I’m a Maryland grad, and I briefly covered Kevin Willard when he coached at Seton Hall, so I find myself following the Maryland basketball drama this week with deep curiosity.
It’s the rare story that perfectly combines the thrill of the NCAA Tournament and the theater of the sport’s coaching carousel, all while revealing what’s at the core of this business and in the hearts of the fans.
Willard has been negotiating in the media—not only for a contract extension but also for more funding for his program. But with Maryland set to face No. 1 seed Florida tonight, some Terps fans are growing tired of the act.
To backtrack: Maryland is in the Sweet 16 thanks to a buzzer-beating shot off the window by freshman star Derik Queen against Colorado State. It’s Willard’s first time ever reaching the Sweet 16 and only Maryland’s second trip to the regionals in more than 20 years.
At the start of the tournament, Willard’s name was linked to the opening at Villanova, which prompted a report that he and Maryland were working on a contract extension.
Then a funny thing happened: SMU poached Maryland athletic director Damon Evans. In essence, Maryland’s athletic department is currently rudderless, or at least without a captain, to use a better nautical metaphor.
Willard, in his typical plainspoken fashion (this will be key later), decided to scoop the Evans news before it was official.
“He’s probably going to SMU,” Willard said the day before Maryland’s tournament opener. “So it’s kind of tough to negotiate with somebody that’s maybe not here. But I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That’s what I’m focused on right now. That’s why probably a deal hasn’t gotten done, because I want to see—I need to see—fundamental changes done. I want this program to be great. I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there are things that need to change.”
He was talking about ensuring the athletic department commits more resources to men’s basketball if it’s serious about being nationally competitive.
“With a football program, with a really good women’s program, with a phenomenal lacrosse and soccer program, I don’t want to take away from those programs,” Willard said on a radio appearance Tuesday. “But at the same time, in men’s basketball, there are schools out there that are going to be able to do things that we can’t do. I don’t want someone telling me—especially since I don’t have an athletic director—I don’t want someone telling me we’re going to do it. I want it put in my contract.”
And if not? Well, up the road in Pennsylvania, there may be a school with a basketball legacy where he wouldn’t have to defer to the football team.
Listen: Maryland is a basketball school. Its move to the Big Ten 10-plus years ago was a football-minded move, and the Terps frequently make bowl games but will never compete on the same level as Ohio State and Michigan. With the revenue-sharing era in college athletics about to arrive, Willard is arguing for what he believes Maryland basketball needs.
I think the New York/New Jersey frankness with which he speaks is turning off a lot of people in the D.C. suburbs. And if not for the timing of Evans’ departure or the Villanova leverage piece, fans might see Willard as a hero fighting for the program’s future.
Instead, we get message board crazies calling for his firing. In the middle of the Sweet 16. They’ll be justified if he flees for Villanova, but deep down, these fans want the same thing Willard says he wants in College Park.
Funny enough, Willard wouldn’t go near the topic in his press conference on Wednesday.
Why have you felt like bringing this discussion into the open has been the best way to advocate for your program?
“Well, I’ll be honest, I think our biggest thing is we gotta stop (Walter) Clayton. He is really good. He shoots the basketball going left 48%.”
I guess we’re back to the task at hand.
