Coach Williams

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow declined to comment on the relationship between basketball coach Gary Williams and officials in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but she was concerned enough about the topic to talk to the commissioner of the ACC yesterday.Two days after the ACC issued a warning about sportsmanship and a day after Clemson was whistled for a conference-record 41 fouls, the Terps were charged with four technicals in 95 seconds of the first half of Thursday's 86-59 loss at No. 1 Duke.

Herman Harried fondly remembered the the early 1980s when he played for a team coached by Woody Williams that beat a team coached by Bob Wade at the Five-Star summer camp. Harried, a key member of Dunbar's 1982-83 mythical national championship team played against Williams, when he was coach of rival Lake Clifton.They were again on opposite benches yesterday as Harried, in his first season as coach of Lake Clifton, faced Williams, now coaching at Mervo, in the championship game of the John Nash Holiday Tournament at Douglass.

Maryland coach Gary Williams reached into the Terps' alumni network to fill his vacant assistant coaching position yesterday, naming Dave Dickerson to the post.Dickerson will bring youth -- he's only 29 -- and a solid reputation as a recruiter to the staff. But it is his attachment to Maryland that sets him apart."I can sell Maryland with a passion because Maryland is a part of me," said Dickerson, a four-year letterman from 1986 to '89 and team captain as a senior.Dickerson replaces Art Perry, 49, who was fired last month.

Russell Williams is not fussy about who he has on his Lake Clifton swimming team. He'll take anybody in the school.He'll even take football players. He took Kenneth Williams, and now look at him. Kenneth Williams is the fastest freestyle sprinter on the team."

COLLEGE PARK -- No longer will the earning potential of University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams be tied to the performance of his teams on the court. Their performance in the classroom could provide Williams with additional income as well.That's the result of a new and somewhat unique contract Williams, 49, signed yesterday, a seven-year deal that guarantees him nearly $250,000 annually and could give substantially more in bonuses depending on how far the Terrapins advance in both the NCAA tournament and toward degrees.

The history of the men's basketball program at the University of Maryland at College Park has been one of dizzying extremes.In the '70s, the Terrapin men's basketball team was considered one of the nation's best. But in the mid-'80s, its reputation was shattered after star forward Len Bias died of a drug overdose and folksy coach Lefty Driesell was forced out. Now the team that is a source of pride for thousands of College Park alumni is being rebuilt by the steady hand of coach Gary Williams.

COLLEGE PARK -- Here's a quickie quiz for University of Maryland basketball fans: Name the remaining members of last year's freshman class. Well, name two.Time's up.Unless you are a blood relative, or a close friend, it's doubtful that the answer was quickly forthcoming. John Walsh, one of the four players left from last year's Forgotten Five, isn't surprised."I don't know if we were overlooked," Walsh, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward, said Monday before practice. "The freshman group this year came in with great esteem.

Mario Lucas, a 6-foot-8 1/2 , 215-pound forward and center from Memphis, Tenn., yesterday became the fourth high school player to sign a national letter of intent with the University of Maryland.Lucas averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds on a 24-8 team that won the city championship last year. Sylvester Ford, Lucas' coach at Fairley High School, said last week that Lucas had taken his college boards (ACT) and would qualify under Proposition 48.Lucas couldn't be reached for comment."I think he's a real good shooter for someone almost 6-9," Maryland coach Gary Williams said last night.

Mario Lucas, a 6-foot-8 1/2 , 215-pound forward and center from Memphis, Tenn., yesterday became the fourth high school player to sign a national letter of intent with the University of Maryland.Lucas averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds on a 24-8 team that won the city championship last year. Sylvester Ford, Lucas' coach at Fairley High School, said last week that Lucas had taken his college boards (ACT) and would qualify under Proposition 48.Lucas couldn't be reached for comment."I think he's a real good shooter for someone almost 6-9," Maryland coach Gary Williams said last night.

COLLEGE PARK -- Vince Broadnax stayed after practice one night last month to watch a group of walk-ons try out for the University of Maryland basketball team."

