← Eye On College Basketball
Eye On College Basketball
Buzz Williams on building Maryland’s team, leaving Texas A&M, expectations for 2025 season
00:24:18
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- [00:00]
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- [01:09]
Gary Parrish
Hey there Gary Parish. Welcome back to the CBS Sports Eye on College Basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. If you're watching on YouTube, you know what to do to the like button shouts to Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the CBS Sports college basketball YouTube channel, please also do that while you're here. Let's get into it. Different deal today. As you'll soon realize, Matt Norlander is not here with me. And that's because I'm in Chicago for Big Ten Media Day. And while here, I sat down with most of the coaches and some of the players for quick conversations about their programs and college basketball in general. And we figured, or at least we hoped, that you guys might like to listen to those conversations. So we're placing them in the I Own College Basketball feed. It's me, GP at Big Ten Media Day. The conversations I had with coaches and players. They are on tap. I hope you enjoy them right after this word from our partners.
- [02:08]
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- [03:03]
Gary Parrish
Gary Parish. Here with first year Maryland head coach Buzz Williams.
- [03:07]
What's it like to take over a.
- [03:09]
Program with zero returning players and try to build it into an NCAA tournament caliber team in one off season? Because that's, that's, that's your task.
- [03:19]
Buzz Williams
It's like drinking out of a fire hose from 4 in the morning until midnight.
- [03:23]
Gary Parrish
Right.
- [03:23]
Buzz Williams
And I've done it 187 days in a row. There's no easy way to do it, but just try really hard. As long as you can stay awake and try to make as good of a decisions as you can along the way.
- [03:38]
Gary Parrish
I know it's helpful. You were able to bring some players from Texas A and M. You were able to get into the transfer portal. On one hand, I know you like to recruit through relationships and you know, came up in this industry doing it that way. Now everything is a little quicker and sometimes transactional, yet it's just what you're required to do. I talked to Tom Izzo about this earlier and he said I went through a phase where I didn't like it and I complained about it and now I'm just going to focus on my team and do it the way I think I need to do it and, you know, not be bogged down with everything else. How do you handle where college basketball is right now?
- [04:17]
Buzz Williams
Yeah, coach has a lot more equity in the industry to speak to it. But everything you said resonates in my heart. And so transparently I don't know if I'm any good at it or not. What I want to try to do is impact people's lives in a positive way, whether they're a manager or a trainer or a coach or a player, regardless of where they're from or how many schools they've been to. But when you have to expedite that process, I don't know that that always applies to me. Being able to share who I am. And so the four players that had eligibility at Texas A&M, two of them were red shirts. They, they did not play at Texas A and M and they have yet to play in college. Two of them have eligibility of one year going into Maryland. And so we've signed 15 players. I just mentioned four of them, but of the 11, it's going really fast and I don't know exactly what the right approach is. Whether that's high school, whether that's portal, whether that's young, whether that's old, what are the rules going to be next week or next month. I don't think that I have the mental ability to keep up with where it may go, but I do think that I have an accountability purpose in regards to those relationships with the families that are represented in the gym every day. And so what does that mean for our team next year or the following year? Because nobody knows what it's going to be. I. I just try not to participate in those conversations because I don't know that it's an efficient use of time.
- [06:09]
Gary Parrish
You know, it's interesting because I didn't necessarily expect to hear what I've heard over and over again today in. In this way. Coaches consistently saying, I don't know if I'm doing it the right way forever. You know, I don't know that every coach knew how to do things the, quote, right way, but a lot of them seem to think they did. And now I hear very confident men saying, I don't know how much I should be leaning into the transfer portal, how much I should be focused on high school prospects, how much I need to be focused in the middle of my season on retention. It's a state of confusion right now.
