A growing unrest between Terrapin men’s basketball coach Gary Williams and the Athletics Department became public this week after the 20th-year Terp coach and Senior Associate Athletics Director Kathleen Worthington traded words about the university’s recent recruiting issues.
At a standard media availability session Monday afternoon, a reporter asked Williams about the circumstances of once-Maryland bound recruits Tyree Evans and Gus Gilchrist, who both eventually decided not to play at this university.
In defense, Williams replied, “It wasn’t my fault that they’re not here. That was somebody else’s call.”
The Baltimore Sun used that quote in a story about the Terps’ recent recruiting troubles, but according to a more recent Sun story, Worthington called the newspaper and said: “I want to clarify the facts and the timing and the decision process of these situations. It was my recommendation that we not sign a release for Gus [Gilchrist]. I didn’t want to release him. It was the head coach’s decision. No one else released Gus.”
Worthington provided The Sun and The Washington Post with a copy of the release, signed only by Williams. The Diamondback was told it would have to file a Maryland Public Information Act request for the same document yesterday.
However, Williams said, “signing the release had nothing to do with [Gilchrist’s] leaving.”
Tuesday night, after the Terps lost a home game 76-67 against Boston College, media members were ushered into the team’s locker room to conduct interviews with players. In the meantime, one Sun and two Post reporters spoke with Williams in the corner of the locker room.
According to The Post, Williams snapped back, “Kathy Worthington does not speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything. She is an associate AD. She doesn’t speak for me.”
Athletics Director Debbie Yow declined to comment to The Diamondback yesterday afternoon. Yow is in North Carolina for the funeral of her sister, former N.C. State basketball coach Kay Yow.
Gilchrist, a 6-foot-10 inch center who graduated high school in 2007, originally signed with Virginia Tech but backed away from the Hokies prior to his freshman year, citing shootings on the Blacksburg campus.
He enrolled at this university last January, but due to NCAA and ACC rules – since Gilchrist transferred within the conference – he would only have two-and-a-half years of eligibility remaining.
Gilchrist requested a release, and Williams complied. Gilchrist is now averaging 10.8 points per game at South Florida.
Evans, who now averages 13 points per game for Kent State, had a checkered past which included guilty pleas to possession of marijuana as well as assault and battery charges.
When Evans’ transgressions became public, Williams called the university’s Office of Student Conduct, saying he did not want Evans on the team because he had not disclosed all of the criminal charges, according to The Sun.
Tuesday night, Williams was asked if he received proper support from the Athletics Department in terms of recruiting. “I don’t want to get into that now. No comment,” he said.
Many skeptics believe Williams is on the hot seat due to the Terps’ struggles and his tenuous situation with the Athletics Department.
He still, however, appears to have backing from his players. In response to questions about the Terps’ loss against Boston College on Tuesday, junior guard Greivis Vasquez responded, “We got a Hall-of-Fame coach. He knows how to get guys to bounce back and he’s a great coach overall. He’s a father, he’s a friend, he’s a psychologist, he knows, that’s why he gets paid.”
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