Kevin Willard
- Thread starter Halldan1
- Start date
Is Dana a man or a woman?
There's were never overwhelming calls for Willard to be fired, just a couple a@@holes. Willard was a blessing even before winning, as he got us through the Gonzalez debacle and brought the program back to respectability.
With a brand new practice facility to be completed in a few years and the Big East on the upswing, I don't see Willard bolting if we have a successful season. I get the sense that his family really loves Westfield and compensation can always be adjusted.
I think you've selectively remembered his tenure here. There were more than a couple, and they weren't all a@@holes, either. He was at a crossroads and knew it, which is why that lowly Holy Cross job was a temptation. He was also essentially given an ultimatum by Pat Lyons: Win now or it's over. He was on very thin ice.
Dana O'Neil is a woman, and for my money, one of the better sportswriters out there today.
Dana ONeil is a women and Espn contributor. She has written an excellent book on the Big East that is newly released. great stocking stuffer.
That’s not true. And he flirted with Holy Cross and South Florida for that reason. If anything it is a good example on why coaches need time, why you should give them time to properly evaluate them. And many fans don’t do that. Some of the folks who will point that to re: defending Willard will be just as quick here to judge another coach early in his tenure, even one that has a resume.
If you polled the board in the 6 months following the Marquette loss, I’ll bet 90% wanted him fired, maybe more. And it wasn’t Pat Lyons that supposedly saved Willard, but rather Seton Hall’s unwillingness to pay an expensive buyout that Willard’s agent negotiated for him. The “secret extension.” So I guess we can thank Willard’s agent for all this.
We were lucky, plain and simple.
Pat Lyons made the decision not to fire Kevin Willard and give him one more year.
It turned out to be the correct choice. If it didn't he might have been in jeopardy as well.
Our former AD was a Godsend.
It turned out to be the correct choice. If it didn't he might have been in jeopardy as well.
Our former AD was a Godsend.
I wasn't on this Forum in Willard's early years, I spent my time on Chris McManus's site. Posters on Chris's site were much more supportive I guess.
I witnessed a huge turnaround in the integrity of our program after Gonzo's total destruction of our reputation. Many fans were happy that Willard settled things down and were willing to give him a longer rope.
It was much more bad than good and even the good camp was showing cracks.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, his Dad was not only a good coach but also a great guy. We all want to win but there’s more to coaching student athletes and KW has brought those qualities to Seton Hall. Four years into his tenure this board was unbearable. You have to remember the first 3 years were impossible since the program was an absolute mess. All of his hard work has definitely paid off, one look at the kids considering SHU is amazing. I think their are a lot of posters with egg on their face the past few years.
Money will usually be a big factor for coaches, but I do get the feeling that Willard would rather be at a school like SHU where he wouldn’t have the immense pressure that a Maryland would immediately put on you. Does anyone really think Willard could do better in terms so end results than what Turgeon did over the course of 10 years? Not to say he couldn’t but he could keep a nice thing going at SHU for a long time with the formula he’s been using (3 star/4 star HS recruits mixed with transfers) and probably have a perennial NCAA tourney team.
We’ll see. Let’s hope we have a great season that gives him a great resume bullet.
We’ll see. Let’s hope we have a great season that gives him a great resume bullet.
Absolutely right. Another example of misleading sports journalism
after 11 yrs and 1 tourn win wouldnt say any poster has an egg. id say 90% of schools fire him after marquette. maybe all the talks over firing is what kicked him into gear
We are on a definite roll this year. I would hate to see us lose Willard to Maryland.
But before we begin Canonization procedures let's not forget that he has a total of one NCAA victory over his tenure. Tied with Steve Pikiell.
that site was really great. cant believe its gone now that the team is actually doing well
Wow I haven't heard Chris McManus's name in ages. Where is he these days? Is he still writing about Seton Hall anywhere?
