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Buzz Williams

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Buzz Williams
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamVirginia Tech
ConferenceACC
Record36–38
Biographical details
Born (1972-09-01) September 1, 1972 (age 52)
Greenville, Texas
Alma materOklahoma City University (B.S., 1994)
Texas A&M University–Kingsville (M.S., 1999)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994–1998Texas–Arlington (assistant)
1998–1999Texas A&M–Kingsville (assistant)
1999–2000Northwestern State (assistant)
2000–2004Colorado State (assistant)
2004–2006Texas A&M (assistant)
2006–2007New Orleans
2007–2008Marquette (assistant)
2008–2014Marquette
2014–presentVirginia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall184–123
Tournaments8–5 (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.[1] 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.[2]

Background and personal life

Brent Langdon Williams grew up in Celina, Texas.[3] 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.[3] 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.[4] The Chicago Sun-Times characterized it as a "head-scratching move to an ACC bottom-feeder."[5] 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.[5] At Virginia Tech, he replaced James Johnson.


2014-2015 Season

In Williams' first season, the team finished 15th in the ACC with a 2–16 conference record, matching the lowest ACC win total in Virginia Tech history. However, with several true freshmen playing a significant amount of minutes, a young nucleus was established. Expectations grew further when Williams landed commitments from Maryland transfer, Seth Allen, and Zach LeDay from South Florida University. Both became eligible in the 2015-16 season, Williams' second at Virginia Tech.

2015-2016 Season

After a slow start to the season, the team quickly improved, as several new recruits 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 had continued success in the ACC, 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 conference play; an improvement of 8 wins from the previous year.

On July 13, 2016, Athletic Director, Whit Babcock announced that Virginia Tech and Buzz Williams had agreed to a contract extension through the 2022-23 season. At the same press conference, Buzz also announced his establishment of a new endowment and scholarship for the university. The Buzz’s Bunch Scholarship Endowment will be awarded annually to an undergraduate student at Virginia Tech in any field of study who is registered at the school with a disability. Also, The Buzz and Corey Williams Family Student-Athlete Scholarship – In Memory of T. Marshall Hahn will be awarded annually to an undergraduate female student-athlete at Virginia Tech.[6]

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
2016–17 Virginia Tech 6-1 0–0
Virginia Tech: 37–38 (.456) 12–24 (.333)
Total: 186–124 (.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

References

  1. ^ http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10648381/buzz-williams-leave-marquette-golden-eagles-coach-virginia-tech-hokies?src=mobile
  2. ^ "Marquette happy with its unknown Buzz".
  3. ^ a b "Norman - Williams". Amarillo Globe-News. June 11, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  4. ^ Williams Left Marquette for Virginia Tech and Many Wonder... Why?, accessed December 25, 2015
  5. ^ a b New Set of Challenges for Marquette's Steve Wojciechowski
  6. ^ "Williams Earns Contract Extension at Virginia Tech, Family Endows Two Scholarships". www.hokiesports.com. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
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