Maryland’s Buzz Williams confident in school’s commitment as he takes over basketball program

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Whatever misgivings Kevin Willard may have had about coaching basketball at Maryland, Buzz Williams’ arrival shows the job is still pretty enticing.

In Williams, the Terrapins hired an experienced replacement who has had some success in highly competitive leagues. He was not only willing to leave Texas A&M after three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but he accepted the Maryland job shortly after the departure of the school’s athletic director — and following Willard’s messy exit.

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“Relative to what I thought was important on the commitment going forward, on what is needed to be successful at the highest level, there was never any question from (Maryland) on the commitment for us, me, the staff, NIL, the players, the resources,” Williams said. “I’m at peace with all of it.”

Williams was introduced Wednesday at a news conference that also included Colleen Sorem, Maryland’s interim athletic director, and Darryll Pines, the school’s president.

Maryland was certainly eager to show off its new coach, holding an event that included cheerleaders and band members. The playlist before the news conference included “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye — and whether that choice was intentional or just a coincidence, the mood was clear. The Terps were moving on from Willard, and they were excited about the future.

Spectators included football coach Mike Locksley and women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese, plus Gary Williams, who coached the men’s basketball team to the 2002 national title. Following his departure, the Terps were coached by Mark Turgeon (who also came from Texas A&M) for 10-plus seasons and Willard for three.

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Willard left last weekend to take the job at Villanova. It wasn’t a surprise that he viewed Villanova as an attractive position, but before he left, he also had some pointed comments about the institutional support for his program at Maryland. Those remarks occurred around the same time athletic…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/marylands-buzz-williams-confident-schools-001831343.html

Author : NOAH TRISTER

Publish date : 2025-04-03 00:18:00

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