10/18/2023 0 Comments Question mark man maryland![]() ![]() “I think I made Damon Evans look pretty smart,” Willard joked after hearing his team’s name called on Selection Sunday. That’s the vision athletic director Damon Evans must’ve had when he hired him last April. Pair that with the resources and recruiting base that Maryland possesses, and the sky’s the limit. Considering what he inherited, the consistency he coached with was remarkable. But Willard made the NCAA Tournament five of his last six seasons there, not including the tournament-less 2020 season in which he had his best squad. Compared to their competition, his Seton Hall teams were never chock-full of elite prospects. Willard’s reputation is a coach that gets the absolute most out of his players. Jahmir Young (#1) rips the ball loose from Indiana’s Jordan Geronimo (#22) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament at United Center on Main Chicago, Illinois. Francis (NY), blossomed into one of the team’s most important players. Even Patrick Emilien, a fifth-year journeyman who made previous stops at Western Michigan and St. Julian Reese quickly became one of the Big Ten’s most promising young forwards. A classic Kevin Willard team.Ĭoncerns about guard play were quelled by the explosion of Jahmir Young, who transferred from Charlotte and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. Nothing flashy, but they get the job done. This year’s Terps are physical, frequently press after made baskets and rely on the pick-and-roll. The Terps were full of question marks entering the season, but they answered enough to play an NCAA Tournament game on Thursday. That’s the identity his first team at Maryland has embraced. And if you want a coach with a chip on their shoulder, Willard’s your guy. There’s a natural chip that Maryland fans proudly wear on their shoulder. Of course it’s going to feel like a misfit in the Big Ten for a while. Maryland was a founding member of the ACC. Just eight games into the 2021-22 season, Turgeon and Maryland split ways.Įven in a world where other schools are waiting in line to join the Big Ten or SEC, there’s still a sense of estrangement for Terps fans in a primarily Midwestern league. But after earning just one regular-season title - a three-way tie - it became clear a change was inevitable. ![]() He was the replacement for Mark Turgeon, who coached seven full seasons in the Big Ten and never finished below eighth place. “He wanted his imprints on this program from the ground up - literally,” McHale said.įifteen years after getting his head coaching start, Willard’s hard work paid off when he accepted the Maryland job in 2022, a position he called a “top-10 job in college basketball, hands down” when he was introduced. He would take no shortcuts to prove himself. This was his team now, and no job was going to be too small for him. He refused to stop until enough coats had been applied to guarantee none of that dull, bleak maroon would bleed through. Willard rolled up his sleeves and got to work, rolling paint onto the walls through the wee hours of the night. It was a brighter, more positive hue that promised to open the locker room up and usher in a new era of Iona basketball. Off he went and back he came, returning with two cans of cream-colored paint. “OK Coach, you know, we can call a maintenance person or somebody -” McHale, in his early twenties and hoping to impress in his first assistant coaching role, was quick to agree. “I want to repaint the locker room,” assistant coach Dan McHale recalls Willard telling him one night. Too much of a reminder of the team that had won just two games the season prior. ![]() He had to completely rebuild Iona’s roster after it took a chance on an up-and-coming candidate with no prior experience as the leader of a college basketball program.Īnd just as irritating - the walls in the locker room were maroon. Kevin Willard inherited a mess at his first head coaching job. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |