Tough game to watch. I keep telling myself I shouldn't watch the next game, yet I keep subscribing to UMD's version of S&M.

I've kept away from the "Fire Gary!" crowd for a while. Now, I'm not so sure.

If we field a team that misses the NCAA tournament 3 out of 4 years, and we can't graduate our players....then what are we doing?

Agreed (sadly). With the way the Terps played defense in the last 10 minutes last night, i fear a "one and done " (again) in the tourney this week.

Can/should Gary survive missing the big dance three out of the last four?

Gary Williams has done a terrible job of coaching this season. His team doesn't play hard or smart for 40 minutes (on a good day, they might show for 25 minutes), they consistently implode in the second half, they have no idea how to play with a lead, they're always outhustled on the boards and for loose balls,, they force shots instead of working for good shots, and they make more turnovers (most unforced) than Betty Crocker. It's a team that should have easily finished third in the ACC, with 22 or 23 wins, but played well below their talent level, and that's coaching (most notable in the big leads they blew, and the weaker teams they made look like top four teams..

I don't think Coach Williams is the problem. He just needs a few more blue chippers to come to College Park, though that's not an easy task.

The future looked so promising when the Terps won the National Championship, as they at last had something to build on. Problem was that some of the subsequent recruiting classes haven't panned out as anticipated.

Maryland's current woes probably can in large part be traced back to the 2002-3 season, when highly touted point guard John Gilchrist first took the floor for the Terps.

His skillset was held up as being nearly equal to the talent of Steve Blake and Juan Dixon combined. An exaggeration, perhaps, but not by much. Who can forget how he seemingly single-handedly willed the team to the ACC Tournament Championship as a sophomore?

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031404aaa.html

But his unwillingness to listen to Gary and the lure of the NBA took its toll on his game, and a year later he contributed to the Terps failure to make the NCAA Tournament, which is where I see the fall from the heights beginning.

After the Gilchrist era, Gary's had difficulty getting many of the top players to come to Maryland, and the careers of a number of those who did, such as Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley, were largely disappointing. Perhaps, as well, part of it has to do with increasing parity in Division I basketball, to which Coach has alluded more than once.

The bottom line is that Gary has to play the hand he's dealt, and that hand, more often than not, has been less than stellar. Every year he's pushing limited or mediocre talent to overachieve, and there's only so much he can do.

Is he the problem then? Honestly, I don't know how anyone can say that, unless they want to blame him for not being able to get the Tyler Hansbroughs, but that's easier said than done.

Ken Francis - The hand he is dealt? He is dealing the cards. There isnt a general manager he can blame for not providing the horses he is forced to ride. If he cant recruit, he doesnt get to blame someone else for his bad hand. Both Gary and Ralph are given a wonderful hand by Yow for the part of the picture she is responsible for.. Comcast center is a wonderful on campus venue and Byrd has had substantial upgrades which arent equal to a new state of the art stadium but keep it from being a pit that works against you in recruiting. I am not ready to advocate the firing of either of these "good guys" but I am not going to make excuses for them either. They have tough jobs in high profile conferences where the demands and competition are excessive and probably not fair but those pressures go with the territory. We lose the top locals in both sports to our competition and that lies at the feet of the coaching staffs and at the heart of the disappointment and failures. Ralph has addressed this by bringing back a guy who is well regarded in recruiting this area and so I have hopes for more success there. Gary has been hampered by losing so many long time top assistants in such a short time but he has to overcome that to live up to expectations of the customers. I dont think either of them would argue that their respective teams have under performed expectations the last 2 or 3 years and they each shoulder the blame for that underperformance, whether we blame recruiting or effort or coaching decisions is moot. The coaches are responsible for all three of those aspects. I would not call for a firing in either case but I would let them know in no uncertain terms that more is expected from them and there is pressure on them to meet expectations because our expectations are not going to lessen.

After every disappointing year I say... well next year they will get it together, but not so. How long is such a proud school and alumni going to have to deal with being so mediocre in sports?