Maryland to name court for Gary

[fisheyes]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6967429/maryland-terrapins-name-basketball-court-gary-williams

They should simplify it to "Right Guard Court"

Sweat Gary Sweat!

[OldPhiKap]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6967429/maryland-terrapins-name-basketball-court-gary-williams

They should simplify it to "Right Guard Court"

Sweat Gary Sweat!

Gary > Lefty ?!?

No.

[davekay1971]

Sweaty Field?

[fuqua1997]

I have a lot of respect for Gary Williams, he was one of the nation's top coaches, and was a fierce competitor. It was also fun to hate on him at the same time. Chanting the ""Sweat Gary Sweat" was the best chant during the Maryland games. Naming this court after him was well-deserved.

[Duvall]

Gary > Lefty ?!?

No.

Lefty over Gary is a tough case to make, isn't it? Lefty had several great teams and players, but Maryland's only national title and only two Final Four appearances came under Gary.

[devildeac]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/6967429/maryland-terrapins-name-basketball-court-gary-williams

They should simplify it to "Right Guard Court"

Sweat Gary Sweat!

Wouldn't "Riotous Guard Court" be more appropriate?;):rolleyes:

[gw67]

As one who has followed Maryland basketball since Lefty's first year coaching the Terps and attended a load of games in the 70's and 80's with my wife (undergrad and grad at Maryland) and a couple of buddies who got tickets, I liked Lefty and understand that some would like to have him honored. He elevated Maryland basketball. Personally, I think that Maryland should have honored him before now but getting over the Bias memories takes awhile. In any case, I, and I suspect many others, associate the lefthander with Cole not Comcast. My understanding is that the school plans to honor him this fall and I'm glad to hear that. He is probably nearing 80 and the last time I saw him at the beach he seemed to be having some difficulty moving around.

I think that it is appropriate that the school name the Comcast court for Williams. He came back to his alma mater in very dark times after Wade got the school in trouble with the NCAA and a few years after Bias. He ran a clean program, coached the Terps to a National Championship and another Final Four, was very successful in the ACC, and was instrumental in getting the new arena built.

Lefty and Gary. Two very different coaches who were both successful and interesting to watch on the sidelines. It will be interesting to see how their successor, Turgeon, does. Apparently, he is not as emotional on the sidelines but if he can recruit like Lefty and coach like Gary, basketball fans will be in for a treat in future seasons when the Terps play Big Four teams, Virginia and other ACC teams.

gw67

[OldPhiKap]

Lefty over Gary is a tough case to make, isn't it? Lefty had several great teams and players, but Maryland's only national title and only two Final Four appearances came under Gary.

True, but the flip side is that only one team went from each conference for the bulk of his tenure. The "UCLA of the East" had some great teams and players that had to get through UNC, NC State, Duke, UVa to get to the tourney.

Not taking anything away from Gary -- he had some very good years and was always uber-competitive with us -- but Lefty put Md on the map. Kind of got a raw deal in the wake of the Len Bias matter, although he did say a dumb thing or two that contributed to his leaving.

I think Lefty is the only coach to win at least 100 games at four different schools. Doesn't help him get into any of their pantheons, perhaps, but pretty darn impressive.

Plus, of course, he went to Duke.

[superdave]

In the immortal words of Walter Sobcek, Gary was a worthy adversary. Imagine how good he'd have been had he actually tried to recruit.

[Olympic Fan]

True, but the flip side is that only one team went from each conference for the bulk of his tenure. The "UCLA of the East" had some great teams and players that had to get through UNC, NC State, Duke, UVa to get to the tourney.

Not taking anything away from Gary -- he had some very good years and was always uber-competitive with us -- but Lefty put Md on the map. Kind of got a raw deal in the wake of the Len Bias matter, although he did say a dumb thing or two that contributed to his leaving.

I think Lefty is the only coach to win at least 100 games at four different schools. Doesn't help him get into any of their pantheons, perhaps, but pretty darn impressive.

Plus, of course, he went to Duke.

Not true that just one team went during the bulk of Gary's tenure ... his first successful team at Maryland was in 1972 and they won 27 games and didn't get an NCAA bid. His '73 team got the NCAA bid because ACC champ NC State was on probation. 1974 was a great travesty -- Maryland had the nation's third or fourth best team and didn't get a bid because NC State (the nation's best team) took the ACC bid.

But those two teams -- 1972 and 1974 -- were the only ones blocked by the one-team rule. In 1975, Maryland won the reguloar season and got a bid in the expanded field even though UNC won the tournament and the automatic bid.

Overall at Maryland, Gary won more games than Lefty (442-348), had a better ACC winning percentage (Lefty has a slightly better overall winning percentage) and had more postseason success. Both won one ACC championship.

As you say, Lefty was a Duke grad ... Gary was a Maryland grad -- which I assume would make it MORE likely that they would honor him.

I won't say Lefty put Maryland basketball on the map. The Terps had some great teams in the '50s under Bud Milliken. But he did revive the program after a long slump in the 1960s.

[sagegrouse]

Not taking anything away from Gary -- he had some very good years and was always uber-competitive with us -- but Lefty put Md on the map. Kind of got a raw deal in the wake of the Len Bias matter, although he did say a dumb thing or two that contributed to his leaving.

I think Lefty is the only coach to win at least 100 games at four different schools. Doesn't help him get into any of their pantheons, perhaps, but pretty darn impressive.

Plus, of course, he went to Duke.

I like Lefty, although I have had a long conversation with him only once (at a Duke reunion). IIRC (and there is always a first time), after Bias's death Lefty directed his assistants go to the athletics dorm to find and dispose of any incriminating evidence. I suppose that is only borderline criminal -- there were no charges -- but it is certainly an offense that should and did lead to dismissal.

He did a dumb thing -- I suppose because famous coaches, even those who are not control freaks, always think they are in charge. But he should have realized that this was the "big stage" -- a national story -- and he was a bit player. Lefty would have survived unscathed if had just shuffled his feet, apologized to everyone and anyone on behalf of the team and program, and asked what help he could give the authorities.

sagegrouse

[BD80]

The arena needs to be configured to include a permanent ice surface for hockey etc. They then can lay the basketball floor over the ice and the court itself can:

SWEAT, GARY, SWEAT.

[hudlow]

Right Guard Arena

[tommy]

court should be dubbed "The Sweat Box"

[Jim3k]

Not true that just one team went during the bulk of Gary's tenure ... his first successful team at Maryland was in 1972 and they won 27 games and didn't get an NCAA bid. His '73 team got the NCAA bid because ACC champ NC State was on probation. 1974 was a great travesty -- Maryland had the nation's third or fourth best team and didn't get a bid because NC State (the nation's best team) took the ACC bid.



To correct an inadvertent error, I am sure you meant Lefty when you wrote Gary in this graf cuz Gary didn't arrive as Mary's coach until 1989.

[Kimist]

One other issue is that Lefty never coached a single game at the Comcast Center.

All of his games were at the Cole Field House, which has now been renovated into a multi-use facility to include soccer and field hockey.

And, of course, the Len Bias events cast a considerable shadow over the Legend of Lefty. :o