With the retirement of former UNC head coach Dean Smith and the emergence of Maryland as a national powerhouse, Terrapin head coach Gary Williams and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski have created the premier coaching rivalry in college basketball.
Although each has found ways to lead teams to victory, the formula for this product differs greatly.
"The thing that Coach Williams does differently from Coach K is that he is more adamant on the sidelines as far as going up and down," Duke senior Casey Sanders said. "Coach K is more reserved as far as coaching style, but they're both effective."
Williams has sweat his way to 496 victories and 277 losses over his illustrious career. The Maryland alum left Ohio State University 14 years ago to coach at College Park, Md., despite the fact that the school was on NCAA sanctions.
Williams quickly built up the program, leading Maryland to consistent top-25 rankings by the end of the 1990s. It was not until the new millennium, however, that Williams finally led the Terps to the peak of college basketball. In 2002, he became the first coach since 1974 to lead his alma mater to the national title.
Conversely, Krzyzewski, or Coach K, as he is known at Duke, left his head coaching spot at West Point with a losing record, but Duke saw something special in him and he was hired.
Krzyzewski has led Duke to 11 Final Fours and three national championships in his time in Durham, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
However, what he and Williams do have in common is a knack for working the referees in their favor.
"I think both of them are something to reckon with as far as referees are concerned--the way they try to get calls for their teams," Sanders said.
Although Krzyzewski is known as the calmer coach, Duke freshman Shelden Williams said the Chicago native is not always mild tempered.
"He tries to kind of exploit emotions in the game," Shelden Williams said. "On the sidelines he can be calm, but at halftime and in the huddle he gets us fired up."
Shelden Williams said that although Krzyzewski can be in-your-face, he lets his players play the way they want to.
"Coach K's style is aggressive and to play hard," Shelden Williams said. "If you get caught up in a moment, let that moment take you. You don't always have to slow things down, and call plays. Go with the flow of the game."
Although the styles of the coaches greatly differ, one thing is for sure: The players will be ready to play tomorrow. Although the Terrapins won the first contest by 15 points, Gary Williams is not taking Duke lightly.
"If anyone thinks Duke won't be around during tournament time, they are sorely mistaken," he said.
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