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Despite whispers of having mellowed, Maryland coach Gary Williams maintains that his drive and passion that earned him 600-plus wins over 30 years still burns
By Adrian Branch
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Even after 30-plus seasons, Williams asserts he's still committed.
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Gary Williams watches TV and reads the paper. He knows what they say about him. Funny thing is, he agrees—at least to one point: “Intense,” he admits, is the word that best describes his personality and coaching style. Entering his 20th season as coach of the Maryland Terrapins, Williams managed a few moments to reflect on his life in College Park, which goes back 43 years to when he was a freshman guard for the well-respected Bud Millikan. Though he captained the 1967 team, Williams knew his calling wasn’t as a player—but as coach/teacher. He has learned the two are synonymous. Now 62 years old, Williams acknowledges that his trademark fire was greatly necessary to survive as a coach in such win-or-go-home conferences as the Big 10, Big East and ACC.
In the 1980s, a darker-haired Williams held his own against the likes of John Thompson (at Georgetown), Lou Carnesecca (St. John’s), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) and Rick Pitino (Providence). With 604 wins (and counting), he is the seventh winningest active Division I coach (up there with names like Krzyzewski, Olson, Calhoun and Penders). Heralded as the national ACC Coach of the Year during the Terps’ 2002 championship run, Williams is just one of 11 active coaches to boast a national title and one of only three in the conference. And the Terps’ 2008 NIT appearance marked the 15th consecutive postseason berth for Williams’ teams. But the whispers of Williams having mellowed ring loudly around the Beltway. To that, Williams attests he’s the same old rantin’-and-ravin’ Gary Williams. The fire is still there … to win, to find the next Juan Dixon, Joe Smith, or one of his all-time faves, Walt Williams. Is Maryland his last stop? Taken aback, he answered, reflectively: “As long as I’m healthy and not burned out mentally. No.”
Williams’ heart to heart with Adrian Branch, the Terps fourth career scoring leader, covers his career, the 2008-09 season … and his future.
Adrian Branch: Take me back to when you got into coaching. How did you get your start?
Gary Williams: [laughs] Wow. I was a graduate assistant here at the University of Maryland. I knew I wasn’t good enough to play [professionally] so I was lucky enough to catch on as an assistant freshman coach while I completed my degree. That gave me a taste of coaching and from there, I probably made the decision to give coaching a try.
Branch: And that’s something you always wanted to do—coach?
Williams: There weren’t a lot of opportunities unless you were good enough to play in the NBA. There was no [professional league in] Europe or things like that so I knew pretty well that was it for me, in terms of being a competitive player. I didn’t see anything out there I really wanted to do and I wanted to stay with the game as long as I could.
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Williams and Juan Dixon reached college basketball's mountain top in 2002.
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Branch: One of your former players, Walt Williams, once said: ‘Gary Williams is a hard personality but he will let you play.’ What do you say to that statement?
Williams: I think it’s fair. I was fortunate to coach Walt his sophomore through his senior years. Walt was one of those great players … he played four positions—from point guard to power forward, and he probably could have played center. He is one of the great players I have ever coached. The thing about Walt is that he loved the game.
Branch: Here is a roll call of names … Jim Jackson, Dennis Hopson, Joe Smith, Walt Williams, Juan Dixon. You’ve molded them all. Do you have a favorite?
Williams: Well, that’s not fair … all those guys were as good a person as they were players. When your best player is a good guy and he works hard and he is a leader, that really helps me as a coach because our team is going to play [together]. I always go back to a guy like Juan Dixon, who won a National Championship with me in 2002. That championship team had Lonnie Baxter, Chris Wilcox, Steve Blake, Drew Nicholas, Byron Mouton; those guys all were willing to sacrifice for each other. Juan Dixon might have been a little special because he had the ability to score more than anybody else did that year in the country. And to be the all-time leading scorer at Maryland is a tremendous accomplishment when you consider we had guys like Walt Williams, Len Bias, and yourself …
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Williams: "I care too
much about the players not to give them everything I have."
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Branch: This is your 31st year as a coach. What is the secret to your longevity?
