Maryland is willing to roll the dice

[CA Mustang]

Gary Williams must be desperate! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/w ... ml?eref=T1

[Buddha]

Coach Williams is anything but desperate. He is regarded - and rightly so - as one of the best coaches in the nation. He doesn't always land Rhodes Scholars, but he also doesn't generally take on lost-cause players, and often loses out on some with major character issues to other schools (this being what appears to be an exception).

Most interesting line from the Maryland AD: "...to award one of its 27 academic high-risk admission slots to ..."

27?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[CA Mustang]

Coach Williams is anything but desperate.

After making the NIT for three of the past four years, I'd bet he isn't all that comfortable. As the article mentioned, he's being out-recruited by other ACC schools AND the top HS talent in Maryland is leaving the state. If things were going great for him, he wouldn't be taking a chance like this.

[jimhagle]

He has never been a great recruiter so he has had to get it done with superior coaching. In all the years he's been there only Joe Smith stood out in the pros. Yes, the seat is getting warm up there for him. And he's a Maryland alumn to boot.

[PonyDoh]

Gary Williams isn't on the hot seat yet. The natives are restless, and its true he's never been regarded as a great recruiter. That said, since they brought in Chuck Driesell, Lefty's kid, and a Terp alum, they've recruited at a far better clip. This upcoming class, they have the best player in DC and Baltimore signed up.

I think Tyree Evans is a stretch as a student/athlete, but to be honest, the Terps need a lethal 2G. If he doesn't pan out and rapes someone, it's the last straw for Williams. That said, most of the big money boosters remember the post-Len Bias years, the sanctions, and the fact that Gary left Ohio St to come home to a decaying program. He gave them their greatest moment, a National Title and went to 12 or so NCAA tourney's in a row.

No doubt, he needs to get it done next year, which is a tall order considering their returning front court. That said, the last 5 or so recruits they've signed are first class. Many of the Terp faithful think they can make a run in 2010.

Lastly, Maryland doesn't have a ton of pro's in the league, but to say it's just Joe Smith is a fallacy. Chris Wilcox was a 15 & 8 guy this year, Steve Blake starts at PG for Portland, Steve Francis was a star before injuries, and Juan Dixon is making money as well.

[Red+BlueDude]

Lastly, Maryland doesn't have a ton of pro's in the league, but to say it's just Joe Smith is a fallacy. Chris Wilcox was a 15 & 8 guy this year, Steve Blake starts at PG for Portland, Steve Francis was a star before injuries, and Juan Dixon is making money as well.

Exactly right. Lonnie Freakin' Baxter played several years in the NBA, and he was just a role player at Maryland. DJ Strawberry is playing for the Suns.

The seat is not even toasty under Coach Williams. He's won a zillion games, and more importantly, he's very close with the AD, who hails him as something of a saint for coming back to his alma mater and delivering a national title. I'm guessing there aren't a lot of coaches safer than Coach Williams, right or wrong.

[PonyDoh]

Most interesting line from the Maryland AD: "...to award one of its 27 academic high-risk admission slots to ..."
27?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

27 is for the entire athletic department, not just the men's revenues. Academically, if you check the various rankings, Maryland is very much a school on the rise. I believe they actually graded out better then SMU in US News & World Report last year.

[jimhagle]

Smith started in his first year in the pros - the others are marginal players [it took Wilcox a long time to figure it out in the pros]and Francis was a juco so I didn't really count him. Talent yes but rarely a "stud" and I personally like Williams having lived in Maryland. And Baxter was a starter his senior year.

[PonyDoh]

Smith started in his first year in the pros - the others are marginal players [it took Wilcox a long time to figure it out in the pros]and Francis was a juco so I didn't really count him. Talent yes but rarely a "stud" and I personally like Williams having lived in Maryland. And Baxter was a starter his senior year.

Wilcox left after his soph season and was drafted by a team w/Elton BRand in front of him. The second he was traded he performed, which is about the time he would have used up his eligibility at Maryland.

Baxter started at Maryland as a freshman. Was inserted into the line-up for a slumping Obinna Ekezie. He never left the lineup and was all-league, 1st or 2nd team his soph, junior and senior year. His issue was simply his height. He was closer to 6-6 then 6-8. He did hang in the league for a few years, though. Same can be said of Terence Morris who got paid 1st round money.

Either way, Blake is getting paid as is Dixon. Hell, even DJ Strawberry is getting paid. Keith Booth got a ring and 1st round money etc. The bottom line is that Maryland, I'm pretty sure, is tied for 3rd most players in the league out of ACC teams.

Also, the kid that started this thread, Tyree Evans, hasn't been admitted yet. He has to go before a 'special exceptions' board to plead his case on why he should be admitted. It's not a given they will let the kid attend college Park

[socite]

I read in this morning's Washington D.C. paper that this kid asked Maryland to release him from his letter of intent. It seems that his admission was going to be reviewed by some type of faculty committee, and that someone failed to tell the President of the University that the recruit had served jail time for one of his several offenses.