Williams or Turgeon?

[Slappy]

Gary. Ehsan and Bino were getting the recruiting back on solid ground. We would have had a 3-man '11 class and JA would not have de-committed. Gary can flat out coach.

I like Turgeon and am happy with what he is doing so far. It was probably time for some new blood in the program.

It's always difficult to answer these a week into a hiring. Guthridge looked like Dean Smith's ghost for the first few years, but under the covers that program was falling apart.

[MurphDogg]

I picked Turgeon. That doesn't mean I would have fired Gary though, he deserved to go out on his own terms. I am happy with how things played out.

[olehippi]

Gary Williams....and it's a no-brainer IMO.

[accinfo]

Gary. Ehsan and Bino were getting the recruiting back on solid ground. We would have had a 3-man '11 class and JA would not have de-committed. Gary can flat out coach.

I like Turgeon and am happy with what he is doing so far. It was probably time for some new blood in the program.

It's always difficult to answer these a week into a hiring. Guthridge looked like Dean Smith's ghost for the first few years, but under the covers that program was falling apart.

Please define falling apart? Guthridge went to 2 Final Fours in 3 years. His overall record was 80-28 and his ACC record was 32-16. Give the man his due. Matt Doherty was a pinhead but Bill Guthridge deserves more respect.

[Tony-OH]

Will Turgeon bring in better players than the ones Gary had coming in over the next few years, not to mention the strong possibility of Cleare?

This seems to be the disconnect here.

For the last several years, many of you have bashed on Gary for recruiting.

Ok, well now that has gotten better for the next 2 classes and was maybe going to keep getting better. He realized he was falling behind there and got Bino and Ehsam to come in and help improve on that.(btw, most asst coaches are the ones recruiting, so let's also not act like Gary is just throwing his hands up and has nothing to do with it)

So, if the recruiting was doing what you guys wanted, why want a change and why expect a change to be better?

I keep hearing that William's recruiting was getting better and all that garbage, but the fact is the team is shambles right now because of Gary's lack of recruiting. He had no desire to do it and the only thing he wanted to do was sit in his office and have his assistants bring in the recruits to kiss his ring.

In less than two weeks Turgeon did more to repair fences that were busted thanks to Williams' attitude and after seeing the assistants he hired, it's going to be huge bump in recruiting. I can't see how that can even be argued. The only thing that can be debated is whether Turgeon will be as good a motivator and X's and O's guy. That remains to be seen but for me, it's not even close. Turgeon is exactly what this program needed and I'm thankful he's here.

[Tony-OH]

There is no doubt I'd rather have Turgeon in today's college basketball landscape. It's not even debatable IMO

Absolutely. I don't see how anyone who has watched Turgeon work over the last three weeks can think the program was better off under Williams in this stage of career and desire. Gary was a great coach at one time, just like Earl Weaver was a great manager, but both had their time and then it was time to move on. Unfortunately, Williams only had interest in 50% of his job over the last 6-8 years from all reports and that to me was unacceptable. At the end of the day, give him his name in the rafters and in the hall of fame, but give me a coach who is young, hungry, and wants to do this job 100%. All of the job, and not just the parts he wants to do.

[Tony-OH]

This. Huge GW fan. Glad he went out via his own hand. Like what I see so far from Turgeon.

I don't really understand the poll. There wasn't/isn't a choice between these two guys so what is the point of the poll? If you're asking if I'd fire GW if I knew GW still wanted ed to coach and I knew that Turgeon would come here if GW was gone, I would not have fired GW. That isn't the same as saying that GW would be the better option for 2011 - 2013. Loyalty counts for a lot in my book. Firing GW if he wanted to be here isn't loyal IMHO.

I give Gary a lot of credit for moving on like he did. He is a good man who deserves better than he has gotten from some folks that I think should know better. But, hey, that is just my opinion.

It's simple, would you prefer the program be still under Gary Williams or under Turgeon? Status quo (and if you feel the recruiting was improving then I can understand how you might want to keep a guy like Gary because he's obviously a good X's and O's guy), or the new regime with a renewed emphasis in building relationships with the AAU teams/coaches?

You don't have to hate Gary Williams or think he was a terrible coach to pick Turgeon. I'd pick Showalter over Trembley and I liked Dave personally. All you have to feel is that the program is better off under Turgeon's leadership then with what we had with Gary Williams.

As for giving Gary credit, I haven't heard one person including myself who has not given Gary credit for what he did. Just some us don't feel he deserved a lifetime contract for it, especially when it was clear he wasn't getting done on the recruiting trail for a long time.

[Sports Guy]

I keep hearing that William's recruiting was getting better and all that garbage, but the fact is the team is shambles right now because of Gary's lack of recruiting. He had no desire to do it and the only thing he wanted to do was sit in his office and have his assistants bring in the recruits to kiss his ring.

In less than two weeks Turgeon did more to repair fences that were busted thanks to Williams' attitude and after seeing the assistants he hired, it's going to be huge bump in recruiting. I can't see how that can even be argued. The only thing that can be debated is whether Turgeon will be as good a motivator and X's and O's guy. That remains to be seen but for me, it's not even close. Turgeon is exactly what this program needed and I'm thankful he's here.

Had Gary and Jordan Williams returned, along with the recruiting class that was in the books with Gary, do you think that the team would have been in shambles for next year?

[clapdiddy]

Had Gary and Jordan Williams returned, along with the recruiting class that was in the books with Gary, do you think that the team would have been in shambles for next year?

I honestly think that team would be looking to be in the top 20. Having Faust's and Stoglin's shooting from the outside could have really opened things up for JW.

[mweb]

Had Gary and Jordan Williams returned, along with the recruiting class that was in the books with Gary, do you think that the team would have been in shambles for next year?

Of course not and while one can blame Gary for not having proper depth in the frontcourt, I don't think one can blame him for a player making a weird decision to leave early. Not many programs would be in good shape if their star player leaves unexpectingly. Sure, schools like Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc would be, but it's also not fair to compare MD to them.

In terms of the whole recruiting thing, I agree with what Beaner said in the other thread that this idea that the recruiting has worsened is simply wrong. In fact, it actually seemed to be on an upswing and people were generally happy with the progress there. I do agree that Gary could have done more in that regard, but that was always the case.

[Sports Guy]

Of course not and while one can blame Gary for not having proper depth in the frontcourt, I don't think one can blame him for a player making a weird decision to leave early. Not many programs would be in good shape if their star player leaves unexpectingly. Sure, schools like Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc would be, but it's also not fair to compare MD to them.

In terms of the whole recruiting thing, I agree with what Beaner said in the other thread that this idea that the recruiting has worsened is simply wrong. In fact, it actually seemed to be on an upswing and people were generally happy with the progress there. I do agree that Gary could have done more in that regard, but that was always the case.

Yea, I agree with all of this.

I don't see how you could have looked at the next 2 recruiting classes and not said that improvements were being made.

Gary kept saying this was the right time for him to go. IMO, it was the right time because Jordan Williams left. Had he not left early, Gary is back IMO and, as clapdiddy said, I think MD could have been a top 20 school this year.