Williams: Around this time of year—before the season starts—you just check yourself to see if you have that same feeling. You really want that season to start, and you’re looking forward to the practices and the games. That’s what I try to do every summer to prepare myself. And each summer I try to get better. I’ll talk to different coaches that I know … there might be one thing you want to try this year that you didn’t do last year. I don’t care if you’ve been in this game for a hundred years, there will be some things that you can learn about the game. As long as I have that approach, as long as I have that hunger to get better and get more knowledge about the game, then I think I can continue to coach.
 Branch: How has the game changed since 2002, when you won your national championship?
Williams: There is a bigger dominance of guards in college basketball now. You see teams using four guards, and you know some of the guys are 6’5’’ or whatever but they’re not afraid to play. Villanova is a good example; they’ll use four or five guards. The officiating has [changed too]; the hand-checking rule is called very closely. There’s still a lot of bumping in the post so it’s a lot easier to dribble-penetrate then maybe score out of the post now. So the game keeps changing and you have to stay with it and adjust.
Branch: As the third winningest active ACC coach, have you and the Terps gotten your fair due or praise?
Williams: Probably not, but that’s going to be anyone else in the league. If you ask the average basketball fan to name two of the top five programs in the last 50 years they’re probably going to say North Carolina and Duke. We’ve been able to compete with Carolina and Duke on the court for the last four or five years, and we’ve had some success there. Hopefully we can continue to do that.
Branch: You are 62 years old now. How much longer do you plan to coach?
Williams: For as long as I’m healthy … I care too much about this place. This is where I went to school. I care too much about the players not to give them everything I have. If I ever see myself [not giving 100 percent], I will have to cut back and it would be time to go. But as long as the health stays there, I’ll coach.
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Williams is expecting big things from Greivis
Vasquez, who led the team with 157 assists last season.
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Branch: Your 2008-2009 team is led by Greivis Vasquez. How’s this year’s team going to be?
Williams: I think we’re strong in the backcourt. Greivis was Second Team All ACC as a sophomore and you know how tough that is. I think he can have an outstanding year; he should be one of the best guards in ACC. Junior Eric Hayes started on and off for two years. Greivis and Eric are roommates together. Landon Milbourne started at the 3 spot for us; he really has experience now going into his junior year. We have one senior in Dave Neal and the big thing for us will be if our big guys can come through. That’s going to really determine how successful we can be.
Branch: The Old Spice Classic has got some powerhouse teams—Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Gonzaga, Georgetown. What do you expect from this tournament?
Williams: Well, you find out in November how good you are. We open with Michigan State. Our bracket [includes] Gonzaga and Oklahoma State. The Gonzaga game will be against a very good team and on the other side you have Georgetown and Tennessee so it’s going to be tough. At the same time, you have to play games along the way to prepare yourself for the ACC regular season league games.
Branch: With a tournament like the Old Spice Classic, is it more important to start out fast, or finish strong?
Williams: In basketball you have to get better as you go along, because it’s such a long season. In other words, say you win the Old Spice Classic, all those teams in [the field] will be better when February rolls around and you have to keep that in mind no matter how you play in November. For me, it’s about improving as the season goes on. We’re not like football—the way the BCS is now; you lose a game somewhere early and it hurts your chances all year even though you might be 11 and 1 at the end of the season. So [football] is a little different than [basketball].
Branch: Gary Williams is passionate. But what is your passion?
Williams: My passion is for the kids in high school to understand that so few players even get the opportunity to play in college. Enjoy where you are. If I’m a sophomore in high school I should be having a great time as a sophomore in high school—not worrying about what school I should go to or whatever. I should just be a sophomore in high school. If I’m a college player, very few players even get the chance to play college basketball, enjoy the moment. And if you’re good enough, the things will happen where the NBA will be there and things like that but along the way, get as much education as you can because there will come a day when you need the education. I don’t care how much money you make, at age 35 there has to be something else out there that you have a passion for besides basketball—unless you get into coaching or something like that. That’s where a lot of these kids fall down because all of a sudden basketball is taken away from them and they haven’t really created another thing that’s important in their lives. So hopefully guys get that message.
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ESPNU basketball analyst Adrian Branch attended Maryland from 1982 to 1985, and ranks fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list.
Photos Courtesy AP
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