The Turtle Is Hidden Under Its Shell at Maryland

For the third time in four seasons, it looks like Gary Williams's Maryland team is going to be watching the "Big Dance" from their couches with a bag of potato chips in their hands. The Terps had a simple task today of beating the Virginia Cavaliers, a team in the bottom of the pack in the ACC.

A win would have most likely clinched an NCAA Tournament berth, but the Terps just simply could not get the job done.

Maryland found themselves trailing late in the second half against an uncompetitive Virginia Cavaliers team. The Terps could not get the much needed spark they got late in the North Carolina and NC State games in the past two weeks.

They could not rebound the ball late, nor could they make a jump shot under the pressure they were facing. After a long fought battle in Charlottesville, the Terps lost a heart breaker to a (10-18)Virginia team that had absolutely nothing to play for.

Today's loss puts Maryland at (18-12) overall and (7-9) in the ACC. Barring a miraculous run in the ACC Tournament, the Terps will have to settle for playing in the unimportant NIT (National Invitational Tournament), which is an embarrassment to the Maryland program.

Maryland was playing for their tournament lives, with everything on the line and they walked out of the John Paul Jones Arena with a loss. Maybe this team is not what we thought they were after they upset the third ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.

Now, it would most likely take two wins in the ACC Tournament for them to get into the dance, which is very unlikely after today's embarrassing performance. The only thing Maryland fans can do now is hope. It will be an extremely tough task for Gary Williams and his young and inexperienced group to pull off.

If the Terps happen to not make it into the dance, we would all have to expect that Gary will be on the hot seat. He has been the lead general of this team for about two decades now, but could it finally be time for a change? Is it time to pass the torch? 

I don't think so.

You are not going to find many coaches out there that are as well-polished as Gary Williams. He may not have gotten this team where they need to be this year, but in the long run, there is no doubt in my mind Gary will have this team back at the top of the ACC.

Coach Williams has often been criticized in the past for his poor recruiting skills. Most of today's top basketball talent is found in the AAU league, most commonly known as the "travel basketball league."

This is a league in which the top high school stars play in when their season ends. The top college basketball coaches, like Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina's Roy Williams are well known to have recruited players throughout this league.

Look at how far it has gotten them in their illustrious careers. They have won many ACC and National championships with players they have recruited out of the AAU league. This year was the first year that Gary Williams just happened to follow in their footsteps.

Next season, Gary will have two of the top 100 recruits coming into College Park. Can you guess where he found them? "DING!" You are correct. He found them in the AAU league.

If Gary is lucky enough and I certainly hope he is, he should still be roaming the Maryland sideline next season with a lot of top talent to experience with. It might take another year or two to get these young players at the level they need to be, but who knows?

Maybe one of those two recruits will be the next Len Bias or Juan Dixon. We will just have to wait and see.

As long as we know Gary is finally recruiting the same players as Coach K and Roy Williams, then we can begin to expect some great things. Maybe we will see the Terps win an ACC Title in the coming years or maybe the torch will be passed to a new general to lead this team.

The bottom line is, Maryland needs to get their swagger back. We as Maryland fans, want to be able to say "Fear the Turtle" once again.