The best question posed Friday to Gary Williams during his emotional farewell news conference at Comcast Center was “Would you want to succeed you?”
The answer Maryland athletic director Kevin Anderson heard repeatedly this weekend was “No.”
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In less than 24 hours, Sean Miller (Arizona), Brad Stevens (Butler) and even fallback Mike Brey (Notre Dame) rejected overtures from the Terrapins. Before that, Jay Wright (Villanova) and Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh) prevented Maryland from even getting making an overture. That leaves the likes of Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M), Anthony Grant (Alabama) and Shaka Smart (VCU) on the rapidly shrinking wish list of Terps fans.
Assistants Keith Booth and Rob Ehsan are looking better and better.
It was supposedly a “dream job” for Miller. Yeah, for leverage. It was supposedly a “dream job” for Brey. That we could believe. After all, he played at DeMatha, three miles down Route 1. But the search continues.
Remember the debate a few days ago about whether Maryland was a top-15 job? We now have our answer.
Are Terps fans and their athletic director delusional? Are the Terps the 200-pound girl in a halter top? With Williams gone, is Maryland relegated to being another of the nondescript programs in a conference full of them — another N.C. State, for crying out loud?
On Friday, a feel-good afternoon dedicated to honoring Williams, it was alarming to hear scattered boos for Anderson. You have to wonder what that reaction would be now.
But perhaps it is time for a reality check in College Park. Getting an upgrade from Gary Williams wasn’t going to be easy. Now it may be impossible.
