.”

Dagger

[hoosiers]

Dagger

If you say so.

How many recruiting battles has Md won over UNC?

Still, it seems the "recruiting experience" at UMd could use some polishing up.

[Gofannon]

http://scouthoops.scout.com/2/1055781.html

Whittington, who averaged 23.5 points and 11.6 rebounds a game his senior year, said Georgetown separated themselves from the pack by including their head coach in the recruiting process early on.

“They brought the head coach in early,” Whittington said. “They just showed me a lot of love. I just love the way they play.”

Sounds like another example of Gary not coming in until the end. There's an article from Matt Bracken's Recruiting Report on Febuary 22nd that has the following quote from Whittington's coach:

“We talk to [Terps assistant] coach Bino [Ranson] more than any coach,” Browne said. “He’s been more proactive in the recruitment than anybody. He’s been to a lot of games, talked to us a lot of times and been with us. I haven’t had any conversations with Gary [Williams], though. I’ve been told that’s not what he does, that it’s his style. I just don’t understand it. We’ve talked to every other head coach."

[O-The-Memories]

I'm a huge Gary Williams supporter, carried over from being in the chaos on the streets of Route 1 after our National Championship. Having your picture in the Washington Post as you run from a police horse is always fun.

However, these types of articles really worry me. Not even making the NIT worries me more, and not having star talent besides Williams and maybe Stoglin gets me downright upset. Gary needs to step his game up soon, or the times will continue to pass him by.

[Dr. FLK]

I get why people love Gary, I really do. His in game coaching is very good. His passion for basketball is unquestioned. But, what I don't get is how so many of the Gary supporters continue to make excuses for his horrid recruiting. Instead of demanding more, they just lower the expectations for the program. I'm not one who thinks Gary needs to be fired, but I certainly think he needs to develop a new plan for recruiting and generate a new influx of talent in order to show he's serious about maximizing the results at this program.

[section18]

I have sent copies of these stories/quotes to a friend with connections at MD. They know a major financial contributor who I've met and who has met with the AD and #1 at MD. It's very simple isn't it? Gary meets the player early and sets up a visit to the campus. Arranges a tour with a campus admissions person and then has them attend a game. A, B, C, basic stuff. I can't believe this isn't done with everyone. Gary should be asked to come to a meeting with #1, the AD and major financial supporters at MD and questioned about these comments. If he says he doesn't meet recruits until late before they commit or reject MD he needs to be told to change this recruiting method immediately. He is costing the school a lot of money with his current style of recruiting. When you are paying someone $2 million dollars a year you deserve more and should demand more.

[Dr. FLK]

I have sent copies of these stories/quotes to a friend with connections at MD. They know a major financial contributor who I've met and who has met with the AD and #1 at MD. It's very simple isn't it? Gary meets the player early and sets up a visit to the campus. Arranges a tour with a campus admissions person and then has them attend a game. A, B, C, basic stuff. I can't believe this isn't done with everyone. Gary should be asked to come to a meeting with #1, the AD and major financial supporters at MD and questioned about these comments. If he says he doesn't meet recruits until late before they commit or reject MD he needs to be told to change this recruiting method immediately. He is costing the school a lot of money with his current style of recruiting. When you are paying someone $2 million dollars a year you deserve more and should demand more.

Exactly. He doesn't get that salary to only coach a basketball team.

[Tony-OH]

"The problem with Gary Williams is Gary Williams. He always blames the system, the rule changes, the AD. It is never the fact that Gary chooses to remain Gary, never changing with the times."

That's the key point in the whole piece. After missing out on the NIT he immediately deflected blame and gave hope for the future by invoking the names of North Carolina and UCLA has teams that issed the big dance last year but are in it now. Gary uses his Matirx-worthy PR skills to gain himself more time and satisfy his apologists.

He didn't mention that neithe team has missed the big dance four out of the last seven seasons and only the Terps have just one Sweet 16 year since 2003.

I heard another apologist on the Norris and Davis morning show talk about how people forget what Williams did for the program. No we haven't? We all appreciate the fact that Gary built up a wreck of a program from Bob Wade and built it into a team that made the dance every year and eventually won a National Championship. No one wants to take that away.

What he and other apologists fail to either realize or accept is that the college basketball landscape has changed and Gary has not. The one/two and done players are necessary to keep up with the big boys and as the piece shows very clearly, Williams doesn't even care enough to visiti face to face with some of the best possible recruits.

He then went onto the apologists next matra, the next year's class is really great. I have no idea how great this next class is going to be but I do know I've heard that every single year. About every four to five years Gary gets a Vasquez-Hayes or Dixon/Blake/Baxter class but far too often he's gotten the Mosely/Tucker/Gregory fiasco.

I don't doubt Gary wants to win, and I don't doubt that he's a good X's and O's coach, but major college basketball landscape has changed and Williams, at 66-years old, doesn't seem to have the energy or desire to change with it. He says everyone else cheats, but to me that's just disrespectful to the many coaches that I'm sure are just out working him for the best recruits.

Williams is a hall of fame coach for what he's done in the past, but if the University wants this program to get back to the perrenial top-25 status that it used to be at then they need new, fresh leadership at the helm.

Thanks for everything Gary, but it's time to go. Do what's best for everyone and retire with what's left of your reputation.

[Jagwar]

How many recruiting battles has Md won over UNC?

It's not that MD loses recruits to UNC.

That story (and others in the article ) provides a firsthand account of Maryland's recruiting style from the ones that really matter... the recruits and their parents. And it is clear from that story (and others) that recruits get a much different impression from the MD coaching staff than they do from other programs.

[Jagwar]

What he and other apologists fail to either realize or accept is that the college basketball landscape has changed and Gary has not.

BINGO!

This statement captures the essence of the issue at hand. It's almost as if Gary Williams runs his program like it is 1991 instead of 2011.

[Gofannon]

"

He then went onto the apologists next matra, the next year's class is really great. I have no idea how great this next class is going to be but I do know I've heard that every single year. About every four to five years Gary gets a Vasquez-Hayes or Dixon/Blake/Baxter class but far too often he's gotten the Mosely/Tucker/Gregory fiasco.

QUOTE]

Here's the thing, though - even if our recruiting class is great, if Jordan Williams leaves, we don't have a single player over 6'4" that we have as a KNOWN quantity (and that's using Mosley as a known quantity).

Even with this great recruiting class, next year's success depends entirely on one player's decision about the NBA. That's not how a stable program is built.

[OregonBird]

It's not that MD loses recruits to UNC.

That story (and others in the article ) provides a firsthand account of Maryland's recruiting style from the ones that really matter... the recruits and their parents. And it is clear from that story (and others) that recruits get a much different impression from the MD coaching staff than they do from other programs.

Reminds me of a phrase I use when camping w/friends. I always tell them "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you guys." Gary doesn't have to out recruit UNC and Duke but there's no reason why he can't out recruit the rest of the ACC.

The fact that he doesn't want to have personal involvement even when there's so much talent in Baltimore/Washington just tells me he's lazy.