Williams Measures Success His Own Way
3/28/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 28, 2002
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA - Gary Williams needed two straight appearances in the Final Four to be acknowledged as one of college basketball's great coaches.
Although he appreciates all the attention, the Maryland coach measures his success differently.
"You shouldn't get judged by what you do, especially in terms of reaching the Final Four," Williams said. "You talk to most coaches, and they don't measure success that way."
Before he reached the Final Four for the first time last year, Williams enjoyed 20-win seasons at American, Boston College, Ohio State and Maryland. Yet he had never taken a team past the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, a shortcoming critics pointed out at the end of every season.
"That didn't bother me as much as it bothered the fans," he said. "You always judge yourself on how you do with the players you have. Some years we probably weren't good enough. Some years we were good enough, we just didn't win the right game. In one-game playoff situations, some funny things happen."
Such as the time the Terrapins clanged one shot after another in a 76-63 loss to St. John's in the 1999 tournament, or when UCLA seemed as if it didn't miss a shot in a 105-70 rout of Maryland in 2000.
"We had Steve Francis here and won 28 games, but we just played a bad game against St. John's in the NCAA, so we go home," Williams said. "That didn't reflect our year."
Thus, Williams had no feelings of vindication after his wildly successful 2000-01 season. He insisted he didn't work any harder or change his coaching style.
He also said it wasn't even his best coaching job.
"I told people after the Final Four that I had one year here that I thought I did every bit as good a coaching job as I did last year, and we won 16 games or so," Williams said. "You don't win without talent."
Williams had little talent to work with when he first got to his alma mater in 1989. The program was burdened by NCAA sanctions stemming from misdeeds by his predecessor, Bob Wade, but Williams went 19-14 in his first season.
That 16-win team was the 1990-91 Terrapins, who overcame a lack of talent to beat No. 12 South Carolina and No. 25 Virginia but were ineligible to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
And he's just as proud of his accomplishments in his first season at American as he is taking Maryland to two straight Final Fours.
"That was a great year. Best I could have done," he said. "I couldn't win more than 14. We didn't have a gym, and we got who was left over from this area. You go play with four forwards and a 6-foot-5 center and hope you're good enough."
The 57-year-old Williams has been good enough at Maryland, taking the team to nine straight NCAA tournaments and on six trips to the round of 16 in the last nine years.
He was named the ACC coach of the year this season, proof that word of his ability is finally getting around.
"People don't give him enough credit for what he's done with that program," said Billy Hahn, a former Williams assistant and now the head coach at LaSalle. "It's a phenomenal story."
And it has nothing to do with his two straight Final Four appearances.
"People seem to think that you're not a good coach unless you reach the Final Four," Williams said. "Well, there are no two better coaches than John Chaney and Gene Keady, and they've never gotten there. Every situation is different, and they've done great jobs in their situations."
As has Williams, whose frantic gyrations on the sideline mask his cerebral approach to the game.
"I love his style," Maryland senior guard Juan Dixon said. "I'm going to miss playing for him."
