sportsinstilettos:
Ceremony to honor former Maryland head coach Gary Williams and name the court after him. Not gonna lie, my brain leaked out my eyes a little bit at this.
I realize not everyone agrees with it, but this was a fitting tribute to a man who came to embody Maryland basketball and everything for which the program stands. It was broken when he took over as head coach, and he took it to the very top. Yes, there were others who did great things for the team and the university - it wasn’t all Gary.
But Gary’s an enormous part of the reason you walk past that national championship trophy case when you enter Comcast Center - he’s a big part of the reason the Comcast Center even exists - and donation or no donation, I’m thrilled the university decided to honor his legacy this way.
It’s not Garyland anymore, but Gary Williams Court sounds pretty darn good.
Gary Williams was the coach for UMD literally since the year I was born. Growing up in Maryland, you become a Terps fan at a very young age. When I was in middle school, my two older sisters were students at UMD. I remember going to UMD with my sister when Gary and the team came back home with the 2002 NCAA Championship with the amazing team we had that year (Juan Dixon and Steve Blake being me two favorites). I, myself, am a UMD alum. My senior year was Gary’s last year as head coach. I got to move my tassel at graduation to a Gary Williams fist pump, which was one of the greatest moments of my life.
It’s really hard to explain to people why Gary Williams is such a staple to our university. The person above me did a pretty damn good job though. All I can say is that as someone who grew up in Maryland and spent 4 amazing years at the university getting my bachelor’s degree, the University of Maryland will forever and always be Garyland to me. #TerpForever.