Mike Scott granted fifth year of eligibility, Gary Williams announces retirement, Bolts boot Capitals from playoffs
MIKE SCOTT
Yesterday, Mike Scott was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the ACC. Scott had two surgeries on his left ankle last season and played in only 10 games. Even without their best player for most of the season, the Cavaliers posted a 16-15 record overall and 7-9 mark in the conference. The addition of Scott to next year's roster should give a real boost to the post offense and hopefully be worth a few wins. Some fans think we have a decent chance at an NCAA berth next season with Scott. I am being more cautious, because we have seen how hard it can be to make the dance the past few seasons even in a "Big Six" conference and with a good record, but we can certainly enter the conversation with a healthy Scott who plays up to his potential. He was averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game before he left permanently last season. He started up through the Radford game Dec. 7, and then had surgery during the exam break and missed games against Oregon, Norfolk State, and Seattle. He tried to come back and play against Iowa State on Dec. 30 and did, but reaggravated the injury and sat out some more before it was determined it would be best to have a second surgery and miss the rest of the season.
It's hard to not to be optimistic about next season with a young developing team, Tony Bennett's recruiting success, and a heathy Scott returning to the lineup.
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GARY WILLIAMS RETIRING
Gary Williams officially announced he was retiring as Maryland men's basketball coach today at 1 p.m. The Terrapins went 19-14 and missed both the NCAA and NIT tournaments in 2010-11. Williams spent 22 seasons at Maryland, his alma mater, and won 461 games at the school. In all, Williams coached 33 years, also spending time at American, Boston College, and Ohio State and won 668 games. In 2002, Williams coached Maryland to a national championship, beating Indiana in the finals.
I've got a lot respect for Williams, and I know I do because I have hated Maryland with a passion for as long as I've been a Virginia fan. Maryland basketball has been the one the ACC team that has been able to rival my dislike for Virginia Tech. So how can respect and hate go together? Well, the reason I hated Maryland is because they've been so good for so long--basically since I started paying attention to ACC basketball when I was about 10 years old. Williams is a good coach and I always knew Virginia was up for a challenge when playing Maryland. He has been one of the hardest-working coaches I've seen when it comes to his team and the referees during a game. There aren't many coaches I've watched on TV or in person who have been that fiery during a game. And one of the reasons Williams said he was retiring is because his drive and fire has diminished. Since that has been his MO, he probably figured it was time to go.
There is no one I liked to see Virginia make sweat more on the sidelines than Williams. But I am glad his career has to come an end, because that is one less terrific coach Virginia has to compete against in the ACC.
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CAPITALS
Tampa Bay defeated Washington in Florida on Wednesday 5-3, completing a sweep of the Capitals. It was the fourth consecutive season that the Caps have won the Southeast Division in the NHL's Eastern Conference only to fall in the either the first or second round of the playoffs. It was another bitter playoff exit for Caps fans, many of whom are calling for personnel or coaching changes. Capitals GM George McPhee, however, has said he expects coach Bruce Boudreau to be back in Washington next season.
Yesterday, Mike Scott was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the ACC. Scott had two surgeries on his left ankle last season and played in only 10 games. Even without their best player for most of the season, the Cavaliers posted a 16-15 record overall and 7-9 mark in the conference. The addition of Scott to next year's roster should give a real boost to the post offense and hopefully be worth a few wins. Some fans think we have a decent chance at an NCAA berth next season with Scott. I am being more cautious, because we have seen how hard it can be to make the dance the past few seasons even in a "Big Six" conference and with a good record, but we can certainly enter the conversation with a healthy Scott who plays up to his potential. He was averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game before he left permanently last season. He started up through the Radford game Dec. 7, and then had surgery during the exam break and missed games against Oregon, Norfolk State, and Seattle. He tried to come back and play against Iowa State on Dec. 30 and did, but reaggravated the injury and sat out some more before it was determined it would be best to have a second surgery and miss the rest of the season.
It's hard to not to be optimistic about next season with a young developing team, Tony Bennett's recruiting success, and a heathy Scott returning to the lineup.
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GARY WILLIAMS RETIRING
Gary Williams officially announced he was retiring as Maryland men's basketball coach today at 1 p.m. The Terrapins went 19-14 and missed both the NCAA and NIT tournaments in 2010-11. Williams spent 22 seasons at Maryland, his alma mater, and won 461 games at the school. In all, Williams coached 33 years, also spending time at American, Boston College, and Ohio State and won 668 games. In 2002, Williams coached Maryland to a national championship, beating Indiana in the finals.
I've got a lot respect for Williams, and I know I do because I have hated Maryland with a passion for as long as I've been a Virginia fan. Maryland basketball has been the one the ACC team that has been able to rival my dislike for Virginia Tech. So how can respect and hate go together? Well, the reason I hated Maryland is because they've been so good for so long--basically since I started paying attention to ACC basketball when I was about 10 years old. Williams is a good coach and I always knew Virginia was up for a challenge when playing Maryland. He has been one of the hardest-working coaches I've seen when it comes to his team and the referees during a game. There aren't many coaches I've watched on TV or in person who have been that fiery during a game. And one of the reasons Williams said he was retiring is because his drive and fire has diminished. Since that has been his MO, he probably figured it was time to go.
There is no one I liked to see Virginia make sweat more on the sidelines than Williams. But I am glad his career has to come an end, because that is one less terrific coach Virginia has to compete against in the ACC.
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CAPITALS
Tampa Bay defeated Washington in Florida on Wednesday 5-3, completing a sweep of the Capitals. It was the fourth consecutive season that the Caps have won the Southeast Division in the NHL's Eastern Conference only to fall in the either the first or second round of the playoffs. It was another bitter playoff exit for Caps fans, many of whom are calling for personnel or coaching changes. Capitals GM George McPhee, however, has said he expects coach Bruce Boudreau to be back in Washington next season.
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