What makes a "good coach"?
I hear people say all the time that Bobby Knight is a good coach because he graduates his players
....but Gary Williams virtually never graduates his players
I hear people say that just because you win championships, get to the Sweet Sixteen or the Final Four, or have 20-win seasons - that alone doesn't always mean you're a good coach - as people seem to discount BU's Sweet Sixteen and give the credit to the assistants, and some say Calipari lands kids who are pros, which has been proven out by two vacated Final Fours and John Wall taking payment but still getting a pass from NCAA.
...btw-- Gary Williams has a stable full of 4-Star and 5-Star players and cannot get to the Sweet Sixteen..
I hear people say Tom Izzo is a great coach or Dean Smith is a great coach...etc...but isn't that the prerogative of the one who forms the opinion.
Thus I am not alone in putting Tom Izzo into a different level of "great coach" than I would put Gary Williams...
and anyway, the issue was more about how he lobbed a preemptive slam against the mid-majors back in 2006 and directly attacked and insulted the Valley and Bradley.
Then he lied and said he'd play any Valley team any time, but when Missouri State's Barry Hinson and every other Valley coach called countless time to take him up on his word -- he stiffed Barry and treated him like a piece of dirt.
This is the behavior that more strikes me as to whether he is a good anything...and unfortunately, I believe he is NOT a good, honorable, or pleasant person, nor coach.
"Gary Williams talks tough. Soon, we'll find out if he is tough.
Williams, Maryland's wonderful if occasionally condescending coach, suggested to the Washington Post on Sunday that teams from the Missouri Valley Conference -- whose hopes for a record five NCAA Tournament bids would come at the expense of larger leagues -- have been ducking schools like Maryland.
"They haven't been banging down anyone's door in the ACC to play," Williams told the Post. "The phone works both ways, last time I checked."
Yes, it does. And sources in the Valley tell me that by the end of this week, Williams will have received calls -- and offers to play a home-and-home series beginning next season -- from every team in the Missouri Valley.
Don't you love that?
Missouri State coach Barry Hinson was so excited by Williams' apparent offer that he had his scheduling director call the Maryland basketball offices first thing Monday morning to schedule a home-and-home series with the Terps beginning next season. And Missouri State is willing to play the first game on the road, even if that means bailing out on a money-making home game already on the schedule for next season.
By 3 p.m., when Maryland hadn't returned the call, Hinson called Maryland himself and left the same message. As of this morning, Williams hadn't returned Hinson's call. He also hasn't yet returned a message left this morning by CBS SportsLine.com to discuss the issue further.
....... if he's going to talk tough when the Washington Post calls, he better be prepared to back it up when Missouri State and Northern Iowa call."
http://www.cbssports.com/columns/weblogs/entry/9275443
http://www.jordanwilson.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=78