Texas A&M men’s basketball lost its head coach Tuesday, with Buzz Williams choosing to head east.
The Maryland Terrapins poached Williams after he brought Texas A&M to a strong season that included six wins over Associated Press-ranked teams and a fifth-place finish in a historically deep SEC.
“Maryland Athletics is an important part of the University of Maryland community,” university president Darryll J. Pines said in a statement Tuesday. “Finding the right person to lead Maryland men’s basketball was critical to the continued success of our program, both on and off the court. With an exemplary record of competitive success and a demonstrated commitment to providing leadership and development to our student-athletes, coach Buzz Williams is the ideal coach to lead us forward. We could not be more thrilled to welcome him to College Park.”
GOLDEN: With Texas A&M a-Buzz about basketball coach’s departure, the choice is obvious
Williams, 52, is a two-time SEC Coach of the Year and finishes his time in College Station with a 120-73 record. He took A&M to three straight NCAA Tournaments, but never made it past the second round during his tenure. He replaced Kevin Willard who led the Terps to the Sweet 16 before leaving for Villanova last month.
Here’s what you should know about Buzz Williams:
No stranger to the NCAA Tournament
Williams has served as a Division I head coach for nearly two decades.
He’s worked as head coach at Virginia Tech (2014-19), Marquette (2008-14) and New Orleans (2006-07). His overall record after 18 seasons as a head coach is 373-228.
Williams has made multiple NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his last three stops. Overall, he has 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, four career NCAA Sweet 16 appearances (three at Marquette, one at Virginia Tech) and one Elite Eight appearance (2013 Marquette). He holds a 12-11 NCAA Tournament record.
Buzz Williams is a Texas native
Even though he most recently worked in College Station, bordering East and Central Texas, Williams is actually a North Texas native.
He’s from Van Alstyne, which straddles Collin and Grayson counties and is about 50 miles north of downtown Dallas. With his proximity to the Red River, it’s no wonder that he headed to Oklahoma for college.
In 1994, Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Oklahoma City University before achieving a master’s degree in that field at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
A prolific nickname-giver
Williams is know for being a bit of a creative dresser — flashing different vests and jackets the past several years. But his creativity can shine, or not, with the nicknames bestowed to his players.
Just take his Texas A&M roster: Here’s H (Hayden Hefner) and 4 (Wade Taylor IV) and Solo (Solomon Washington). But maybe the best alternate name is one he heard from a player’s relatives.
Williams called Pharrel Payne “Gochi” because he heard the forward’s family call him that once. The coach’s use of the nickname for Payne, a junior from Minnesota, could theoretically confuse media members covering A&M for the first time.
“We were the first Power Four school to offer Gochi a scholarship. I remember watching him in an auxiliary gym at 8:00 in the morning in a non-shoe-company-sponsored team,” Williams said after A&M beat Yale in the NCAA Tournament. “I love the spirit. I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a player that’s as extroverted as he is that’s also so pure in how he processes life.”
American-Statesman writer David Eckert contributed to this report.
Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Maryland basketball hires Buzz Williams: 3 things to know about ex-Texas A&M coach
Reporting by Tyler J. Davis and Tony Catalina, Austin American-Statesman / Austin American-Statesman
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
