March 17, 2004
By DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Gary Williams didn't need an Atlantic Coast Conference title to solidify his stature as a successful coach. Winning the NCAA championship in 2002 took care of that.
Sort of.
"Nationally, but not here in this area," Williams said Tuesday. "As an alumnus of the school, I know what it means to the people around here to win the ACC tournament, because it's been so tough for Maryland to do it."
Thus, when he finally retires, Williams will rank the Terrapins' amazing run in this year's ACC tournament as one of his most satisfying achievements.
Sixth-seeded Maryland beat three ranked teams, including top-seeded Duke in the championship game, to win its first ACC title since 1984. As a result, the Terrapins will begin their 11th straight NCAA tournament appearance Thursday against Texas-El Paso as a fourth seed.
Even if the young Terps falter, this season is already one to remember.
"Yeah, I wanted to win an ACC tournament. I thought we had good enough teams to win down there a couple of times, but it didn't work out," Williams said. "This year's team earned it. We had to beat them down there, and we did it. When this coaching thing ends, I'll give that a lot of thought."
Now, however, is not the time for sentiment. Williams is focused on getting the Terrapins ready for the Miners (24-7), regular-season co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference.
Before practice Tuesday, Williams reminded his players that winning the ACC tournament won't mean a thing after the opening tip in Denver on Thursday afternoon.
"This is different. It's important for them to realize that the regular season is one, the ACC tournament is two, and if you can get to play in the postseason, that's three," Williams said. "Now we're in stage three."
For the first time since the Terrapins began making a trip to the NCAA tournament an annual occurrence, they will be bringing some momentum with them.
Two weeks ago, Maryland had lost four of five to fall to 14-11 overall and 5-9 in the ACC. Now they're riding a five-game winning streak and displaying the kind of confidence that's imperative at this stage of the season.
"You couldn't ask for much more than this; everything is coming together at the right time," said center Jamar Smith, the lone senior on the squad. "We were on the verge of being on the bubble, and all of a sudden we're a fourth seed. It's unbelievable, but that's what we deserve."
It's pretty heady stuff for a team with five freshmen and four sophomores. There were times this season when Williams wondered if this team would ever develop into the cohesive unit that beat Wake Forest, North Carolina State and Duke in the span of 40 hours.
It finally happened, and for Maryland the timing is perfect.
"Most of us just got tired of hearing that we're not going to make it, that we're not a good team," guard Chris McCray said. "Now we believe we can play with anybody in the country."
It's up to Williams to make sure that the Terrapins don't begin to think they can win without the kind of effort that enabled them to become ACC champions.
"You have to keep the momentum. You can't relax now because you won the ACC tournament," Williams said. "When we went down there, we had this feeling that we had something to prove. I still think we have something to prove."
