It's been about a year now, and so far, former Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow's gamble has paid off. She fired highly successful Terps coach Dave Cottle after he and the Terps failed to make it to the Final Four. Yow was criticized from all quarters, but so far, she appears to have made a good decision. In their first season under coach John Tillman, the Terps will play for the NCAA Division I championship Monday against Virginia.

 The biggest difference between Cottle and Tillman is that Tillman is more positive to his players, but doesn't have nearly the strategic mind of Cottle. He has been able to keep Cottle on board as an asset with the players, and the entire situation has been a positive for Maryland in 2011. Cottle also deserves a lot of credit because these are the players he recruited.

 We're not sure what the future holds for Tillman or Maryland, but so far, Yow's decision was the correct one, even though it wasn't popular.