- [06:49]
Buzz Williams
In every possible way. And I think I did early in all of this change after the pandemic. I did spend time trying to figure out what are the right questions to ask. And then kind of the next phase for me, from the chair I was sitting in was there's a litany of questions. I'm wondering who's going to answer those questions? Who are the people that can answer those questions? And I'm still unsure who is answering those questions. And so that's why I have tried to prevent myself from going down a rabbit hole knowing that there is not an answer. And that's not to complain because I am grateful for the job and I do hope that I still can make an impact in a positive way on the lives that are. I'm charged with helping. But I do think that I'm more at peace than ever before on. I'm going to do the best I can with the information I have to make decisions that I think are right by my soul. And I'm not necessarily even saying I'm a good person, but no matter the results, I'm going to Be at peace with those results because you can't chase two rabbits and catch neither one. And don't think. Because nobody knows. I just do the best you can. But I don't think anybody does know.
- [08:27]
Gary Parrish
You did a really good job at Texas A and M. You were under no pressure to leave. You could keep that job if you wanted it. The Maryland job opens and you move. Why the Maryland job?
- [08:39]
Buzz Williams
Yeah, everything was good at A and M, obviously. I'm from Texas, my wife is from Texas. We really enjoyed our time and I thought the program that we built and how we went about it. I wish we would have won more. Like any player, any coach, I wish we would have won more. But how we did it and the people we did it with at the institution, within the walls of the facility, within the support of the community, I'm very thankful for those six years unique occurrence relative to the University of Maryland. I have no ties to Maryland. There was not a full time AD when I was hired at Maryland. So my interaction was with the president more so than normal. There was not a search firm involved in my search. So it was very transparent right away. Maryland played in the Sweet 16. Coach Willard took the Villanova job. It all happened in about a five day window, but there weren't a lot of extras. And so you have known me for a long time. That probably fits my genre of conversation really well. It's the president and it's me and he's telling me exactly what he believes and what he thinks. And I thought there was great alignment in that. There was no pressure to leave. I had a rollover contract at Texas A and M. We were ranked every week of the season last year for the first time in 113 years. Really liked who we were and what we were doing. Had over 100 years of experience of people that have been with me on our staff. But the conversations I was having with Dr. Pons, I just felt like, yeah, this all makes sense. And in a era when it's hard to know who's answering the questions, I'm very confident in who's answering the questions as it relates to the University of Maryland. And it just so happened because of the things that had transpired, I had a direct line to him. And so the history of Maryland basketball, tremendous. Multiple coaches in the hall of Fame, multiple players that have had unbelievable success, the support of the community and the state. So it just kind of led to that. But I wasn't expecting that.
- [11:15]
Gary Parrish
I was just googling, reading, and I bumped into this column that was headlined this way. Why won't Buzz Williams stay in one damn place? And I understand why. I have talked to you about it. I have written a story about it that is one of my favorite stories I've written in the past 10, 15 years. I came and saw you when you got to Virginia Tech. I still have the picture of us at the restaurant.
- [11:44]
Buzz Williams
Yes, sir. It's on my Magnet hall of Fame wall.
- [11:47]
Gary Parrish
That's really nice that I sent to.
- [11:48]
Buzz Williams
You that you autographed.
- [11:50]
Gary Parrish
I still have. I have a picture, too. So really nice. And so I understand it. And I. I don't know anybody who studies the profession more than you study the profession. So I know this makes perfect sense in your head, but for whatever reason, some fans have a hard time understanding why you leave jobs when you leave them. Sure. So if you were bumping into a Texas A and M fan or a Virginia Tech fan or a Marquette fan once upon a time, and they wanted to ask you that question, how would you answer it?
