Gary Williams May Have Taken the Standards With Him When He Left Maryland

Need more evidence that things are going to change in College Park now that Gary Williams has left? Look no further than today's announcement that Dalonte Hill is joining Maryland as an assistant coach. Hill was a player and coach of DC-area AAU team DC Assault before taking an assistant job at Charlotte; he was then hired by Kansas State, reportedly for $420,000 a year, a year before DC Assault player Michael Beasley joined him Manhattan.

Hill had been very interested in working as an assistant under Gary Williams when a position opened a year before he took the KSU job; he wasn't interviewed. Williams was later quoted in an extensive interview, saying:

"To bring Beasley, it cost $450,000, for sure," he said. "We know that. We didn't have $450,000. So we are not going to get Beasley."

There's more to this than Williams just not choosing to hire Hill. Williams was never comfortable around the AAU circuit, and the coaches weren't particularly thrilled with him. Most were diplomatic about it interviews, but the guy in charge of DC Assault definitely took it personally, as the same article showed:

The king of the D.C. Assault empire is Curtis Malone, a former Parkdale High point guard who co-founded D.C. Assault in 1993. Since then, he has helped send more than 60 players to Division I schools.

Malone said he has talked with Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski more than 10 times in the past 18 months, and Georgetown's Thompson more than 30 times in that span.

"I have probably talked to Gary Williams two times in my life," Malone said. "Our relationship is fine. We just don't have one."

Malone said he has never told a recruit not to go to Maryland but said if he knew Williams a little better, "if a parent or family asked, I probably could say more or better things."

Needless to say, Curtis Malone just a got a lot more pull in College Park. Now a lot has changed since Hill first wanted the Maryland job – a new athletic director, for one thing. They're also (hopefully) paying Mark Turgeon less than Williams, opening up more room in the budget for Hill, who could be taking a pay cut for all I know. But it's taking one of the sketchier parts of college basketball recruiting, one Williams specifically avoided, and basically embracing it. I hope it works out for you, Terrapins.

(If you're curious, here's the list of DC Assault alumni. There's a reason Malone doesn't brag about being tight with Roy Williams.)