Posts Tagged ‘williams’

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February 16th, 2009 | 02:18 am

Reliving 1985

You’ve probably seen by now that Duke lost to Boston College Sunday evening for the first time since 1985.

Granted the Eagles’ streak of futility only spanned eight games in those 24 years, but it’s still quite an accomplishment for Boston College to finally take down Duke.

But here’s an interesting tidbit:

On March 17, 1985, when Boston College defeated Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the head coach for that BC team was the one and only…

Gary Williams.

Gary’s Eagles were the 11th seed, and after knocking off Texas Tech in the first round, they upset third-seeded Duke. Boston College, which had former Terps assistant coach Michael Adams as a player, went on to lose their Sweet Sixteen matchup against Memphis State (which has since dropped the “State”).

BC over Duke isn’t the upset most people remember from that year though. Eighth-seeded Villanova wound up winning the national championship over a heavily-favored Georgetown team, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in tournament history.

As a five seed that year, Maryland, then coached by Lefty Dreisell, lost to those eventual champion Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen.

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February 15th, 2009 | 08:50 pm

Quote of the night

Always a reliable source for a great quote, the tell-it-like-I-see-it Greivis Vasquez offered up another gem last night following the Terps’ 83-73 victory over Virginia Tech.

Busy interviewing other players, I was late to the pack, so I don’t know the exact question this was a response to, but Vasquez’s remarks are pretty self-explanatory.

“We’re trying to win games, we’re not trying to get Gary fired,” Vasquez started. “He got more money than all you guys together, so he’s not worried about what you guys say.”

The five or six reporters wielding notebooks and recorders chuckled and looked at one another, shrugging in agreement. Yeah, Greivis is probably correct: Gary Williams likely has more money than all of us combined. After all, journalism isn’t the highest-paid industry out there.

At another point  in the session, Vasquez mentioned how he would die for Williams, “Cause you guys [the reporters] are trying to kill him.”

All of this vitriol was likely in response to The Washington Post’s well-done three-part series which came out this week, chronicling Maryland’s recruiting over the past seven years.

If the Terps keep winning, something tells me the players will rally around a “nobody believes in us” cry.

mseligdbk@gmail.com

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February 7th, 2009 | 04:32 pm

Saturday Basketball Notes

Just got back from Comcast Center where Greivis Vasquez and Gary Williams spoke to the media in regards to tomorrow’s game at Georgia Tech.

Everything said was pretty standard today, no real revelations or surprises. Here are some of the interesting snippets from Williams and Vasquez.

Vasquez on his slump… “It’s obvious that I’m not doing what I expect myself to be doing. I should be shooting the ball better, playing a lot better. The way I look at it is, it’s a completely different season for me since we lost to North Carolina. I can’t hit myself that hard and go cry because I’m missing threes and not making layups.”

Williams on Vasquez’s shooting struggles… “Slumps are tough; it doesn’t matter what the sport is. You get into a slump and, you’ve been doing a certain thing you’re whole life and you’re automatic with it–suddenly it’s not automatic anymore. That can really bother you. I think hitting a baseball and making a shot are very similar. Major League baseball player can’t hit a baseball for two weeks after he’s batting .300.”

Williams on the ACC’s “favorite”…“If you had asked me last week, I would have told you a different team than I would now. I’ say right now, just based on what’s happened recently, Carolina would be the true favorite. And that’s the way it was pre-season; they were the true favorite to win the national championship. But that can change in a weeks time. I said this three weeks ago–I think every week this year, there will be a game in this league that everyone thinks is a big upset, and it’s happened so far this year.”

Vasquez on Duke’s 74-47 loss at Clemson Wednesday… “They played against us and they made every open three they had. It’s funny, just so funny. That’s the way it is. I thought Clemson played well, played really hard. They deserved to win because they were outplaying Duke. Kyle Singler had a horrible game… That’s how the league is. The league is tough.”

More on the actual game between the Terps and Yellow Jackets after I touch down in Atlanta tomorrow afternoon.

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February 2nd, 2009 | 04:10 pm

Yow speaks publicly

For the first time since last week’s, we’ll say, “miscommunication,” Athletics Director Deborah Yow addressed the media in regards to Gary Williams’ security as head coach of the Terrapin men’s basketball team.

“I really want to lay to rest any of these crazy rumors that are floating around, relating to the job security of coach Williams,” Yow said.

She continued: “He has my personal, full support, as he does from the department and the university. He and I communicate regularly.”

Yow shook Williams’ hand, patted his shoulder, and exited the room, leaving the 20th-year Terps coach to conduct his standard pregame media availability.

“It’s nice that she said those things,” Williams said. “I’ve never felt threatened by anything. I know what I’ve done, just this decade alone. Very few programs have done what we’ve done this decade.”

Yow said that Williams still has three and a half years left on his contract, and when the time comes that he needs to re-up, Yow will discuss it with him.

So it seems like that whole issue is behind us. Now to the unenviable task of beating North Carolina in Chapel Hill.”

 mseligdbk@gmail.com

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January 31st, 2009 | 08:57 pm

Mosley replaces Hayes

Live from Comcast Center, we’ve got a quick lineup update before tip-off.

Freshman guard Sean Mosley is in the starting lineup in lieu of junior guard Eric Hayes, who had started the first 20 games for the Terps.

The Terps could certainly use a shake-up, and Hayes was the logical choice to be replaced.  Hayes has been in a shooting slump of late — hitting 9-of-34 shots in the last four games. Typically a relaible 3-point threat, Hayes has missed all seven attempts in the last two games.

Mosley, meanwhile, has been a real spark for the Terps lately. He’s averaged 7.8 ppg in the last four contests, but his real contributions have been his defense and hustle plays.  Though not as precise of a shooter, Mosley has better size, speed and strength than Hayes.

We’ll see if coach Gary Williams’ move pays dividends as the game is set to begin any minute now.

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January 30th, 2009 | 05:44 pm

Kim Reinstated, active for Terps

After being declared academically ineligible Tuesday, Terrapin freshman forward Jin Soo Kim was reinstated today following a waiver approval by the NCAA.

Kim was in street clothes for Tuesday’s loss against Boston College, but can now dress and play for the Terps.

He’s averaging 1.7 points and 6.8 minutes per game– the majority of his time on the court came in the Terps’first three games. At this point in the season, Kim is a ninth or tenth man used at the forward positions when the Terps need some depth. He has, however, garnered much interest and support from the fans.

“He’s been great in terms of his effort– he helps us in practice,” coach Gary Williams said. “Hopefully now he can go and just be a basketball player.It’s been a tough five months for him, just trying to get on the court.

Kim, who was born in Suwon, South Korea was in an English as a Second Language academic program last semester.

“He’s a great kid and I always put myself in his position,” Williams said.”If I went to France and was playing for a French basketball team,and trying to understand a coach whoonly spoke French, I’d have problems.”

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