Madness in Maryland

If you haven't heard, the University of Maryland men's basketball coach, Gary Williams, is under heavy fire from an assortment of troubling events. The first would be the devastating loss to their "rival", the Duke Blue Devils, by a whopping 41 points last Saturday.

But the more troubling is his interactions with the athletics department at the university. On Monday afternoon, reporters asked Williams about former signees Gus Gilchrist and Tyree Evans decisions to not be at Maryland. Williams responded it is not his fault that the two players are not currently on the roster.

While those two players are now gone and talk should be put to rest, many bring up Williams' recruiting woes during hard times. After the Duke loss, Maryland let Boston College come from 17 behind to win at the Comcast Center Tuesday night.

The worst part of it all, is that Senior Associate Athletics Director Kathleen Worthington took offense to the comments made by the head coach.

Worthington called the Baltimore Sun and said: "I want to clarify the facts and the timing and the decision process of these situations. It was my recommendation that we not sign a release for Gus [Gilchrist]. I didn't want to release him. It was the head coach's decision. No one else released Gus."

After the Boston College loss, Williams certainly felt the pressure and lashed out a heated response."Kathy Worthington does not speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything. She is an associate AD. She doesn't speak for me."

Since those comments, there has been no media contact by the players, the coach, or any athletic department officials.

The damage has certainly been done though.

There is much chatter about the job security of the once loved coach. He resurrected the men's basketball program after horrible NCAA infractions and the loss of all-time great Len Bias. He brought over ten straight NCAA Tournament Berths. He also brought the programs first Final Four in 2001.

And then he won the 2002 National Championship with gritty players like Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter.

Gary Williams is the face of the Maryland Terrapin basketball team. Many people across the country look at him like an elite coach. But for some reason, fans across the area feel like he has out stayed his welcome.

Those people are the ones going off on message boards, blogs, and other new media. Those people are the ones that love you the first day, hate you the next.

Maybe the momentum is building for Gary's exit. I for one hope that it is not.

Like said earlier, Williams is the face of the program. Working and talking with important Terrapin Club members monthly, I have realized what has really made this program.

Without Williams, their would be less revenue from donations and season tickets than ever before. The people that are donating and supporting the program are the ones that are in the stands until the buzzer.

These are the people that still savor the chance of going to the NCAA Tournament. They will look for every nook and cranny to get there. Finally, without these donors and supporters there would be no National Championship.

I agree Gary Williams needs to make changes in order to be competitive. The world of college basketball and recruiting changes by the week. Recently the NCAA mandated that 7th graders are official basketball recruits.

What I do not agree with are the cries for Williams resignation or termination.

As a sign said during the Boston College game:
"In Gary We Trust"