Um...wow. I swear that two months ago I thought Maryland would be looking low-high-major or high-mid-major when Gary's job opened up. Like Anthony Grant or Gregg Marshall or something. Instead, we now have the revelation that UMD is a top ten job in the country in most smart people's mind. Who woulda thunk it?
Anyway, that's led from a Grant-Marshall-Darrin Horn type search to a Jay Wright-Jamie Dixon-Sean Miller type search. Yeah, good trade.
Miller, who's my favorite candidate of the bunch, is a rising star in the coaching world. Per Terrapins insider - remember, fear Yandabell - he'd be interested if Maryland called. I'm guessing they'll call.
But the same guys also say that Maryland would be even more interested in Jay Wright, the current head man at Villanova. He has a penchant for underperformance at times, but he recruits well and has lead a revival of that program that few saw coming.
And hey, John Feinstein says go the **** after Brad Stevens.
Okay, so Stevens is probably stupid. But the others make sense. And if you're wondering how, exactly, Maryland is in contention with all these big name candidates, check out this post. And then read this:
Recruiting-wise, this is sleeping giant. ... The job will be extremely attractive to an elite group of middle-aged coaches, many of whom have secretly mused about the Maryland job behind the scenes. The Maryland job is regarded as a gem. Combine the facilities with the recruiting grounds and the fan base and one has to believe that Maryland will land a worthy successor.
And then this:
Coaches widely consider it to be one of the nation's best jobs because of its natural recruiting base.
"The right guy there will kill it," a source told CBSSports.com. "If they get the right guy, they'll win really big."
I think this is the exact opposite feeling N.C. State fans got - they thought their job was awesome and then the media crapped on it. We thought our job was average and now the media is telling us it's amazing. Ahhh...it's like warmth.
Oh, wait. Gary Williams retired a few hours ago. Dammit.
But more on that later. For now: wishlist. Go.