THE BOTTOM IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT

The Maryland Terppins have fallen so far out of the NCAA picture that if you don't live in the DMV you might not know anything about this once great college basketball program. After the Duane Simpkins incident the Terps have continously declined. Players are saying Gary can't communicate with the the team anymore. And nobody wants a dude sweating all over them when all he does is sit on the sidelines and screams out plays. The adoring fans have been replaced by angry skeptics. The Terrapins have reached the round of 16 only once since winning the title and are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament altogether for the fourth time in five seasons. A review of NCAA tournament records shows that no national champion in the past 18 seasons has regressed so quickly.

How did this happen? Interviews were conducted with more than 50 coaches, players and others knowledgeable personnel about the program revealing many explanations, and Williams, 63, is the center to each of them.

Some say his disdain for under-the-table recruiting tactics has left him out of touch with the influential summer league circuit; others say he has grown complacent, delegating most recruiting duties to an ever-changing group of assistants. Clearly, Maryland has been hurt by landing highly touted recruits whose potential was never fulfilled and by failing to identify less-heralded future stars, many of whom attended high schools within short drives of College Park. The next question should be what else do we need to see from Coach Williams to say your time is up.