Mourning Maryland: The Stages of Grief

I am officially in mourning for the death of the Maryland basketball season. This probably started on Saturday when Maryland was humiliated by Duke. But I think I was experiencing the first stage, denial for the last few days. I still thought they're might have resurrect their season. Or maybe something good could come out of all of this. Maybe a change would be made. Maybe, they could learn and come back and show some improvement. Maybe make something respectable out of this debacle. That was obviously false hope and denial.

Right now I'm in the anger stage. How did they collapse again? How is Kim now ineligible? Why don't they have a center? When did they get so bad? How did this happen? What else could possible go wrong? Seriously, I can't believe this team. I'm just pissed at them all right now. Stupid Gary for not recruiting and coaching. Stupid Debbie Yow for not working better with Gary. Stupid Vasquez for playing consistently. I want somebody's head. At this point I don't care who. I just want blood.

The next stage is bargaining. Maybe I'm already there. I want something to change. I will not support this team anymore if nothing happens. It's really the only chip I have. It's not true. It's just the anger talking. I will always watch this team. Even when they are failing miserably.

After that is depression. I assume it will come after the next game, well next loss, probably the same thing. I'm sure I'll want to give up on the season since it doesn't matter any more. Maybe I'm already slipping into that stage. I'm definitely not there yet. But I can feel it coming on a little bit. Check with me after the next game. I can feel it coming it on.

Hopefully soon I'll be ready to accept this season as a failure. I honestly don't think we're going to even make the NIT the way things are going. This season might be the true low point in the great history of Maryland basketball. This team is just terrible and totally not competitive in the ACC. Sure, they were able to beat a couple Big Ten teams, but this is the ACC. And this is just sad.

Photo: http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2007_12_02_archive.html

Top Ten Reasons Gary Should Go

Supposedly there are still some Maryland supporters out there that love Gary Williams and think it's just a down year and he should stay. After yesterday's rout by the hated Dookies, I would be happy if he was fired/resigned tomorrow. So here are some reasons he shouldn't be around next season.

10. He's a lecherous old man. Every student has seen him out at a College Park bar at some time drinking and hitting on college students. This might have been tolerable when he won a championship, but now it's just gross.

9. He doesn't have the backing of the Athletic Director, Debbie Yow. They are constantly at odds and this is only hurting the program.

8. The Terps just got routed by Duke, 85-44. The score at halftime was 40-15. It was the most embarrassing loss I've seen as a Terps fan. This team is not competitive. It is just sad.

7. The lack of a big man is ridiculous. Gary couldn't manage to get even one mediocre big man to come to Maryland this year. It's symptomatic of how far this great program has fallen. Now we have an undersized team that can't really compete in the ACC.

6. This program has fallen apart under him. They won the National Championship in 2002 and since then had a flash of brilliance in to win the ACC tournament a few years later. But mostly these have been barren times with NIT bids and early tournament exits. It just keeps seem to be getting worse.

5. He could have a heart attack at any moment. Between the booze and the sideline screaming he looks as though he could die at any moment. He has to change his shirt and jacket at half time because he gets so sweaty. I might not want him as a coach any more but I don't want the poor man to come to any physical harm. Maybe he'll retire due to 'health issues.' This could actually be the best possible solution.

4. He can't coach the players to play to their potential. Maryland managed to beat Michigan and Michigan state this season. This gave me hope that they could play well during ACC play. But even the in conference wins have been ugly. Gary can't seem to motivate these players.

3. The inconsistency with this team in maddening. The last couple games have just been bad, but Maryland the last few seasons tends to go on a great mid season run and then collapses. The Terps haven't been able to play consistently for an entire season in recent memory. And playing consistently bad is even worse.

2. He hasn't done anything lately. We haven't even been making the NCAA tournament lately. And Maryland shouldn't be a regular in the NIT. And it doesn't look like this year is going to be any different.

1. He can't recruit. This team can't get better if he can't get anyone to come to this program. And the worse we get the harder it will be to recruit quality players. And this team will only continue to get worse.

Looking for a Silver Lining

Well, the Terps blew their second ACC game in a row. And suddenly the season isn't looking so promising anymore. Those out of conference wins are starting to look less and less meaningful. So I've started searching for a silver lining. Maybe the Terps will be truly terrible this year. I mean just bombing the rest of the ACC season and not even getting an NIT bid. I really don't think I can handle another mediocre season. If the Terps are abysmal all season then something great could happen. Maybe Maryland will finally fire Gary Williams. Maybe this terrible season is the death rattle we've all been waiting for.

So far in ACC play the Terps barely managed to beat Georgia Tech and have now lost to Miami and Florida State. I really don't think I can deal with another Maryland collapse. And I really think Gary Williams is done. He's lost whatever it is he once had. At some point we have to stop giving him support just because he won a National Championship. His grace period is over. He needs to produce results. And for the last few years those results have been failures.

I know it's early and maybe the Terps will rebound and play strong the rest of the season. That would be great. But I'm almost hoping that doesn't happen. I've lost the faith. And I really don't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed by Gary's bad coaching. We need someone who can motivate players. And we need someone who can recruit players to come to Maryland again. This is a school with a great basketball tradition. And Gary Williams is killing it.

So bring on the pain. Bring on the losing. Bring on the blowouts to bad teams. I'm ready for it. Because hopefully that will mean the end of Gary and a new better era can start. Because this slow death march is killing me.