Friday, March 12, 2010

Gary Williams Is On the Rampage—Again

Sitting directly across the court from the Maryland bench, it occurred to me how perfect it is that the Terrapins wear red. It matches the color of their coach’s face.

I used to be really down on Gary Williams because he is so out of control so much of the time. But over the years I’ve gotten to know him a bit better and have gained enough perspective to really appreciate who he is and what he has done. Yes he loses it, and yes he makes a real spectacle of himself on the sidelines. But I’ve also sat close enough to him at Joel Coliseum to realize that most of the time he’s not really as apopletic as he looks, and he’s not as bad for railing at officials as you might think.

Afterward I’m invariably amazed by how calm, collected and analytical he can be about what he has seen seen.

He just wants to win so badly that he can’t help himself. And he has passion. He wills his teams to victory. He reminds me of the old days, when guys like Norm Sloan and Lefty Driesell roamed the sidelines, raising all kinds of ruckus for 40 minutes.

He’s down 41-25 to Georgia Tech as we speak and I’m sure his players are getting an earful in the locker room. Be interested to see how they respond.