For many coaches, the Sweet 16 is a benchmark, an indication that their teams have joined the upper crust of the NCAA. For Gary Williams, it's a curse.
In three of the last five years, the Maryland Terrapins have made the Sweet 16 but gone no further. Coaching at Boston College in the late '80s, Williams won a conference championship and took the Eagles to the Sweet 16 twice. When he moved on to Ohio State, he took the Buckeyes to the NCAA tournament three times, never making it past the round of 16.
Of course, if Williams is looking for a Final Four, Maryland might not have been his best choice. Through their history, the Terrapins have never, ever, made it to the Final Four.
Not under Bud Millikan from 1964-1967, when Williams was the Terrapins' starting point guard. Not under Lefty Driesell, who coached Maryland to No. 2 rankings from 1972-1975 but couldn't advance beyond the Elite Eight.
For Gary Williams, who left his job at Ohio State to return to his alma mater, this could be the year that he, and Maryland, get their first Final Four appearance.
It didn't seem possible in 1989 when Williams first arrived in College Park. After Williams' first season, Maryland was served with NCAA sanctions for violations which occurred before he arrived.
But by 1994, Williams had rebuilt the program. Joe Smith led the Terps to a tie for the ACC regular season title and many had the team pegged for the Final Four. But despite their 26 victories, the Terps suffered a 99-89 loss to Connecticut in the Sweet 16. And had Maryland won that game, it would have faced eventual-champion UCLA.
Even without Smith, who became the NBA's No. 1 draft pick shortly after that game, this year's Maryland team might be better. The gambles Williams took on several players have paid off astronomically. Take Steve Francis, who had attended five schools in the last five years when Williams gave him a scholarship. Francis has infused the Terrapins with new blood and a permanent spot on national highlight reels.
Point guard Terrell Stokes was an unproven 6-foot point guard from Philadelphia who had been caught selling drugs as a young teenager and took a bullet in the knee. Williams gave him a chance and in Stokes' four years he has developed into a legitimate leader and point guard-his 6.5 assists per game are good for second in the league. He received honorable mention All-ACC honors Monday.
Williams also gambled on Obinna Ekezie, a Nigerian who had brought only two years of basketball experience with him to Maryland. Ekezie led the Terrapins through the first part of the season, averaging 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds before rupturing his Achilles tendon in practice.
Ekezie's injury demonstrated the Terps' depth. Even after Ekezie went down, they didn't miss a beat. With the increased playing time of Terence Morris and Lonny Baxter, the Terps have yet to lose a game without Ekezie.
The Terps late-season surge-only a blowout loss to No. 1 Duke and an 85-72 upset to Wake Forest on Jan. 31-may have them poised for another "first" in Maryland history: a No.1 seed.
Maryland is ranked No. 5 in the AP poll but has a No. 4 RPI rating. If things shake down right in conference tournaments, the Terps could snag a top seed. For Williams, a No. 1 seed wouldn't necessarily mean the difference between a Sweet 16 and a Final Four, but it would be a nice piece of history.
"You could catch somebody hot playing as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed," Williams said. "[But] the prestige would be nice, especially here at Maryland where that hasn't happened."
Williams will probably be perspiring on the sidelines when the Terrapins take on the winner of the Clemson/Florida State game tomorrow. But whether Williams gets to the Sweet 16, Final Four or wins a national championship, he will try not to sweat it.
"It's not like there's a lot of guys that get there," Williams told The Baltimore Sun in November. "If I don't, it won't be one of those things that is going to haunt me."
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