Virginia Tech basketball: Buzz Williams to Texas A&M is official

The worst-kept secret in college basketball is officially a secret no more as Buzz Williams is the new head coach for the Texas A&M Aggies.

Williams, in five years as head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies, compiled a record of 100-69 and was 44-46 in ACC play. Don’t be fooled by that ACC record, though, as Williams inherited one of the worst situations in college basketball and in his first season the Hokies went 2-16 in ACC play. In each year afterward, the Hokies won at least 10 games in the ACC, culminating with this season’s 26-9 overall record and 12-6 mark in league play. Had the Hokies not lost Justin Robinson for an extended period of time, there’s no doubt the ACC record would have been a win or two better this season.

And, most importantly, Williams just gave Virginia Tech its best three-year run in program history, taking the Hokies to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and just fell short from getting to the Elite Eight.

The rumors have swirled for months, even years in some circles, that Williams would head to a Texas school at some point and it finally happened. This is a tough pill to swallow for Hokie fans because of Williams’ success in Blacksburg and his involvement in the community.

Texas A&M isn’t a basketball powerhouse, but neither was Virginia Tech when Williams came to town. The money Williams will likely receive and the allure of returning to his roots proved too much for Virginia Tech to overcome in this case.

Now, the search is on for Williams’ replacement. While we have a pretty good idea who the replacement may be, we will wait to see how the search plays out and report more as it becomes official.

The two early leaders in the clubhouse do appear to be former Duke player and assistant, Steve Wojciechowski, who also happens to be the current head coach of Marquette. If you’ll remember, the Hokies and athletic director Whit Babcock plucked Williams from Marquette. Another contender appears to be Kevin Willard of Seton Hall, a Rick Pitino protégé, who has done a good job turning Seton Hall around and has four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

One thing is certain; the Hokies are in a much better position to find a solid replacement because of the work Williams did in Blacksburg.

We will have more on Williams’ time in Blacksburg in the coming days.

So, Hokies, what do you think?