There seemed to be some loose ends left to tie up after the Maryland men's basketball season ended in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday in that loss to Memphis in the second round of the NCAA tournament. A little matter of Gary Williams and Debbie Yow sitting down and hashing out (or thrashing out) any lingering bad feelings about the midseason square-off between the coach and athletic department officials, the one that took the long-rumored in-house feuding out into public. As it turns out, though, there are no loose ends.

Tyree Evans, a sweet-shooting, 23-year-old recruit with a history of legal troubles, signed with the University of Maryland last month but can't be admitted until a disciplinary office reviews his criminal misdemeanors and makes a recommendation to the admissions office, school officials said yesterday. Evans, who has bounced from high school to prep school to two junior colleges, must wait as another school decides whether to gamble on a young man whose talent has intrigued multiple colleges but whose background has frightened many of them away.

Juan Dixon was still engaging a small group of local media at Verizon Center when his coach, the Toronto Raptors' Sam Mitchell, yelled from an adjoining hallway, "You played at University of Maryland, didn't you? They're not going to get far." "We're the hottest team in college basketball," Dixon responded to the ribbing. Quickly, Mitchell shot back: "They haven't won since you were there, right?" Dixon's answer, of course, was, no. "Oh, well," Mitchell said, turning away in mock dejection.

COLLEGE PARK -- Knowing the official start to the season was just days away, Maryland senior D.J. Strawberry said he noticed something a little different about practices this week: "Coach Williams." Hampton @Maryland Tonight, 8:30, ESPNU, 1300 AM Line: Terps by 25

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland's newest assistant basketball coach began his first day on the job yesterday publicly thanking Gary Williams for the opportunity and talking about what he can add to the struggling program other than a name. Chuck Driesell, son of former Terps coach Lefty Driesell, was hired to replace Rob Moxley, who took an associate head coaching position at North Carolina-Charlotte. Driesell said the emotions connected with returning to his alma mater, where his father achieved both fame and infamy from 1969 to 1986, were "indescribable."

Good morning --Black Friday -- Remember, if you hit the mall today, shopping is a contact sport. No bags spilled, no foul. Question of the day What did Maryland's performance in Maui tell us about this season's Terps? Athletic, play as a team, versatile, stronger, physically in shape. Point guard still unresolved, Coach Williams needs to not extend loyalty beyond reason and put the best team on the court. Turnovers must decrease significantly. Carl Roberts Perryville

WIN THE CROWD. That's the sage advice the protagonist got in the film "Gladiator." Coach Gary Williams and the University of Maryland men's basketball team have finally done that, or so it seems. But sports teams, like their fans, are fickle, enigmatic creatures. You can't always count on your team to win - unless your team is the Globetrotters - and you can't expect the fans you've won to stay. That's life, not art. The Terrapins have overcome their embarrassing home-court loss to Duke in January.

It's time for Terps to make coaching change The Maryland basketball program has reached its peak under Gary Williams. Not only are the plays predictable and transparent, but the players also have absolutely no enthusiasm under the current coaching staff. I have felt this way for at least three years now. After watching Maryland collapse under pressure (this season being the worst), I think it is time for athletic director Debbie Yow to re-evaluate where this program is going. Williams does a fantastic job of recruiting but a horrible job at developing players.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow declined to comment on the relationship between basketball coach Gary Williams and officials in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but she was concerned enough about the topic to talk to the commissioner of the ACC yesterday.Two days after the ACC issued a warning about sportsmanship and a day after Clemson was whistled for a conference-record 41 fouls, the Terps were charged with four technicals in 95 seconds of the first half of Thursday's 86-59 loss at No. 1 Duke.

Herman Harried fondly remembered the the early 1980s when he played for a team coached by Woody Williams that beat a team coached by Bob Wade at the Five-Star summer camp. Harried, a key member of Dunbar's 1982-83 mythical national championship team played against Williams, when he was coach of rival Lake Clifton.They were again on opposite benches yesterday as Harried, in his first season as coach of Lake Clifton, faced Williams, now coaching at Mervo, in the championship game of the John Nash Holiday Tournament at Douglass.