Wednesday night was fairly busy around here so we didn't' really get a chance to read the long story in the Post about Gary Williams and his problems at Maryland. It was Part I of a three-part series, and it's really pretty interesting.
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It looks primarily at recruiting. There were some prominent misses, some obvious, some in hindsight:Â Michael Beasley, Kevin Durant, Malcolm Delaney, Deron Williams, Scottie Reynolds, Austin Freeman, Jack McClinton, Matt Walsh, Josh Boone, Jeff Jones, Joe Alexander, and Rudy Gay, among others.
Some of these are completely understandable, particularly Gay. Williams made it clear that he was repelled by what happened in that case, at the time and in Part I of this series. And like Stephen Curry, just about everyone missed on Alexander. He could have had several of the others, though.
It's a fair article though, and Williams offers many cogent points. One very unfortunate note: the state of North Carolina is said to be "crawling with street agents." This would explain why so many of our better players have chosen to play far away from the ACC, where historically, they have stuck around the area.
In Part II, Williams's frustrations with the AAU boils over when he says of D.C. Assault coach Curtis Malone "[d]on't tell me Curtis Malone has the right to say whether Gary Williams is a good recruiter or not. I don't want to hear about Curtis Malone. I know what he is." What he's referring to is Malone's criminal record for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Duke-bound Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton are on the current roster, and Nolan Smith played for them as well. So, interestingly, did the almost-Terp Gus Gilchrist.
It's a tough situation for Williams. On the one hand, he doesn't cheat. On the other though, his personality seems to work against him when it comes to recruiting. One player called him introverted. A mother said their family never really heard from him. Malcolm Delaney says "they kind of base their whole program around that one national championship." We're looking to Part III. It's great reading so far.
We're not sure Kay Yow ever had a complete sell-out at Reynolds when she was coaching the Pack, but they'll have one in her honor when Virginia comes to town for the Hoops For Hope game.
Clemson is doing well this season, but unusually, so is South Carolina. Darrin Horn has turned out to be a great catch for the Gamecocks.