Report: Gary Williams to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Alex Prewitt is reporting that former Maryland head coach, player and administrator Gary Williams will be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, officially enshrining one of the most significant figures in Terrapin history.

It will be the second such honor for Williams this year, as he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in March. The Naismith is a much bigger deal, and Williams joins the greatest of the great in the professional and college games.

While his time at Maryland was not without failures, Williams managed to bring the only national championship in program history to College Park, and will long be lauded as a hero for his recovery of the program after the tenures of Lefty Drisell and Bob Wade.

Williams played point guard at Maryland from 1964-67, immediately moving on to coaching and receiving his first collegiate head coaching position at American University in 1978. After taking the Eagles from a .500 team to a two-time NIT squad, Williams was hired by Boston College in 1982, where he reached two Sweet Sixteens in four seasons.

Williams was hired by Ohio State prior to the 1986-87 season, taking the Buckeyes to three straight postseason appearances before answering the call from his alma mater. The program underwent serious sanctions nearly immediately after his hiring, including a postseason ban for his second and third seasons and a television ban for the 1990-91 season.

After an NIT berth in his first year, the program struggled under the weight of the NCAA punishment, but Williams was quickly able to turn things around. In the Terps' second year off of the sanctions, Williams was able to take the team to the Sweet Sixteen, the first of 11 straight NCAA bids (highlighted by the 2002 National Championship).

Maryland made the tournament just three times in Williams's final seven years with the program, but the head coach finished his Terrapin career with a program-record 461 wins. He retired after the 2010-11 season, moving on to a position in the athletic department, and can now be seen on television with Comcast SportSnet.