@ VA 3/09 7:30 pm

[Miller192]

I don't know guys, Gary seems like he's becoming the next Brian Billick. The period of time since he's done anything meaningful is becoming longer.

I like Gary and I liked Brian, it just seems there's becoming a parallel here.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Lol, sweet man. We beat up on cupcakes out of conference, beat up on the cupcakes in our conference (sometimes), get one ONE great win during the season and basically sleepwalk our way to another NIT bid.

For once in your life as a sports fan, including with the Ravens and Orioles, RAISE YOUR FREAKING STANDARDS!!!!

I'll set my standards wherever I want to.

[Oriole4Life]

It's the players that suck. Not Gary. However that is a reflection on Gary and how he recruits and motivates. I have quietly defended Gary, but I am starting to wonder....I still say he deserves at least 3 more years for what he has done for us.

[Pedro Cerrano]

At this point, I actually hope Pedro and Bryan get their wish and Williams retires. They'll find out just how hard it is to find a coach with as much to offer as Gary Williams.

I don't agree with everything he does. Heck, I openly disagreed with him not playing zone tonight. However, I also don't kneejerk into "fire the coach" mode and throw a temper tantrum just because MD isn't Duke/UNC.

Give me a freaking break. Tons of programs have let top-tier coaches go (either fire or through retirement) and they've done ok.

Do you think UCLA cried like babies when Wooden decided to hang it up? When Dean Smith left UNC, when Bobby Knight was fired from Indiana, when Adolph Rupp ended his tenure at Kentucky -- do you think those fans did what you people are doing?

"Oh my God! We'll never be good again! Gary the Great can never be replaced he is so freaking awesome! Whatever will we do??!!! We're gonna go like 18-14 and probably make a bunch of NITs the next few years if he leaves.......oh wait, that's already happening."

[BaltimoreTerp]

I don't know guys, Gary seems like he's becoming the next Brian Billick. The period of time since he's done anything meaningful is becoming longer.

I like Gary and I liked Brian, it just seems there's becoming a parallel here.

You do see the difference between the two, right?

That's like saying Ralph Friedgen and Bobby Bowden are the same because they both had success at the beginning of the decade but haven't reached the same level consistently since.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Oh Lord, can we please just stop the examination of the overall record. We finished 8-8 in the ACC. That tells you what you need to know. We're an average ACC team.

That isn't good enough, but it is also isn't nearly as terrible as some of us seem to believe. Of course, I'm not sure I should expect much intelligent discourse from people whose contributions consist of "they suck". That is some real in depth, detailed analysis there.

There are few things worse in sports then a spoiled fan.

[Pedro Cerrano]

There are few things worse in sports then a spoiled fan.

I'm spoiled because I want my team to QUALIFY for the NCAA tournament? Lol, ok. Again, maybe your standards need to be raised, you seem to settle at 70 wins for the O's and NIT bids for the Terps.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Oh Lord, can we please just stop the examination of the overall record. We finished 8-8 in the ACC. That tells you what you need to know. We're an average ACC team.

That isn't good enough, but it is also isn't nearly as terrible as some of us seem to believe. Of course, I'm not sure I should expect much intelligent discourse from people whose contributions consist of "they suck". That is some real in depth, detailed analysis there.

Fine. We're average. Do you like any of your teams to be average? I sure don't.

[bryanman8]

I <3 the NIT Tournament.

I'm gonna start making that as a bumper sticker. BTerp, you're interested, right?

[BaltimoreTerp]

I'm spoiled because I want my team to QUALIFY for the NCAA tournament? Lol, ok. Again, maybe your standards need to be raised, you seem to settle at 70 wins for the O's and NIT bids for the Terps.

The season isn't over yet. People seem to forget that.

[Miller192]

You do see the difference between the two, right?

That's like saying Ralph Friedgen and Bobby Bowden are the same because they both had success at the beginning of the decade but haven't reached the same level consistently since.

Yeah there's a difference but I'm seeing a lot of similarities as well.

Maryland is just an average basketball team this year. No more, no less.

Honestly, I don't know that I would've predicted anymore at the start of the year.

[Jagwar]

At this point, I actually hope Pedro and Bryan get their wish and Williams retires. They'll find out just how hard it is to find a coach with as much to offer as Gary Williams.

I don't agree with everything he does. Heck, I openly disagreed with him not playing zone tonight. However, I also don't kneejerk into "fire the coach" mode and throw a temper tantrum just because MD isn't Duke/UNC.

Meh... I've been saying this all season. They are a young team, and anything above 8-8 in the ACC would have been an overachievement.

This is what happens when recruiting is lax for two years (Gist year and Neal year). A program can recover quickly from one bad year of recruiting, but not two. When the bench is almost entirely composed of freshmen, the ACC is going to eat you up.

It just means that March has become very uninteresting for me. I will just get on cruise control until Opening Day

[Pedro Cerrano]

BTW, you guys realize that the longer we toil in mediocrity, the less good players will want to come here right? And it's not like Gary the Great was a good recruiter to begin with...

[BaltimoreTerp]

BTW, you guys realize that the longer we toil in mediocrity, the less good players will want to come here right? And it's not like Gary the Great was a good recruiter to begin with...

And he still won. Some people just don't get that.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Are you trying to be funny? Why don't you do yourself a favor and go wiki UCLA after Wooden left? Or UNC after Smith left? Or Indiana after Knight (other than one flukey year)? Or Kentucky after Rupp? You're embarrassing yourself with these statements. Most of these schools had a letdown after those coaches left.

I never wrote that we would never again win if Williams left the school. I merely wrote that it isn't a simple thing to find someone better than Gary Williams on the open market. I stand by that statement. I realize it is much, much easier to attack my logic by hyperbolizing my statement into something is isn't, but it isn't very intellectually honest.

Why expect that?