Former Maryland players may not be happy with Williams hire

Buzz Williams. Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Former Maryland players may not be happy with Buzz Williams hire

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Apr 1, 2025 6:41 PM ET

Maryland has brought in an experienced new head coach after Kevin Williard kicked the program on his way out the door, but it is safe to assume at least some of the school's alumni will not be pleased with the hire.

Former Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams agreed to a deal on Tuesday to become the new head coach at Maryland. Williams had led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in three straight years, which is why many are surprised he left the SEC.

Williams has had success with multiple different programs. The 52-year-old coach has made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances in 17 combined seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Marquette.

But there is one thing Williams does not have — a direct connection to the University of Maryland. That is likely to bother some former Terrapins.

Len Elmore, a former Maryland star who played for the school from 1971-74, shared a lengthy statement on social media Monday imploring the school to "build from within the Terp family" in the wake of Willard's ugly exit. Willard left Maryland to take the Villanova job and trashed the Terrapins on his way out the door.

Elmore, who played 10 seasons in the NBA after a successful college career under former Maryland coach Gary Williams, said in his letter that "University of Maryland people must lead the University of Maryland athletics program and lead our basketball program." Elmore also criticized his alma mater for trying to make "big swing" hires in the post-Gary Williams era.

The Terp basketball family has endured a lot these past days. For the sake of our program, I speak for so many of my brothers who have reached out to me in anguish over what has become of our program.
It is time to speak… pic.twitter.com/h4Bye8rVxZ
— Len Elmore (@LenElmore) March 31, 2025

Elmore then told Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun on Tuesday that he and other ex-Maryland players are "incensed" over the current state of the program.

Fellow former All-American Tom McMillen, who was teammates with Elmore in College Park, agreed. McMillen was bothered by how Willard handled his exit, particularly the way the coach deliberately leaked that athletic director Damon Evans was leaving for the same job at SMU.

"There’s a ‘let’s fiddle in Rome while it’s burning’ kind of thing,'” McMillen said. “You keep that stuff between you and the AD. Maybe because Damon was leaving, he thought he could air it, but I just thought that was not appropriate.”

But back to Buzz Williams. Maryland's newest Williams has no previous ties to the school. His stint at Virginia Tech might give him a recruiting advantage in the area, but other than that he is starting with a fresh slate. It is safe to assume no one at Maryland consulted with Elmore or McMillen before making the hire.

Williams' resume is impressive. He has a career record of 373-228, four Sweet 16 appearances and one trip to the Elite Eight. He has won at every stop, but some Maryland alumni feel he is missing the all-important Terrapins DNA.

If Maryland's latest head coach hire is another failure, Elmore can at least say he tired to warn the Terps.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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