- [12:20]
Buzz Williams
Yeah, I. The first thing that I would say is pick any job. The University of New Orleans, Marquette, Virginia Tech, Texas A and M, Maryland. Never once did I even have a dream big enough to ever even be employed at any of those institutions in any role, much less being the head coach. What I would say at each of those institutions, whether our time there was too brief according to that person or not, I do think we were accountable to the program at being the best we could, not only in the results, but also in how we did things. And I also think whether they agree or not with the duration of our time there, I have been employed in the same industry. I've just had differing jobs, and I never knew that I was going to get any of those jobs. And I do think, looking back, like, I have great peace. Not saying that we shouldn't have won more, not saying that we were perfect, not saying I'm a good coach. But I look back at the six years at Texas A&M, the five years at Virginia Tech, the six years at Marquette, in a very fond way. I remember all of the parts of my family, my children, my wife, our assistants, the players, all of it is good things. And I do think my grandfather, who raised me, and I spent an inordinate amount of time with him. There was a picnic which me and you would call a carnival in this little country town. I've never shared this. I would only share this with you.
- [14:12]
Gary Parrish
That's nice.
- [14:14]
Buzz Williams
So my parents were divorced. When it was my mom's time to visit me, her dad would come Pick me up. Because he lived closer to where I live with my dad. And it was always the first week of July. The Leonard picnic would come to town and it was all of the people that had the smallest carnival rides you've ever seen in a town with no stoplight. And we're going to play all of those games that you think we're going to play at that carnival. And as we would drive in his truck to the picnic, he would always say to me, now how much money do you think you should spend tonight? And when I was 10, I would say, Gaga, you think I could have $5? And he would say, do you think that's smart? You think I should just give you five dollars? And I would go, well, if you could give me $5, I think that would be plenty. As I got older, obviously I was increasing the amount every year, every year of my whole life. Park, give me the money, stand at the gate. He would stand at the gate until I was done. And I was done when I spent the last dollar. And as it was time to leave when I was young, I would say, guy, Guy, can I have some more money? And he would say, wait, I asked you how much money you wanted and I gave it to you. I know, but I didn't know that the coke was going to cost a dollar or the. If I win the basketball game, I might could get a stuffed animal. He would say, no, I did exactly what you asked me to do. And he would always tell me, you have to know when it's time to leave the carnival, get in the truck, let's go home. And I think there is some level in any job, whether it's basketball coaching or CBS Sports, there's a time it's time to leave the carnival. And as long as you did a good job when you were at the carnival, this is just how I was raised. If I gave my best and did the best I could, then I feel like it's okay, it's time to leave the carnival.
- [16:26]
Gary Parrish
That makes a lot of sense to me. It sounds like your grandfather was a wise man. I also understand that I talked to. I can't tell you how many coaches who will say things after they're out of the profession and working with me and they say I stayed too long, I should have gotten out a year earlier or three years earlier. You know that there's a lot of regret from coaches who, who don't understand when to pull the trigger. And I know that the way you have done it hasn't been immensely popular with Everybody. But I know coaches certainly respect it and understand it. And, and there's a lot of data that, that, that supports that this is the way to handle these.
- [17:06]
Buzz Williams
And I don't, I don't even know GP that how I've done it is right. So I'm not trying to be a leader in that way.
- [17:15]
Gary Parrish
Right.
- [17:16]
Buzz Williams
I've never made a decision without my wife and my children completely understanding. I've never not told my entire staff exactly what was going on. I went on a walk with every single player that had eligibility, walk ons included at Texas A and M before I ever signed the memorandum of understanding at Maryland. There's a lot of things that may be said about me on the Internet. I don't look at social media or I don't even have a computer. I haven't used email in 15 years. So I understand. I live in a very narrow lane per se. So I'm not trying to defend what I've done and I'm not necessarily saying it's right, but I can say as a human being, I feel like at each institution I've been thankful for the chance and I've given my best energy, my best emotion to being the best representation that our program could. And I have also spent an inordinate amount of time studying the industry and developing relationships with coaches who have walked this path before me, that are still coaching Coach Izzo, that are no longer coaching, that have joined the media, that are retired and not in public eye. And I do think that wisdom there is some level that has impacted my journey on regards to don't overstay, don't allow your ego, don't allow the identity of I'm the coach here to prevent you from doing what is best next, even if that is taking another job or maybe it's time not to be a coach. And transparently, I pray about that. Now. I think how you start somewhere is really important. And regardless of the mass opinion of people that you don't know, that don't understand the road that you've walked, did you walk that road with as much grace and as much integrity and dignity? And I've failed in all of those categories. But the intent of my heart, I've tried to handle all of those people that I had intimate relationships with in the right way.
