Gary Williams produced plenty of NBA players during his time as Maryland basketball’s coach, including more than a few who he developed from raw players into pros. One guy who might’ve been on the list had he’d taken Williams’ advice? Ekene Ibekwe.
During Tony Skinn’s appearance last week on the DC Coaches Podcast, Ibekwe’s name came up. Skinn, a Nigerian native like Ibekwe, played in the Olympics with the former Terps big man.
“Ekene was on the team. That was my guy,” said Skinn, the former Maryland assistant coach, now head coach at George Mason.
STOP! Before you read the rest, take 10 seconds to sign up for our free Terps email newsletter here so you don’t miss the next news. Or if you’re not a VIP member, join here now and get the scoop!
Ibekwe had an excellent career at Maryland, becoming the fourth Terp to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks. And he still ranks fifth in school history in blocked shots. But he had an unorthodox jumper, putting it lightly, that started with the ball behind his head.
“His jump shot, I couldn’t get him to change,” Williams said. “And I said, ‘Look, you want to go to the NBA?’ Because he could run, he could jump. He was 6-10. He was an athlete. And he’s smart as hell, you know? I mean, his father, I think, was a professor at UCLA or something. Obinna [Ekezie], I had guys talk to him about his shot. You know, pros that you know had played at Maryland. And he goes, he says, ‘No, I can do this.’ He said, ‘I’ve got it figured out. I can do it.’ And it kept him out of the NBA.
Skinn added, “Yeah, Ekene was on that team. And hopefully –we’re in a group chat, a bunch of guys were in a group chat, so hopefully he’s not watching this podcast.”
Skinn, whose George Mason team is 21-6, also recalled being overlooked by Williams as a high school player at Takoma Academy (Md.).
“I’ve been fortunate enough as a 5-11-and-a-half, six-foot guard on, you know, on my best day, to have a chance to play at the highest level. I know that’s why coach, Coach Williams didn’t recruit me back in high school. I was too short … I was teammates with Tamir Goodman. You guys were recruiting me,” he said.
“That was,” Williams said, “… I’m blaming my assistant coaches.”
Skinn was asked what he would’ve done after his Final Four run as a player at Mason, if the landscape was the same as it is today.
“If I would have had an extra year after our Final Four run, you kidding me?” he said. “I would have went to go play for Coach Williams.”
More below from Williams on a time he wanted to fight fans in the stands, Skinn on tampering and more: