GREENSBORO--It's one of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams' quirks. During games, he spends time with his back to the court as he lambastes his captive reserves about what the guys on the floor are doing wrong.

All that lecturing was not for nothing Sunday. Forced to play two lightly used subs, Williams saw one, Mike Jones, bury a key 3-pointer and the other, Mike Grinnon, hit two crucial free throws to help complete a wild overtime win over Duke for the ACC Tournament championship.

"You always tell guys, 'You're going to get a chance,' " the coach said with a smile. "If they're in your program, you don't know when it's going to come. I didn't know it was going to be the ACC championship game."

Williams blasts his bench because he can't stand just watching a game. He has to be teaching or learning all the time.

"If you're a smart player, you learn from your opponents," said Williams, a former Maryland guard in his 15th year as the coach of his alma mater. "I've always thought that. I watch as many games as I can so I can watch other coaches coach."

One coach Williams watches intently is Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. He admires a man whose teams had won three national championships and a record five straight ACC tournaments going into Sunday.

In 2002, Williams guided Maryland to a national title. On Sunday, he matched another trophy in Krzyzewski's trophy case. It's a big step in what sometimes has been a lonely effort by Williams to have his program considered an equal to Duke. Maryland had not won an ACC Tournament since 1984, when Len Bias played and Charles "Lefty" Driesell coached.

After Sunday's game, with Maryland fans chanting "Gary, Gary," Williams made his first trip to the podium to collect a tournament title. It's a journey he started as a player in the first ACC Tournament played in Greensboro after it moved from N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum in 1967.

Winning the league tournament made Williams appreciate how impressive Duke's record is.

"To win five straight ACC Tournament championships is incredible," he said. "I don't think we will ever see that again in the ACC."

Denying Duke a sixth title was a striking accomplishment for a young team that once looked like it wouldn't even be invited to the NCAA Tournament, let alone earn the ACC's automatic bid.

On Feb. 28, Maryland was 14-11 and appeared one loss from being left out of the NCAA for the first time in 11 years. Then Maryland finished with wins over N.C. State and Virginia to reach seven ACC victories. That appeared to assure that Maryland would make the NCAA field, and the Terrapins' inspired play here behind the leadership of point guard and tournament MVP John Gilchrist erased any doubt, even if Maryland had lost to Duke.

Williams thought his underrated squad might beat Duke. He knew it wouldn't quit. His team had come from 19 down at halftime to beat N.C. State in Saturday's semifinals. The Terps led at halftime Sunday and fought back to force overtime after Duke led by 12 with 3:30 left.

"Their team spirit was the thing that won it for them," Krzyzewski said. "When you get beat by a team that shows that, you just shake their hands and congratulate them."

How he brought that spirit out speaks to how much Williams has learned and how well he can teach. He started the emotion surging himself, bouncing like a man on a pogo stick after the win over Virginia on March 7. All season, he coaxed Maryland to fulfill the potential few others saw in a team with nine freshmen and sophomores.

"We spent time every day talking about how we were getting better," Williams said. "It didn't always show because of the teams we were playing in our league. You are playing a top-20 team almost once a week. You don't always get the reward of winning all the time. The week before the ACC Tournament, we won two games we probably needed to win. Then we came down here with a lot of confidence."

Maryland got that confidence from their coach.

"When you have young players, you take more of a role in those types of situations," Williams said. "You don't have the veterans telling the young players, 'We're getting better.' The coach has to say it. It's always better coming from the players than coming from the coach because they are their peers. But that was my role this year. I had to try to make them believe it."

They believed because Williams doesn't doubt.

"He's a fighter, and his teams don't quit," Krzyzewski said. "That's what his kids displayed today. They played like their coach, and as a result they were all rewarded."