Buzz Williams breaks down early challenges, mindset shift as he takes over Maryland in Big Ten debut

New Maryland coach Buzz Williams has gained a lot of experience since the start of his coaching career in the mid-90s. He has moved between many different teams, and as a result, he knows that there are early challenges when taking over a new team.

On Thursday, Williams sat down for a conversation with analyst Jon Rothstein at CBS Sports. He spoke about his preparation as a new head coach, as he has made the transition from Texas A&M to Maryland over the past few months.

"Yeah, I don’t know," Buzz Williams said. "What I’ve tried to do is, you know, like anybody else, what are you trading your time for. And, in what this has become, you can argue that when I was hired, it was somewhat late. Is it somewhat late because Coach Willard and Maryland went to the Sweet 16? Yes. Is it a week later because I was at Texas A&M and we were advancing in the tournament?

"Like, there are variables that are good variables. But, as it relates to the portal and some of the things that transpired? By the time you interview, by the time you get there, by the time you have the press conference, by the time you do the initial thrust of things you have to do, and you realize, okay, we need to have a team, that takes time."

Buzz Williams speaks about how he wants his Maryland Terrapins to play

As the coach of the Texas A&M Aggies, Buzz Williams helped lead the team to three straight appearances in March Madness. This past season, they were eliminated in the second round. Heading into his first season with Maryland, Williams spoke about how he wants to approach coaching his new team.

"What I’ve tried to do, as it relates to our league, is I don’t want to completely pass or delegate every part of the league to the staff and me not be a part. So, all of us are brand new to the Big Ten. And so, what we’ve tried to do is kind of divide up different things to study.

"I know there’s four new coaches, so study their previous team. But, how can we get familiar with at least the paradigm in which they play on both ends of the floor?"

Buzz Williams went on to admit that the Terrapins are probably behind where they should be because of the coaching transition. However, he is confident they can get to where they need to be in the next six weeks.