The NEXT: Realizations To Have About Maryland Hoops

The next coach (when? if?) could be walking into an incredible situation.

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These two guys? From PG County. The next coach of Maryland just started drooling.

Visit the 2009 NEXT universe.

It seems that Gary Williams probably isn't long for Maryland. (Definitive piece here.) There are all kinds of reasons why this will happen, and numerous stories swirling around, but this is the NEXT thing you should realize about this: Maryland is, by virtue of Lefty Driesell and that '02 title, a marquee program. Unlike some other marquee jobs that might open (Arizona?), the next coach of Maryland is walking into a tremendous pipeline. There's not just Baltimore (Carmelo Anthony, Rudy Gay) but Prince George's County too. Your goal as a coach (we think; we're not college basketball coaches) is to keep the in-state talent in-state. Right now, three of the big-name dudes to emerge from PG County recently—Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and Chris Wright—are balling/have balled down the Metro line at Georgetown. This job has a talent pipeline. Who's gonna get the chance to exploit it?

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