The Decline of Maryland??

[BlueintheFace]

Nobody seems to fear the turtle anymore and people point at Gary Williams' recruiting... like Dana O'Neil

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/column...ana&id=3469331

Do we agree?

[Faison1]

While I can see major challenges Gary is having to endure, I have little respect for Dana O'Neil. I have only read a few of her articles, but it seems she is trying to make a name for herself by focusing on the negatives of the game. I would say that at some point, she will have alienated herself to the majority of college hoops fans if she keeps going around writing about tough times for programs under stress.

My advice to her, is focus on the positives sometime, and show the rest of us some true talent, rather than printing a bunch of "he said-she said" crap. I mean come on....the more I think about it, the more fired up I become. The line about "I can only tell you what I heard..." Is that real journalism?!?! Pretty pathetic, really.

I am not a fan of Maryland in general, but I have great respect for Gary. He is a true character amongst the ACC coaching fraternity, so I hope he can turn it around....(but still lose to Duke twice a season, while sweeping the Holes at the same time.)

[OldPhiKap]

"Anyone who sweats like that must be all right."

-- Hunter/Garcia


(But reports of the Turtle's death are quite premature. Gary is down right now but far from out. And he is at his best when he can play his "the whole world is against us" card).

[BlueintheFace]

While I can see major challenges Gary is having to endure, I have little respect for Dana O'Neil. I have only read a few of her articles, but it seems she is trying to make a name for herself by focusing on the negatives of the game. I would say that at some point, she will have alienated herself to the majority of college hoops fans if she keeps going around writing about tough times for programs under stress.

My advice to her, is focus on the positives sometime, and show the rest of us some true talent, rather than printing a bunch of "he said-she said" crap. I mean come on....the more I think about it, the more fired up I become. The line about "I can only tell you what I heard..." Is that real journalism?!?! Pretty pathetic, really.

I mostly agree with you, but she did do that long piece on Nolan Smith earlier in the year before anybody in the nation even knew who he was...

On the other hand, she was the one who kept saying she was hearing rumors about a second transfer from duke this offseason on her ESPN chats

[Ignatius07]

I mostly agree with you, but she did do that long piece on Nolan Smith earlier in the year before anybody in the nation even knew who he was...

On the other hand, she was the one who kept saying she was hearing rumors about a second transfer from duke this offseason on her ESPN chats

Yeah, she was probably talking about Lance Thomas, and she probably got those rumors from Villanova boards.

[dukemomLA]

I'm thinkin' that Gary is on his way out. And perhaps it's deserved. Don't think much of Dana, but Debbie Yow has my respect.

The job of head coach at MD is a gem -- and there are LOTS of candidates would would drool to fill this spot. GW has his pros and cons. And IMO, the cons seem to out way the pros.

I look forward to another year of Gary sweating, ranting and raving. I truly think he's an upstanding guy (...in some ways). But there have been too many MD BB issues that have caused me to glance askew at their program.

As a strong supporter of the ACC on all levels, I would not be surprised or disappointed with a change. Sorry Gary, best of luck.

[gw67]

The O'Neil piece is well balanced, IMO. Two of my golfing buddies are Maryland grads and one has close ties to the Terps' athletic department. Neither has a high regard for Yow and wouldn't trust her to make a good decision in finding a successor to Williams. Their understanding is that she has a frosty relationship with both Williams and the Fridge. Like Williams, she has some positives and some negatives and the negatives out weigh the positives, in their opinion.

From what I have read and heard, Williams is very much "old school" when it comes to recruiting and he resents the prominence of the AAU circuit, the "handlers" and the "one and dones". This attitude makes it difficult to recruit in today's world but he is paid a bundle of money so he doesn't get much sympathy from alums and fans. It is interesting that Malone is quoted in the article. My understanding is that a Maryland assistant (Dickerson?) had words with him several years ago and that he has been at odds with Maryland/Williams ever since.

I suspect that he will hang around till the end of his current contract. My choice, if he were to retire or be fired in the near future, would be his former assistant, Rick Barnes. Rick coached locally at George Mason as well as at Clemson and is a good recruiter/competitor. Unfortunately, Texas has a lot more money than Maryland to throw around and I expect that he is not available. Of the coaches mentioned in the DBR article, I would choose Miller of Xavier.

gw67

[Buckeye Devil]

I second the notion of GW67 in that Sean Miller would be a great fit following the pattern of Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser, and Thad Matta who all used Xavier as a springboard to a bigger coaching job.

At some point, though, it would seem that someone will stay at Xavier realizing that it is a quality job in a decent league with great support from the community and the administration. X takes great pains to ensure that the players are not only successful on the court but also in the classroom. They have had some good players and good runs in the NCAA as well. The Musketeers came within a whisker of beating Duke in 2004 and they should have beat Ohio State in 2007.

As for Gary, I saw him work wonders at Ohio State in the late 80's bringing respectability to a proud program that had fallen on hard times under Eldon Miller. He got a lot out of average players but broke the heart of this season ticket holder when he bolted for the Twerps. I think he is a decent guy but is operating out of step with the world of 21st century college basketball. I do despise the Twerps and their scuzzball fans and take great joy seeing them thrashed. The only time I root for them is against UNC. I wish Gary well except for when he plays Duke.

[mapei]

I was a MD fan of sorts before Gary. But, as long as he is there, may misfortune continue to reign as much as possible.

[hudlow]

Maryland - a mid-major?