I will not type his name but it was a total con job. He last few recruiting classes has players now on their 3rd schools
Last years of prior coach
- Thread starter NYShoreGuy
- Start date
um.....everyone is on their 3rd school at all schools!
and, that is only a slight...very slight...exaggeration.
some, are on their 4th. So it balances out to 3.
I dont think that is a measure that can be used anymore
Brown
Arda
NgaNga
I think Kevin had some shitty classes, but both of your arguments (individuals and 3X transfer) are exactly what has happened in Sha’s first two classes.
Richmond was the only holdover. We now have 8 transferring out that Sha brought in. We have 2 that have stayed (thus far). We’re not quite in a gloating position.
That dope was swinging and missing like crazy and yet getting in the NCAA tournament. Now we get our rocks off on an NIT Championship where 25% of the field backed out.
What a stupid thread. Shame the original poster won't even type the name of a coach who brought the team he roots for to 5 NCAA tournaments, would've been 6 if not for covid.
What a stupid thread. Shame the original poster won't even type the name of a coach who brought the team he roots for to 5 NCAA tournaments, would've been 6 if not for covid.
Comparison doesn’t work. Willard and Co spent significant time and effort recruiting those players in a system that was designed to develop players for contributions in year 2 and 3
Sha took a risk on a guy in Nganga with an injury history, took Arda sight unseen and took brown as a practice player. This is the money ball era. For Sha last season he was able to create a roster where 3 guys were here at no cost
How long did it take Willard to get us to that first NCAA tournament appearance? 6 YEARS
Willard 1st two years:
Overall: 34-30
Big East: 15-21
Big East Standings: year 1 - 12th, year 2 - 10th
Tournaments: 2nd round of NIT in year 2
Holloway 1st two years:
Overall: 42-28
Big East: 23-17
Big East Standings: year 1 - 6th, year 2 - 4th
Tournaments: 1st round of NIT in year 1, NIT championship in year 2
This is the year for Sha. It’s not make or break but it’s defining. It’s his first team where it’s all “his guys”
There’s no sense making this comparison. The two coaches operated under completely different circumstances. One was able to recruit and develop over multiple seasons whereas the current coach gets to throw together a new roster every single year and hope something jells . I hope no one is foolish enough to think the previous coach would’ve been able even to run together his string of one-and-dones in this environment. It’s like they coached two different sports.
And you act as if they operated in the same competitive environment. That’s what’s more different than anything.
I think now it’s changed going into next year. Did you not know the majority of players at most of the schools this year. Of course we did. Always legal and players always went to highest bidder. Much of the movement was grad transfers like Tyrese moving on from us plus Bediako coming in. MU was the same as last year. CU was mostly the same. UConn went the grad transfer route. This is the year of major change.
Do you honestly believe in Willard’s first 3 years he wasn’t losing out to UConn Syracuse Louisville Notre Dame etc because they outbid us?
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he should given $, let's see if it equates to Ws. My guess not.
If Hazell and Pope were healthy that would be true. Also had some pretty bad dudes on that team.
I refuse to be coaxed into denigrating either Willard or Sha by comparing the two, particularly since Sha has only been our head coach for two years. Perhaps I hold a minority view but I am appreciative of where Willard took us during his 12 seasons at the helm - a perennial tournament team - especially from where we were coming when he was hired. Yes, there were frustrating parts of his tenure, and the end wasn’t great, but it does not take away from what I see as the overall positives we had while he was here.
The area in which I think Sha has an opportunity to shine is getting the team to rise to the occasion in big games - see St. Peter’s run in the Elite Eight and SHU’s NIT tournament run. He just feels like a big game coach. But Sha’s story at the Hall has yet to be written.
Bottom line is that Coach Sha doesn’t need to be built up by tearing down Kevin Willard.
The area in which I think Sha has an opportunity to shine is getting the team to rise to the occasion in big games - see St. Peter’s run in the Elite Eight and SHU’s NIT tournament run. He just feels like a big game coach. But Sha’s story at the Hall has yet to be written.
Bottom line is that Coach Sha doesn’t need to be built up by tearing down Kevin Willard.
And remember where those guys were rated....no one was unhappy about any of those players when we got them.
People are comparing competitive environment and performance. The whole point is the thread was stupid from its creation. Willard brought in mid-to-highly rated kids from HS in the last classes that turned out to be not very good. Sha has not brought in any killer talent from high school, except Coleman looks like he can be a solid BE player.
