NEW YORK – Standing not far from the famed Madison Square Garden court, Kevin Willard didn’t sound like a coach who had lost four decorated seniors from the first Seton Hall team to win an NCAA tournament game in 14 years.
But as he entertained reporters with several one-liners and quips amidst his answers at Big East Media Day, he seemed more like a seasoned comic performing at MSG’s Hulu Theater a couple of floors below.
Willard and the Pirates will get the chance to try out a lot of new material, er, players and lineup combinations, when The Hall opens the regular season Nov. 6 against Wagner at Walsh Gym. Seton Hall was picked eighth in the conference by the coaches because of its graduation losses, but a relaxed Willard seemed confident and playful as he addressed a swarm of media Thursday.
Before Zach Braziller of the New York Post could ask his entire question, which dealt with the loss of seniors such as Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez, Willard replied, “Are you gonna ask a positive question?”
Later, when the Asbury Park Press’ Jerry Carino asked how Willard was convinced by FOX Sports to be miked up for a Feb. 2 game at Butler, the coach said, “they gave me a nice bottle of wine.”
Still, The Hall’s ninth-year coach would have every reason to 'whine', given how much talent and experience are gone from the roster.
“I don’t think that’s where we’re going to end up,” Willard said of being picked eighth by his fellow coaches, “but for a preseason poll, which usually are pointless, that’s where we should have gotten picked."
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said of the 2018-19 season. “We’ll see, that’s what the games are for. … I have a lot of confidence in these guys.”
Willard added, “ and I like our potential.”
Especially when speaking about junior guard Myles Powell, who averaged 15.5 points and shot 37.9 percent from three-point range last season. Willard indicated that Powell is the only player already penciled into the starting lineup.
“If he has the year I think he will,” Willard said, “he’ll be a first team All-Big East player. Myles Powell is as good a guard as anybody in the country.”
Powell shares Willard’s confidence.
“It’s motivation,” he said of the low preseason expectations. “Each game is an opportunity. … It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Still, Willard admitted that other than Powell and post player Mike Nzei, he’s concerned about the mental toughness of the rest of his squad, after having a veteran roster that had been through the Big East grind for a long time.
“In this league,” Willard said, “you’re going to get beat down every once in awhile. It’s a hard schedule, you’re going to get beat down. I never doubted that those guys we’re going to bounce back. They had a very thick skin when it came to getting beat up."
“Myles Powell and Mike Nzei have been through it,” Willard added, “but the rest of the guys have to learn to be a little bit tougher, more mentally tough more than anything.”
With Powell as the starter at shooting guard, point-guard duties will be shared by Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight and freshman Anthony Nelson.
“Quincy’s much more of a point guard than Khadeen was,” Willard said. “He’s been playing the point guard spot since last year. Anthony Nelson has really impressed as well. They’re both good point guards.
“I like that position probably better than any position besides Myles,” Willard noted, “Anthony’s been a pleasant surprise. I love his toughness. He’s got great court vision. He’s probably the truest point guard I’ve probably ever had here.”
The coach said that sometimes he plans to play those two together, with McKnight playing off the ball.
Up front, now that Seton Hall won’t be able to dump the ball down low to Delgado over and over, the Pirates expect to get offense from 6-10 stretch forward Taurean Thompson. Willard says the Syracuse transfer is a “pick and pop guy.”
The coach added, “I don’t think you can replace Angel. That’s just not happening. … I know Saturday when we don’t get an offensive rebound for nine minutes (in an open scrimmage at Boston College), I’m going to be sitting there wishing for Angel to be there.”
Willard is expecting to get some post defense from 7-2 junior Romaro Gill, whom he called a “rim protector.” The coach added, “I think everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised with what they see from him.”
Some other issues addressed by Willard:
On playing fast: “We’re going to have to create points. That was something that hurt us last year. We were one of the worst teams in the league at creating turnovers. We're going to have to create opportunities. We want to play fast, but when we play teams like Creighton and Kentucky, we're going to have to play a little differently.”
On The Hall’s facilities: “We’re way behind on the facilities standpoint. We’ve done a lot of great things for the Olympic sports, which I think desperately needed to happen before anything else. We’re probably one of the only programs (in the Big East) that doesn’t have its own (practice) facility."
“We’re a little behind. We’ll get there. It’s one of those things where I think we need to sit down and kind of see what we really need and what makes economic sense. We’re kind of landlocked (so) it’s hard to build.”
On reserve guard Eron Gordon transferring to Valparaiso in the off-season: “Eron wanted to play more. I understood that. He understood that. I was thankful for everything he gave to the program. I’m happy that he landed someplace he wanted to be and is going to play more.”
