Buzz Williams

Buzz Williams

Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Virginia Tech
Conference	ACC
Record	31–37
Biographical details
Born	(1972-09-01) September 1, 1972 Greenville, Texas
Alma mater	Oklahoma City University (B.S., 1994) Texas A&M University–Kingsville (M.S., 1999)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1998	Texas–Arlington (assistant)
1998–1999	Texas A&M–Kingsville (assistant)
1999–2000	Northwestern State (assistant)
2000–2004	Colorado State (assistant)
2004–2006	Texas A&M (assistant)
2006–2007	New Orleans
2007–2008	Marquette (assistant)
2008–2014	Marquette
2014–present	Virginia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	184–123
Tournaments	8–5 (NCAA)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big East regular season championship (2013)

Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams (born September 1, 1972) is an American basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies. He served as head men's basketball coach at Marquette from 2008 to 2014 and at New Orleans during the 2006–07 season, and as an assistant coach at the Texas-Arlington, Texas A&M–Kingsville, Northwestern State, Colorado State, and Texas A&M.

Background and personal life

Brent Langdon Williams grew up in Celina, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Oklahoma City University in 1994 and a master's degree in the same field at Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 1999. Williams married his wife, Corey Norman, in 2000. They have two daughters (Addyson and Zera) and two sons (Calvin and Mason). Williams received his nickname, Buzz, while attending Navarro College. He had so much energy that the coaches nicknamed him, "buzz."

Career at Marquette

Williams coached Marquette to a 25–10 record in the 2008–09 season, where they lost to the Missouri Tigers in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. He coached Marquette to a 22–12 record in the 2009–10 season, which ended with a close loss to the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

During the 2010–11 campaign, Williams led the Golden Eagles back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003. His team went 22–15 including a 9–9 Big East Conference record. They lost in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament to Louisville. Marquette received an at-large bid in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. There they defeated Xavier in the second round and Syracuse in the third round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen before they were defeated by North Carolina. After winning a share of the Big East Men's Regular Season, Marquette received an at-large bid in the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. There they earned come from behind victories over Davidson in the first round and Butler in the second round. In the Sweet Sixteen they defeated ACC regular season and conference champion Miami Hurricanes to earn a trip to Buzz Williams's first Elite Eight, where they lost to Syracuse.

The 2013–14 season was Williams' worst at Marquette, finishing 17–15 with a loss to Xavier in the Big East tournament.

Virginia Tech

Williams soon after departed for Virginia Tech and was named the new Hokie head coach on March 21, 2014, in a move that had other coaches and the national media questioning why he'd leave Marquette for the ACC's "stepchild program" in the words of The Washington Post. The Chicago Sun-Times characterized it as a "head-scratching move to an ACC bottom-feeder." Williams left behind a program which was relatively bare as there were only 9 scholarship players – none taller than 6'7" – the following year for new Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski. At Virginia Tech, he replaced James Johnson.

To some, his first season was a major disappointment, finishing 15th in the ACC with a 2–16 record. Marquette had never had a losing record in the Big East under Williams, and this matched Johnson's worst year for the most ACC losses in Virginia Tech history. However, the Hokie team established a young nucleus with several true freshmen starting and playing significant minutes. Expectations were further set higher after Williams was able to snag transfer commits from Maryland starter Seth Allen, and the highly talented South Florida Bull, Zach LeDay. They both became eligible the following year.

The Hokies opened 2015–16 with a disappointing home loss to the Alabama State Hornets in Blacksburg, but the team quickly improved, as several four-star recruits from their 2015 recruiting class began playing significant minutes along with the transfers. On January 4, 2016, the Hokies defeated their in-state rival and 4th ranked Virginia Cavaliers at home, marking Williams's biggest win at Virginia Tech to date. The team continued to play well through its ACC schedule, ending the regular season with another upset of a top-10 rival, this time the 7th ranked Miami Hurricanes. Williams' Hokies finished the regular season at 10-8 in ACC play; an eight win increase from the previous season.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
New Orleans Privateers (Sun Belt Conference) (2006–2007)
2006–07	New Orleans	14–17	9–9	4th (West)
New Orleans:		14–17 (.452)	9–9 (.500)
Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East Conference) (2008–2014)
2008–09	Marquette	25–10	12–6	5th	NCAA Second Round
2009–10	Marquette	22–12	11–7	5th	NCAA First Round
2010–11	Marquette	22–15	9–9	T–9th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2011–12	Marquette	27–8	14–4	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2012–13	Marquette	26–9	14–4	T–1st	NCAA Elite Eight
2013–14	Marquette	17–15	9–9	6th
Marquette:		139–69 (.668)	69–39 (.639)
Virginia Tech Hokies (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2014–present)
2014–15	Virginia Tech	11–22	2–16	15th
2015–16	Virginia Tech	20–15	10–8	T–7th	NIT Second Round
Virginia Tech:		31–37 (.456)	12–24 (.333)
Total:		184–123 (.599)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• Marquette profile
• Virginia Tech profile