Well that didn’t take long

[LeftCoastPirates]

After a tough three game stretch and an upcoming date with #16 UCLA, Willard is already complaining about the schedule.

Not easy for a Tiger to change his stripes. But at least he complained on his “weekly show”, never thought I would see the day where he would be open to his own media platform. Unless that was another stipulation that came with the new contract.

https://247sports.com/college/maryl...evin-Willard-rethinking-scheduling-200383651/

Also on his show he commented on Maryland's 3-for-24 first half against Tennessee: "I had never seen 3-for-24 in a box score before, so I kind of I was sitting there and I kind of I taped it up onto the whiteboard, and I told the guys, 'You know guys, this is something to be proud of. I don't think I've ever in the history of basketball seen something that's 3-24.' That was interesting.”

Maybe not 3-24, but in his first season at the Hall, his Pirates shot 3-26 from 3 in a 6 point loss at the Rock to Syracuse (61-55).

 

[queso CFH]

this is a very weird post. let the man be. i wish the best for him

 

[nutterforthree]

Always about the schedule with him.

Regardless, it is definitely becoming clear to me that Willard is a really good coach and we were very lucky to have him. I find myself rooting for Maryland now despite him mailing it in at the end of last year.

 

[hallgrad80]

That’s who Kevin is , complaining about the schedule . I would assume he will have a bigger say in future scheduling as part of his contract negotiations with Md.

 

[JTSHU]

Always about the schedule with him.

Regardless, it is definitely becoming clear to me that Willard is a really good coach and we were very lucky to have him. I find myself rooting for Maryland now despite him mailing it in at the end of last year.

Or he could have better players. We prob perform the same w him here this year

 

[NYShoreGuy]

That’s who Kevin is , complaining about the schedule . I would assume he will have a bigger say in future scheduling as part of his contract negotiations with Md.

He schededuled ucla due to cronin his doing

 

[MBF72]

Or he could have better players. We prob perform the same w him here this year

Perhaps, though I think he really would have chewed out some of the guys for early lackadaisical play. Maybe even leave some guys home for a game as he did in his mid years with us.

 

[Blueswayedshus]

Good coach, ok, but not great, big time excuse maker and he thought that his snarky comments were so amusing. Most of the time they weren’t. I’m glad things worked out the way they did.

 

[williaza01]

Sha complained about our schedule about 3 weeks ago…

 

[doctorcb12]

Yeah but in Sha’s defense a lot of games were out of his control. He only chose the buy games.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

After a tough three game stretch and an upcoming date with #16 UCLA, Willard is already complaining about the schedule.

Not easy for a Tiger to change his stripes. But at least he complained on his “weekly show”, never thought I would see the day where he would be open to his own media platform. Unless that was another stipulation that came with the new contract.

https://247sports.com/college/maryl...evin-Willard-rethinking-scheduling-200383651/

Also on his show he commented on Maryland's 3-for-24 first half against Tennessee: "I had never seen 3-for-24 in a box score before, so I kind of I was sitting there and I kind of I taped it up onto the whiteboard, and I told the guys, 'You know guys, this is something to be proud of. I don't think I've ever in the history of basketball seen something that's 3-24.' That was interesting.”

Maybe not 3-24, but in his first season at the Hall, his Pirates shot 3-26 from 3 in a 6 point loss at the Rock to Syracuse (61-55).

UCLA wins and the “swoon” is official? And it’s not even Jan.

 

[shu09]

I give KW 3-4 more years until he's run out of town. I saw some MD fans online after the Tennessee game saying how proud they were that the team rallied and "didn't quit," only to fall short. I chuckled to myself and said get used to it. The slow start and furious comeback that falls short is a Willard staple.

Just wait until he starts criticizing the Big Ten office for having four of his next six league games on the road.

 

[Halldan1]

Mon Nov 7		231	Niagara	W, 71-49			Home	1-0
Thu Nov 10		306	Western Carolina	W, 71-51			Home	2-0
Tue Nov 15		330	Binghamton	W, 76-52			Home	3-0
Sat Nov 19		61	Saint Louis	W, 95-67			Neutral	4-0
Sun Nov 20		43	Miami FL	W, 88-70			Neutral	5-0
Fri Nov 25		293	Coppin St.	W, 95-79			Home	6-0
Tue Nov 29		240	Louisville	W, 79-54			Away	7-0
Fri Dec 2		21	Illinois	W, 71-66			Home	8-0	1-0
Tue Dec 6		34	Wisconsin	L, 64-59			Away	8-1	1-1
Sun Dec 11		3	Tennessee	L, 56-53			Neutral	8-2

 

[setonball46]

You dudes are legit obsessed just having the same convo over and over in your own heads. We have enough issues with our current team.