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
But as he entertained reporters with several one-liners and quips amidst his answers at Big East Media Day, he seemed more like a seasoned comic performing at MSG’s Hulu Theater a couple of floors below.
Willard and the Pirates will get the chance to try out a lot of new material, er, players and lineup combinations, when The Hall opens the regular season Nov. 6 against Wagner at Walsh Gym. Seton Hall was picked eighth in the conference by the coaches because of its graduation losses, but a relaxed Willard seemed confident and playful as he addressed a swarm of media Thursday.
Before Zach Braziller of the New York Post could ask his entire question, which dealt with the loss of seniors such as Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez, Willard replied, “Are you gonna ask a positive question?”
Later, when the Asbury Park Press’ Jerry Carino asked how Willard was convinced by FOX Sports to be miked up for a Feb. 2 game at Butler, the coach said, “they gave me a nice bottle of wine.”
Still, The Hall’s ninth-year coach would have every reason to 'whine', given how much talent and experience are gone from the roster.
“I don’t think that’s where we’re going to end up,” Willard said of being picked eighth by his fellow coaches, “but for a preseason poll, which usually are pointless, that’s where we should have gotten picked."
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said of the 2018-19 season. “We’ll see, that’s what the games are for. … I have a lot of confidence in these guys.”
Willard added, “ and I like our potential.”
Especially when speaking about junior guard Myles Powell, who averaged 15.5 points and shot 37.9 percent from three-point range last season. Willard indicated that Powell is the only player already penciled into the starting lineup.
“If he has the year I think he will,” Willard said, “he’ll be a first team All-Big East player. Myles Powell is as good a guard as anybody in the country.”
Powell shares Willard’s confidence.
“It’s motivation,” he said of the low preseason expectations. “Each game is an opportunity. … It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Still, Willard admitted that other than Powell and post player Mike Nzei, he’s concerned about the mental toughness of the rest of his squad, after having a veteran roster that had been through the Big East grind for a long time.
“In this league,” Willard said, “you’re going to get beat down every once in awhile. It’s a hard schedule, you’re going to get beat down. I never doubted that those guys we’re going to bounce back. They had a very thick skin when it came to getting beat up."
“Myles Powell and Mike Nzei have been through it,” Willard added, “but the rest of the guys have to learn to be a little bit tougher, more mentally tough more than anything.”
With Powell as the starter at shooting guard, point-guard duties will be shared by Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight and freshman Anthony Nelson.
“Quincy’s much more of a point guard than Khadeen was,” Willard said. “He’s been playing the point guard spot since last year. Anthony Nelson has really impressed as well. They’re both good point guards.
“I like that position probably better than any position besides Myles,” Willard noted, “Anthony’s been a pleasant surprise. I love his toughness. He’s got great court vision. He’s probably the truest point guard I’ve probably ever had here.”
The coach said that sometimes he plans to play those two together, with McKnight playing off the ball.
Up front, now that Seton Hall won’t be able to dump the ball down low to Delgado over and over, the Pirates expect to get offense from 6-10 stretch forward Taurean Thompson. Willard says the Syracuse transfer is a “pick and pop guy.”
The coach added, “I don’t think you can replace Angel. That’s just not happening. … I know Saturday when we don’t get an offensive rebound for nine minutes (in an open scrimmage at Boston College), I’m going to be sitting there wishing for Angel to be there.”
Willard is expecting to get some post defense from 7-2 junior Romaro Gill, whom he called a “rim protector.” The coach added, “I think everyone is going to be pleasantly surprised with what they see from him.”
Some other issues addressed by Willard:
On playing fast: “We’re going to have to create points. That was something that hurt us last year. We were one of the worst teams in the league at creating turnovers. We're going to have to create opportunities. We want to play fast, but when we play teams like Creighton and Kentucky, we're going to have to play a little differently.”
On The Hall’s facilities: “We’re way behind on the facilities standpoint. We’ve done a lot of great things for the Olympic sports, which I think desperately needed to happen before anything else. We’re probably one of the only programs (in the Big East) that doesn’t have its own (practice) facility."
“We’re a little behind. We’ll get there. It’s one of those things where I think we need to sit down and kind of see what we really need and what makes economic sense. We’re kind of landlocked (so) it’s hard to build.”
On reserve guard Eron Gordon transferring to Valparaiso in the off-season: “Eron wanted to play more. I understood that. He understood that. I was thankful for everything he gave to the program. I’m happy that he landed someplace he wanted to be and is going to play more.”
COMMENTS
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