- [19:40]
Gary Parrish
I can tell you I've heard from coaches now whether they can implement the strategy, for lack of a better word, is another topic of conversation. But I hear from a lot of coaches of like, that's the model. He knows how to He. He's figured this out, or at least he's, he's got a. An approach to his career that has made a lot of. A lot of sense.
- [19:59]
Buzz Williams
I don't. There's a part of arrogance that wants to say, well, we did okay at that place or the next place probably wouldn't have hired me.
- [20:08]
Gary Parrish
Right.
- [20:08]
Buzz Williams
But then it makes it sound like that the job. I was just doing it for myself. No, no, I do want to do it for myself or my family or the players or the staff, etc. But I don't think that I've been mal. Intent on giving my best at each of those places and. Or predetermining when I'm leaving. To your point. I had a rollover contract all six years that I was at Texas A&M. Whip Babcock, I think is one of the best ads in the history of college athletics that hired me at Virginia Tech. And you know this. Why would you leave Marquette? And you had been to multiple sweet sixteens and elite eights, et cetera. Why would you leave there and go there? I wasn't planning on it. But. But I do think even when I left Virginia Tech. Why would you leave Virginia Tech? Y' all just went to the Sweet 16. We were 2 and 16 five years ago, but nobody said that then. And so like, I don't want to have an edge in my response, but I do want to be truthful in what I say because if you can't do that, then it's probably not worth spending time on.
- [21:28]
Gary Parrish
Last thing before I get you out of here. You're now just a few weeks away from the start of this season. You're in the top 45, 50 of some rankings despite starting from scratch. What does success look like to you in year one at Maryland?
- [21:43]
Buzz Williams
Yeah, we've probably overscheduled. The last time I had ego towards the media was when we didn't go to the NCAA tournament. So I've studied those numbers a lot since then. We played a top five non conference schedule last year and I did see how, regardless of results, I did see how the math impacted in a positive way a top four seed. I don't know if we are in the NCAA tournament. I think we have over scheduled from a non conference standpoint. I can give you seats when we play at Marquette. If you're not in New York. I don't know that there'll be a lot of people cheering for us in Milwaukee. It'll be my first time back in 12 years.
- [22:28]
Gary Parrish
Are you looking forward to that? Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [22:31]
Buzz Williams
You know, like our daughter was born there. Our daughter, our other daughter started kindergarten there. Our two boys started kindergarten there. Like yeah, it was a very fond time of our lives. It was 34 years old. I wasn't supposed to be the coach at Marquette. I mean Al McGuire coach there, Rick Majeris, coach there, Hank Raymond, Tom Crean, like Mike Dean Ko like people I grew up with great admiration for. Buzz is not supposed to be the guy.
- [23:06]
Gary Parrish
So.
- [23:07]
Buzz Williams
Yeah, but I think we've over scheduled but how many wins? 20 conference games for the first time in my career, two of those before finals week. I've never done that. But because we have 15 new players to Maryland, we need to be a little better tomorrow than we were this morning in practice before we came here because we've got a long way to go before we even know ourselves. Much less Georgetown the first Friday in November. Like we, we've got a lot of work to do in a very short period of time. But with each passing day, not only before our first game, but I, I, I contend it's going to be with each passing day over the next 100 practices with we've got to continue to make strides.
- [23:56]
Gary Parrish
Buzz, it's always good to see you.
- [23:58]
Buzz Williams
Great to see you. Can we take a picture? This one will be better than the one at the restaurant in black.
- [24:02]
Gary Parrish
I think I got a little less hair now than I had in that one picture.
- [24:06]
Buzz Williams
Got on a hat. Okay, thank you. We're going to take a real thank you.