 

[TomWall]

You dudes are legit obsessed just having the same convo over and over in your own heads. We have enough issues with our current team.

No, just obsessed with getting a reaction from the Willard groupies!

 

[Polk_High]

Willard Derangement Syndrome is real

 

[SHUMatt]

Always about the schedule with him.

Regardless, it is definitely becoming clear to me that Willard is a really good coach and we were very lucky to have him. I find myself rooting for Maryland now despite him mailing it in at the end of last year.

I agree that Willard is a good coach. On the other hand, I actually root against Maryland because of how Willard mailed it in on us last year. To me he quit on the team. I don't root for quitters.

 

[statenman]

I wish him the best too. But I'm rooting for RU when Maryland comes to NJ.

 

[setonball46]

No, just obsessed with getting a reaction from the Willard groupies!

I mean you only post on these threads, cuckoo for cocoa puffs. We just end up having the same circular conversation. Insert "Its a message board you don't have to read it"

 

[Gohall129]

Willard brought all of us a lot of happiness through Seton hall basketball. He put the school back on the map. That being said….

His ego kept a big part of the fan base from ever being fully on his supporter train. Winners hold themselves accountable. KW slacked in that regard.

KW quitting on Seton Hall on a public stage with a 40 point performance in the NCAA tournament is why he will continue to be trashed on the board. That won’t change. His January swoons and schedule excuses will continue to be brought up. You guys don’t need to keep saying “we wish him well” to feed your moral compasses

 

[shu09]

Willard brought all of us a lot of happiness through Seton hall basketball. He put the school back on the map. That being said….

His ego kept a big part of the fan base from ever being fully on his supporter train. Winners hold themselves accountable. KW slacked in that regard.

KW quitting on Seton Hall on a public stage with a 40 point performance in the NCAA tournament is why he will continue to be trashed on the board. That won’t change. His January swoons and schedule excuses will continue to be brought up. You guys don’t need to keep saying “we wish him well” to feed your moral compasses

Sums it up. Good coach, elevated the program back to respectability. But the same old patterns that cropped up every year leave a segment of the fan base feeling he could have (and should have) done more. Combine that with the fact that he just wasn't a very likable guy, the way he treated Dan and the most passionate SH fans on this site, and you get what you see here.

 

[Hall-O-Daze]

I will grant everyone his exit was cringe worthy, but Kevin left this program significantly better than how he found it. Shortcomings in the tournament aside, he has the second most wins of any head coach in our basketball program. He passed PJ's total in what, a dozen fewer games? He earned his shot at UMD, end of story.

 

[Piratz]

@LeftCoastPirates I thought this thread was going to be about a return to programming, lol…

 

[TomWall]

I agree that Willard is a good coach. On the other hand, I actually root against Maryland because of how Willard mailed it in on us last year. To me he quit on the team. I don't root for quitters.

That!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TomWall]

Sums it up. Good coach, elevated the program back to respectability. But the same old patterns that cropped up every year leave a segment of the fan base feeling he could have (and should have) done more. Combine that with the fact that he just wasn't a very likable guy, the way he treated Dan and the most passionate SH fans on this site, and you get what you see here.

Agreed and the sad part is much of his limitations were due to his stubbornness and ego.

 

[LeftCoastPirates]

@LeftCoastPirates I thought this thread was going to be about a return to programming, lol…

Lol…felt like I had to pay some respects to the old “Deep Thoughts with Kevin Willard” segment.

And I mean. What fun would it be breaking down Sha’s comments? When they suck he just comes out and tells you that the team sucked, including himself, and even points out the obvious player or two that struggled.

Willard just made it so much easier to have interesting content. I even had a laugh when reading the article, how they quoted him word for word. He would start a sentence with two or three words, then interrupt that thought, and possibly do it again before answering a question that wasn’t even asked. If you are reading it for the first time, you are saying to yourself, did the author proof read this. This isn’t a full sentence….that can’t be correct.

