'We got it right': Maryland Basketball legends react to hiring of Buzz Williams
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The University of Maryland officially introduced Buzz Williams as the next head coach of the men's basketball program on Wednesday. During his introductory press conference, Williams indicated his heavy focus on the team, along with saying he understood the expectation that comes with coaching at Maryland. And while most fans seem relatively pleased with the hire, a handful of Maryland legends also offered their worlds of support for the hire.
It begins with former head coach Gary Williams, who was at the Xfinity Center for the introductory press conference. Inducted into the National collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, Williams is highly regarded in the state of Maryland... and that's putting it mildly. So when he puts his stamp of approval on something, it carries weight.
"Well, first of all, this place is bigger than any coach that ever coached here," Williams said. "And that's not going to change. I think this is a place where you can have the rest of your career here. And I think Buzz is looking at this place as that kind of job. He's won the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East, and the South Eastern Conference. So, to win in the Big Ten is hard, but he's proven that he has the ability to win at that level."
Gary Williams on Buzz Williams coming in after what transpired with Kevin Willard: "This is a place where you can have the rest of your career here and Buzz is looking at this place as that kind of job." @DCNewsNow #DCNNGameNight pic.twitter.com/1J0uLKnID4
— Alex Flum (@AlexFlumTV) April 2, 2025
Juan Dixon was also in the building to welcome Buzz to College Park, and he offered his own words of support.
"I wanted to show support," said Dixon. "We got it right. Coach [Buzz] Williams is going to uplift this program and get it back to the level we need on a consistent basis. And I just wanted to come here, along with coach [Gary] Williams, and the former Terps that were here, to come show support for coach Buzz... to let him know that we're here and that we've got his back."
Juan Dixon on Buzz Williams: "We got it right"
— Heather McDonough (@HeatherMcD4) April 2, 2025
Plus the weirdness of calling another Terps coach, Coach Williams! pic.twitter.com/gimfx3aBrn
Steve Blake, who was a part of that National Championship team with Gary Williams and Juan Dixon back in 2002, also offered his support for the hire. Interestingly enough, Blake had made it clear that he was also interested in the heac coaching job at Maryland in recent days.
Excited for this new chapter in Maryland basketball history! Go Terps! https://t.co/paOYQRQg2J
— Steve Blake (@SteveBlake5) April 1, 2025
Greivis Vasquez is also a well-known Maryland basketball legend, finishing his collegiate career (2006-10) at No. 2 on the Terrapins' all-time scoring list with 2,171 career points. Supportive of the hire, Vasquez offered a simple, "Let's go Terps!!"
Let’s go Terps!! 🐢👀 https://t.co/V5bXi5Xzkq
— Greivis Vasquez (@greivisvasquez) April 1, 2025
And while some of the basketball legends expressed their support for the hire, former Maryland wideout and 2x Super Bowl champion Torrey Smith also indicated that he was happy with the hire.
I like it! https://t.co/EBsyYszHuM
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) April 2, 2025
With the celebration of the hire now in the rearview mirror, the real work begins for Williams. Needing to replace and rebuild an entire roster, he'll need to be incredibly aggressive in the transfer portal if he hopes to assemble a roster capable of competing for a championship in 2025-26.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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