In Tuesday night ACC action, State steps out of conference for a bon-bon against N.C. Central, and UNC hosts Team Turmoil in the Dean Dome.
Gary Williams, who last week made his own life miserable, got a boost from A.D. Debbie Yow, who sat with him at a press conference and offered public support.
| ACC Tuesday Basketball! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| N.C.C.U. @ N.C. State | 7:00 PM | ACC Select | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland @ UNC | 8:00 PM | RAYCOM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yow said, "I really want to lay to rest any of these crazy rumors that are floating around related to the job security of Coach Williams. He has my personal full support, as he does from the department and from the university."
She shook his hand and even patted him on the back.
Williams, for his part, said "It's nice that, uh, she said those things. I've never felt threatened by anything. I know what I've done, just this decade. Very few programs have done what we've done this decade. . . . I'm secure in what I've done."
He then listed his accomplishments, presumably slowing down towards the latter years of the decade.
Not at the press conference, and somewhat left holding the bag, was Associate A.D. Kathy Worthington. Worthington was the one who responded to Williams' initial comments, and the logical question is: was she speaking on her own or for the department? If she did as she was asked, then Yow's public comments are at odds with that. If she didn't, then Worthington has some questions to answer herself.
Williams says he thinks his team will be Top 25 next preseason, but they're not anywhere near that this year, and they're off to Chapel Hill for what likely amounts to ritual slaughter. Maryland has absolutely no answer for Tyler Hansbrough, or Dion Thompson, or Ed Davis, or Ty Lawson. They stand no chance in a half-court game and in a running game, UNC will blow their doors off. And remember that Maryland upset UNC last season. The Heels certainly will. They may also have an eye on Duke's recent destruction of the Terps.
As for State, Central is still critically weak for a D-1 program as their transition to the division has been difficult. They shouldn't pose any threat, but State at times plays down to competition.
This is nice:Â Wake and Xavier signed a 10-year deal and will call the series the Skip Prosser Classic.
Caulton Tudor seems sold on the idea of regime change in Raleigh and lists seven candidates for that job and three other ACC positions, should things fall apart for any of the four.