 

[Burnsly]

Name a coach who doesn't complain about the schedule. It's all part of not setting the bar too high. Coaching 101. As far a ego's go, Willard is probably in the middle of the pack amongst D1 college coaches. I'll concede that his stubbornness is sometimes an issue.

 

[shu09]

Agreed and the sad part is much of his limitations were due to his stubbornness and ego.

Not unlike most college basketball coaches though. They think they're the smartest guys in the room and might spew more BS than politicians, which is saying something.

 

[dehere23]

Sums it up. Good coach, elevated the program back to respectability. But the same old patterns that cropped up every year leave a segment of the fan base feeling he could have (and should have) done more. Combine that with the fact that he just wasn't a very likable guy, the way he treated Dan and the most passionate SH fans on this site, and you get what you see here.

This. And the notion that he always had his foot out the door. Now, that's true for many coaches. But a fanbase generally doesn't like that. It is the popular narrative now because he's gone, and because of how he left, but a group of us have been saying this for years, often to criticism. Holy Cross early. South Florida after IW left and there was a risk Angel would not return his senior season (and there was enough "smoke" with that one that I believe it is true). Virginia Tech.

 

[TomD82]

He schededuled ucla due to cronin his doing

And it is a home game for him! Geez.

 

[Halldan1]

Kenpom

18 Maryland

8-2

1-1

+20.77

Wed, vs 8 UCLA 9:00 PM

(W, 71-70, 53%)

 

[Seton75]

..but Kevin left this program significantly better than how he found it...

Reputation wise, 1000 times yes. But the roster kw inherited probably a little better than what he left or at worst even.

 

[Hall-O-Daze]

Reputation wise, 1000 times yes. But the roster kw inherited probably a little better than what he left or at worst even.

I can agree with that. He left the cupboard pretty bare.

 

[JTSHU]

Did willard have any 2022 recruits? The ones from 2021 left for mid major programs other than Jahari whos doing nothing.

Oh forgot jaquan sanders and jaquan harris

 

[hbkmyr]

Did willard have any 2022 recruits? The ones from 2021 left for mid major programs other than Jahari whos doing nothing.

Oh forgot jaquan sanders and jaquan harris

He also had Percy Daniel’s who went to Tulane.

 

[Gohall129]

He also had Percy Daniel’s who went to Tulane.

Current stats from Percy:
1 game
5 minutes
2 pts
2 reb

 

[lloyde dobler]

He inherited a roster loaded with some questionable characters and left one lacking in talent. In between, pretty good. The CBA guys brought character and helped stabilize things, which can’t be understated, and the big class did the heavy lifting thereafter.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

Sums it up. Good coach, elevated the program back to respectability. But the same old patterns that cropped up every year leave a segment of the fan base feeling he could have (and should have) done more. Combine that with the fact that he just wasn't a very likable guy, the way he treated Dan and the most passionate SH fans on this site, and you get what you see here.

I think the bigger issue was the mediocre recruiting. That's part of not having a large bag filled up or a nice gig lined up for a family member. Willard often got judged by his hot streaks. When we got hot in the beginning of the year why did we cool off. When we started slow and finished strong, why didn't he do it all year. A lot of our main guys over the years had serious deficiencies in their game. Think of the guys we couldn't feed in the post because they didn't have great hands. Think of the guys who played guard who weren't great dribblers. Heck we had a lot of guys at the D1 level who couldn't figure out how to keep their foot off the sidelines when receiving a pass. You shouldn't have to coach that at the college level. We had a lot of guys who could be made better but were never going to stack up skillwise with the majority of their counterparts at Nova. The overwhelming majority of teams like that have hot and cold streaks. It's not as if we were consistently a top 2 big east team that finished 7th. The top 4 seeds in the tournament every year are more complete than the majority of teams we had. That leads to them being less streaky and more consistent. As far as being a likeable guy, I think the guys around him the most, who knew him the best, the players....they seemed to love him.

 

[Hall91]

Ha, I appreciate LCP finding these comments from Willard. At least Kevin is consistent. Good luck to him rest of way. Will be interesting to see if the Terps can maintain their early season momentum.

 

[cams555]

@LeftCoastPirates ,

Settle your gambling debt or whatever caused you guys to take a step back and come back like Jordan wearing the 4 5.

I think 2 seasons to figure it out is acceptable.

Respectfully,
The Pirate Crew