As college basketball teams begin conference play, Buzz Williams and his Maryland basketball team are falling way short of the mark.
Texas A&M fans know exactly what a Buzz Williams system looks like. Prioritize defense and hustle. That hasn't panned out well for Maryland thus far, and the numbers are quite alarming. Eli Cohen of InsideMDSports reports that Maryland shot less than 30% from the field and has lost six of its last eight games.
This doesn't surprise Texas A&M basketball fans, but the numbers here are uglier with Maryland compared to Texas A&M.
Buzz Williams' honeymoon with Maryland basketball is quickly coming to an end
The Terps are the worst-shooting team in the Big Ten at 40.2 percent. As Jeff Ermann of InsideMDSports reports (subscription required), we're on pace to see Maryland's worst team in decades. Williams is still confident that Maryland's deep range shooting percentage will grow. Chances are that if his team's shooting is this ugly now, it won't change later on.
Texas A&M fans know too well that Buzz emphasized 2-pointers instead of 3-pointers. This was his same mentality at the beginning of the season for Maryland, and the numbers show that his philosophy is a mess.
Last season, the Aggies were near dead-last in three-point shooting percentage with 30.7%. The only other team below them was LSU. Rough and tough basketball may have worked for a bit, but it can't be your only philosophy for successful basketball.
Texas A&M fans left Buzz with a sarcastic good riddance, especially after Buzz admitted to recruiting Myles Rice while he was still coaching at Texas A&M. Even though this didn't necessarily violate any NCAA guidelines, this was seen by virtually every A&M fan as bad sportsmanship.
On the other hand, every Texas A&M fan is eager to see what will happen in Bucky McMillan's first year. It was a tough ask to get players like Rueben Dominguez, Rashaun Agee and Pop Issacs, but it might be worth the rebuilding process to see what McMillan can do with A&M moving forward.