Whole point, thread is dumb and we’re hardly in a position right this moment to say Sha is knocking the cover off the ball that Willard dropped.
Whole point, thread is dumb and we’re hardly in a position right this moment to say Sha is knocking the cover off the ball that Willard dropped.
Hard to say we're in a better place than we were 24 months ago regardless who our coach is. The landscape has changed, for the first time you go out and get players for this year and this year only. That's how you have to build your roster now. If Willard was here now he'd fail doing things the way he was doing it then, but he probably wouldn't have done it that way because it is a losing battle. It's adapt or die. I hope I'm wrong but our current roster is not made up of win now guys. Long way to go with the portal, but our current roster is made up of guys who will likely have growing pains in 2024-2025 to thrive in 2025-2026 but they'll likely test the waters before definitely coming back. Unwatchable as a fan.
At the end of his tenure (hopefully after a long stint) we could potentially be saying that Sha is a better coach / motivator than Willard and he still not have an NCAA tournament win to show for it.
The St. Peter’s example can’t happen unless you make it to the dance. He can have some big game moments here or there. But you can’t play an entire BE season undermanned all the time and expect to make the tournament.
This is why getting snubbed last year hurts so much, even if you want to hold onto the NIT title as a consolation prize.
The St. Peter’s example can’t happen unless you make it to the dance. He can have some big game moments here or there. But you can’t play an entire BE season undermanned all the time and expect to make the tournament.
This is why getting snubbed last year hurts so much, even if you want to hold onto the NIT title as a consolation prize.
I'll never understand the Willard hate by some of the fans here. Is he a great coach? No. But he inherited an absolute dumpster fire from Bobby Gonzalez. The program was an embarrassment when Gonzalez was finished with it.
He stabilized the program, laid a solid foundation, won a Big East Tournament championship, and built a competitive program the right way. I love Holloway and he's a perfect fit for Seton Hall. he played here, and was an assistant under Willard. He has Seton Hall in his blood- Willard did not, and he shouldn't be faulted for that. I love Seton Hall. But Maryland is objectively a better job. Some here might not like that statement- too bad. Seton Hall has never been a program that wins because of flashy facilities, deep pocketed alumni, and a huge fanbase. We have won because we've had some very good coaches that understand what it takes to win at a school like Seton Hall. It may not work out for Kevin there, but they have much better facilities, resources, and they play in a conference that brings in more money (I'm not saying it's a better basketball conference- it's not).
We became one of the best player development schools in the country under him while doing it with facilities comparable to big high school programs- Carrington, Desi, Sanogo, Nzei, Quincy McKnight, MAMU, Rhoden, IKE, Romaro Gil. All guys ranked 3-stars or lower or outside of the top 100. Players that we will remember for a long time.
When Willard left, it worked out perfectly that Sha just made his run with St. Peter's. Willard did a good job, and then when he left he didn't just bury the program and leave it in a disaster. He handed the program over to a guy with Seton Hall in his blood. It was a good split at the right time for both parties. Kevin had probably reached his ceiling at Seton Hall, and Holloway was ready to return home.
He stabilized the program, laid a solid foundation, won a Big East Tournament championship, and built a competitive program the right way. I love Holloway and he's a perfect fit for Seton Hall. he played here, and was an assistant under Willard. He has Seton Hall in his blood- Willard did not, and he shouldn't be faulted for that. I love Seton Hall. But Maryland is objectively a better job. Some here might not like that statement- too bad. Seton Hall has never been a program that wins because of flashy facilities, deep pocketed alumni, and a huge fanbase. We have won because we've had some very good coaches that understand what it takes to win at a school like Seton Hall. It may not work out for Kevin there, but they have much better facilities, resources, and they play in a conference that brings in more money (I'm not saying it's a better basketball conference- it's not).
We became one of the best player development schools in the country under him while doing it with facilities comparable to big high school programs- Carrington, Desi, Sanogo, Nzei, Quincy McKnight, MAMU, Rhoden, IKE, Romaro Gil. All guys ranked 3-stars or lower or outside of the top 100. Players that we will remember for a long time.
When Willard left, it worked out perfectly that Sha just made his run with St. Peter's. Willard did a good job, and then when he left he didn't just bury the program and leave it in a disaster. He handed the program over to a guy with Seton Hall in his blood. It was a good split at the right time for both parties. Kevin had probably reached his ceiling at Seton Hall, and Holloway was ready to return home.