Bear in mind, Willard was only barely 35 when he took over a mess of a program. The first year he had talent. After that (and it was disappointing losing the last game to miss the tourney), I think fans were willing to give him some time.
But after 5 years of canary island recruits and missing out on all of the high level local recruits, people were getting impatient. Understandably so (I was one).
That being said, I really felt he turned a corner after the 2017 season when IW left. After missing out on almost all of the “jellyfam” recruits, he started to get players that fit his style.
Fast forward to the last few years and he understands the game of recruiting good kids but not waste time in elite players and play the transfer market. Success.
But it’s been a 7/8 year plan. And that can be hard for a pretty rabid fan base.
But after 5 years of canary island recruits and missing out on all of the high level local recruits, people were getting impatient. Understandably so (I was one).
That being said, I really felt he turned a corner after the 2017 season when IW left. After missing out on almost all of the “jellyfam” recruits, he started to get players that fit his style.
Fast forward to the last few years and he understands the game of recruiting good kids but not waste time in elite players and play the transfer market. Success.
But it’s been a 7/8 year plan. And that can be hard for a pretty rabid fan base.
Not a fair assessment considering what happened 2 years ago. Had to earn his stripes Gonzaga at home was a really bad draw. A lot of near misses, but I would sign up being in the tournament every year with a chance to win then no chance at all being left out. Of course I also would love to see a deep run.
And Ed Cooley!
Gonzaga is located in Spokane, Colorado?
Agreed. I think the consistency of our program over the past 6-7 years is a much better indicator of his abilities as a coach than some near misses in the tournament.
We also showed well in in every tournament game except Gonzaga, but such is the nature of a 1 and done knockout tournament. We had the BS missed travel then F1 that screwed us out of a chance to win the Arkansas game, gave Kansas all they could handle, and ran into the best shooter in college basketball on the wrong day.
I also think it's important to remember that Willard wasn't hired with the expectation of winning immediately. The immediate priority was to repair the program's reputation and the administration has the understanding that they were hiring a young coach who was going to need time to "learn on the job" and grow into the role. Yeah, it was tough to be patient, but we're seeing now that it was the right call. If we fired him in the usual 4-5 year cycle, we'd probably be at least 2 coaches past him right now while he's having success somewhere else.
The Arkansas loss in the 2017 NCAAs was a real crusher. If I remember correctly, we collapsed down the stretch. This Texas game gives me hope as I saw no such collapse, albeit December not March. But make no mistake, Texas is a very, very good team so this was a terrific win. That said, I actually happy Rutgers won just so we don’t take them lightly.
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I think it depends on your perspective. I woudn‘t call it a long time ago, especially when we have people in our orbit who want to pretend (or delude themselves) that 1989 wasn’t entirely another epoch.
If a fanbase and admin saw that BET disaster and was not very concerned then they just don't care.
Then the light went on and he's moving towards PJ type admiration.
Then the light went on and he's moving towards PJ type admiration.
How can you be absolutely right or absolutely wrong on this …. It’s entirely a matter of personal opinion/interpretation. Just because you think it’s misleading, doesn’t mean it is so to anyone else.
Was fun hearing coach's affection with and toward some former players after the Texas game.
Hazell comes by during the postgame radio interview and Kevin relates telling "Hazzy" how they needed a three from him in the game.
KW talks about being over the moon for Nzei after getting a late night text from him about a work promotion.
During the postgame presser, you can see Kevin's semi distracted half. Find out he's half watching a monitor with the Monmouth game when he remarks something like, "Did Shavar make that shot? Good for him."
Hazell comes by during the postgame radio interview and Kevin relates telling "Hazzy" how they needed a three from him in the game.
KW talks about being over the moon for Nzei after getting a late night text from him about a work promotion.
During the postgame presser, you can see Kevin's semi distracted half. Find out he's half watching a monitor with the Monmouth game when he remarks something like, "Did Shavar make that shot? Good for him."
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