Williams Leaves Lasting Impression On Terps’ Hardwood
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By DERON SNYDER
Gary Williams has made himself scarce around the Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball program, which he ran for the prior 22 seasons. He’s been busy completing various tasks for the athletic department (for which he’s paid a tidy $400,000), working as an analyst for the Big Ten network and, just recently, making weekly local radio appearances on ESPN 980.
But there was no way Williams could avoid making his presence felt Wednesday at Comcast Center. It’s considered “The House That Gary Built,” but on this night the court officially was his.
“It was great,” he said, several minutes after entering to wild applause from a standing-room-only crowd, on hand to witness the public unveiling of “Gary Williams Court” before the Terps played Duke. “It’s just something I hope everybody feels a part of that’s ever been connected with basketball at the University of Maryland. I think that’s important.”
Duke pulled away in the final seven minutes for a 74-61 victory, but that didn’t spoil the evening. Neither did word a day earlier that former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell wasn’t a fan of the court’s new name. Driesell reportedly sent an e-mail of protest to Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan, stating that he didn’t want his own name or any other coach’s name emblazoned on the hardwood.
“It’s not fair to my players that they would put Gary Williams‘ name on the court,” Driesell told the Baltimore Sun. “It’s a disservice to players such as Tom McMillen, John Lucas, Len Elmore, Brad Davis, Greg Manning, Adrian Branch and Steve Sheppard.”
