Working in the shadows of Texas A&M football, Buzz Williams established a clear identity with the Aggies. While Southeastern Conference basketball hit the fast lane with Auburn, Alabama and Florida playing at a breakneck pace, the Aggies embraced a grind-it-out style. They defended. They pounded the offensive glass. They won the battles for 50-50 balls. The Aggies were seldom pretty under Williams, but their toughness kept them in the chase for NCAA Tournament bids as one of the better teams in the SEC's second tier. Alas, that was their ceiling under Williams. Hence his willingness, at 52, to move on to a new challenge at Maryland. He replaced Kevin Willard, who jumped to Villanova as the coaching carousel whirled. Basketball is a big deal at Maryland. The athletic program there is in flux and the school will need to invest more in hoops to keep pace in the Big Ten -- a point Willard loudly made on his way out the door -- but there is great potential there given the fertile recruiting ground. St. Louis sports radio show accused of spreading false rumor about Ole Miss student Procter & Gamble ends sponsorship for St. Charles County Pride festival Anti-Musk protests gather across St. Louis region. 'I've got family members threatened.' MoDOT to dismantle Chesterfield curb islands. 'We heard the community's feedback.' Mercy hospital left mom pushing for 12 hours. It caused baby's brain damage, jury finds St. Louis-area business openings and closings in March Clayton elementary school teachers pull April Fools' Day prank on students Grandmother grieving St. Peters boy is 'livid' he was on a motorcycle Missouri's Josh Hawley splits with GOP to support cap on bank fees McClellan: The legacy of a woman and her 22 babies 5 traits from the Cardinals' opening sweep to watch. 'Every at-bat is a damn dogfight.' As Trump supporters claim election fraud, St. Charles County moves to keep 2020 ballots Sparse crowd sees Cardinals misplace lead in 7th, tumble in 10th for first loss, to Angels Busch Stadium food: Our critic takes you on a tour of what's new (and what's good) Missouri 'Chimp Crazy' woman admits she lied to feds, claiming her ape was dead This is why Williams made the same College Station-to-College Park move that Mark Turgeon made back in 2011. His earlier success in the region at Virginia Tech made him a natural candidate for this job. But this was a safe hire, not a sexy one. Writing for The Athletic, Seth Emerson made that point: This stops the bleeding in Maryland's athletic department, which just lost its athletic director to SMU and its men's basketball coach to Villanova. Being able to hire away an SEC coach shows the Terps still have some luster in the basketball industry and should be a pick-me-up to a fan base that was growing demoralized. Is it an inspiring hire? Williams has never been to the Final Four and is known more as a program builder, having taken Virginia Tech and then Texas A&M and turned them from struggling programs into perennial NCAA Tournament teams. However, Maryland is coming off a Sweet 16 season. Ideally, the Terps would be looking for someone to take things further. But with the way things are going in College Park, the school might not have been willing to risk that. The roster might need to be overhauled with Derik Queen expected to turn pro, its only high school recruit already de-committing and the coaching change probably leading to a busy transfer portal. But Williams should be able to put a good roster together and stabilize the program. But does he have a ceiling as a coach? He last took a team to the Elite Eight in 2013 with Marquette. However, Maryland fans should be happy to have a proven veteran coach, and one with the energy to (perhaps) bring in enough NIL money to compete. Now Texas A&M faces the challenge of replacing a coach who had enjoyed consistent if unspectacular success in the insanely competitive SEC. The fact that Texas made a high-profile hire with Sean Miller makes the stakes even greater. How deep will Aggies boosters be willing to dig to bankroll this next coach. It appears Ole Miss coach Chris Beard is happy where he is, at least for now. Here is what folks are writing about the situation: Barry Svrluga, Washington Post: "What Willard did in making one of the Terps' most successful seasons in two decades about him rather than his team -- creating an environment in which fans couldn't enjoy the day of a rare Sweet 16 game because their coach had one foot out the door -- is unquestionably damaging to the Maryland brand. It's one thing to move to a new house. It's another to point out the outdated kitchen and peeling paint on the one you're abandoning. Maryland shouldn't be a stepping stone in men's basketball. It should be a destination. Yet how can it be seen that way, given Willard's scorched-earth approach when he was still wearing Maryland gear? He started this whole thing off by saying -- unprompted -- that he needed 'fundamental changes to the program.' Now he's gone. The paint's still peeling, and everyone's eyes have been drawn to it." Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com: "If you listened to Willard over the past couple of weeks, there are some serious drawbacks, but let's start with the positives. Maryland was the last Big Ten program to win a national championship (2002) when the Terrapins were in the ACC. The Terps have tradition and a passionate fan base. They also have arguably the most talent-rich recruiting base in the conference, from a high school and AAU perspective. The D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area produces an incredible number of high-major players, so the Terps should be in the running for most -- or at least have an edge in attracting transfers when they want to return home. Willard highlighted some of the financial difficulties; he said the program was near the bottom of the Big Ten in name, image and likeness budget. But with Big Ten media and Under Armour money, that shouldn't be the case. And perhaps that will change once revenue share kicks in." Paul Myerberg, USA Today: "The now former Texas A&M coach has led each of his three power-conference stops to the tournament, including an Elite Eight trip with Marquette in 2013. While his Aggies never advanced out of the opening weekend, Williams is one of two coaches in program history to win 20 or more games in four seasons in a row. He has a coaching method that has yielded consistent results and brings to Maryland a sense of stability in the wake of Willard's departure. It will be interesting to see how Williams will fare at a program with a strong history and a firm commitment to basketball success and whether his style can produce the deep tournament success Terrapins fans crave." Seth Dochterman, The Athletic: "This is the first time Williams will take over a basketball-first power-conference program with football. At both Virginia Tech and Texas A&M, football is the top sport. Maryland athletics has some revenue challenges, but it has a passionate basketball fan base that ranks among the Big Ten's upper tier. The key for Williams is to acquire talent and maintain what Willard built, which had a second-place Big Ten finish this season." Cameron Salerno, CBSSports.com: "With Williams heading to College Park, Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts has an opportunity to reset the basketball program (Alberts arrived in 2024 and did not hire Williams). One of the first calls the former Nebraska AD could make is to former Texas and Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. Beard guided Ole Miss to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 this season and won at least 20 games during the first two years of his tenure in Oxford. If Texas A&M wants to stay in-state for its next coach, another name worth a phone call is Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland. The Red Raiders reached the Elite Eight this past season under McCasland's watch." MEGAPHONE "It's crazy, to be honest. I think if we would have said this at the beginning of the year, a lot of people would have laughed at us, that we would have been meeting in the Final Four. Surreal. As you know, Bruce is one of my mentors, and his son, Steven, is one of my best friends. I FaceTimed with Steven after they got the win, and we were just sitting there shaking our heads like, 'Really? We're meeting up again here in the Final Four?' It's hard to believe." Florida coach Todd Golden, to Jon Rothstein of CBS, on his Final Four date with Bruce Pearl's Auburn team. 0 Comments