If only this were really about second chances.
I have little doubt that Maryland's athletic director and its men's basketball coach spend most of their time operating on the same page. They both want to win. They want athletes in class. They want them to stay out of trouble.
For the better part of 14 years, whatever battles they had remained relatively minor. As long as shared goals, expectations and standards remained consistent, life at Comcast Center rolled on.
But what we have this week doesn't feel like a simple misunderstanding or just another blip in the relationship. The needle isn't quivering in College Park right now; it's spinning wildly.
On the surface, the apparent rift surrounds recruit Tyree Evans, who was offered a scholarship by Williams despite having a criminal background. Even Bob Huggins had to take a pass on this one.
In 19 years at Maryland, Williams had never offered a scholarship to such a recruit. He seems to think that's justification for doing it this one time. In fact, it's a big part of the reason this one time reflects so poorly on Williams and his embattled program.
The bigger conflict isn't really about whether Evans belongs on campus; it's how Williams has gone about bringing him there and what it means that the coach is suddenly eager to take such a risk.
In an e-mail response to questions from The Sun this week, athletic director Debbie Yow sure made it sound like Williams is playing cowboy with this one. The coach climbed out to the edge of a very thin branch.
Yow said Williams pursued Evans without sharing his entire history with her office. Generally speaking, when a coach in College Park has a recruit with questionable grades or a questionable background, there's a meeting with someone in the athletic department. Football coach Ralph Friedgen can tell you there's usually an agreement that there might be another recruit out there who's a better fit.
Williams isn't new in town. He knows the procedure, and he surely realized he was juggling with fire. Williams even brought Evans before the admissions department. They talked grades but chose not to divulge his criminal past -- which includes an allegation of rape and separate misdemeanor convictions for assault and drugs.
