Will Kevin Willard get a standing O in his first game at the Rock next season?

[Hall91]

general question to the board. I figured it was unlikely he’d ever end up at the Rock again in a game against SHU where fans would have a chance to acknowledge him positively or negatively.

When thinking about the response, keep in mind, he ended up with more career Ws than PJ.

 

[williaza01]

No way

 

[hbkmyr]

No. He’ll get a polite applause. Which is appropriate.

 

[NYC Pirate]

No. He’ll get a polite applause. Which is appropriate.

Agreed. Mixed reaction. Not exactly Pat Riley coming back to MSG.

 

[Pirates1991]

Very warm welcome

 

[Pirate Russ]

I will cheer him. In addition to bring us out of basketball hell, he has said nothing but nice things about our school and his experience there. The only issue i had with him was how he left. I just don't think we were prepared as well as we should have been against TCU.

 

[STLPirate12]

I expect so. SHU should, and I expect will, play a tribute video for him at the first media timeout and our fans will follow that up with an ovation.

 

[TrueBlue1989]

Very warm welcome. He did a great job for us.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

I would hope we bring back as many of his players as we could the first time around. Soften him up to only to steal a W from him

 

[Single Seat]

lol no

 

[catholicman]

Certainly should not applaud. How about we just don't boo him.

 

[SjVal]

I'll cheer him more than I do any opposing coach. But that's it. Nothing crazy

 

[SHUS1516]

I will certainly boo him. Yes, he brought us out of the abyss but he left like a snake with those terrible answers in the press (just like how he just left MD) and he went to THAT team with those fans. Just because you did something in the past doesn’t mean you’re extended unlimited gratitude

 

[PJVegas]

Perhaps a welcome home luncheon is in order too. 😵‍💫

 

[The_Hall]

no. if he had the chance to go to nova while coaching seton hall, he would have.

 

[lloyde dobler]

No offense, but what a dumb post. Sorry.

 

[radecicco]

Fans will do whatever they want to do. These exits are never easy. In fact, they are usually messy.

 

[PiratePride]

Very little moves me any more about college sports. I liked him as a coach and was sorry he left but I could care less about Willard now being at Nova.

 

[garyshu71]

Quiet would say a lot. Maybe he should applaud the fans and school?? Seton Hall did a lot for him and gave him multiple chances to figure it out. Remember when he was talking to Holy Cross?? Slick Rick stuck his nose into that one and lined it up.That was completely real but HC gagged on the money issue. If he had gone there things would be different right now. I know a lot and I would say he got the best of the deal.

 

[sardonni]

Took the program out of hell
Best coach we've had since PJ (although not as good)
Won the Big East Tournament and Big East Regular Season crowns
Won a lot at a school with as few resources as any Power 5 job in America
Stayed for 12 years despite other schools calling to take him away

Kevin Willard is awesome. Once he got it going, he gave us 6-7 really fun and strong years of Seton Hall basketball. He has always been underappreciated by this fanbase.

 

[hallwins]

Quiet would say a lot. Maybe he should applaud the fans and school?? Seton Hall did a lot for him and gave him multiple chances to figure it out. Remember when he was talking to Holy Cross?? Slick Rick stuck his nose into that one and lined it up.That was completely real but HC gagged on the money issue. If he had gone there things would be different right now. I know a lot and I would say he got the best of the deal.

Whatever happened at Seton Hall, his comments at his press conference about Seton Hall when MD made Sweet 16 were pretty classy. Seems like he applauded the school and it's fans fairly loudly on a big forum.

 

[mga pirate]

But why

 

[cernjSHU]

Why would you cheer this guy who quite on us in January of the year he left? He had that Maryland job soon after Turgeon resigned. Had the team woefully unprepared for TCU and never made it to the Sweet 16? I find it odd, people will kill Amaker who made it to the Sweet 16 and took us out of the hell of George Blaney, yet want to cheer Willard who is now coaching our rival Villanova! Absolutely bizarre.

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

Why would you cheer this guy who quite on us in January of the year he left? He had that Maryland job soon after Turgeon resigned. Had the team woefully unprepared for TCU and never made it to the Sweet 16? I find it odd, people will kill Amaker who made it to the Sweet 16 and took us out of the hell of George Blaney, yet want to cheer Willard who is now coaching our rival Villanova! Absolutely bizarre.

Nobody wants to cheer for Villanova. quit on the team in January? You realize Aiken went down in January. You realize how mediocre Richmond was when he took over. You realize we won the last 5 games of the regular season. This happened despite him quitting on us in January. So if Kadary was able to improve so much while KW quit on us, if we were able to win the final 5 games of the regular season while KW quit on us, how come these guys didn’t show up vs TCU when they showed up the previous 2 months when you say KW quit on us.

Congrats on the most illogical post in a long time.

 

[hallwins]

Willard gave us 12 years. Departures never are good and timing stinks.

Raf left before season started.
PJ left in June when all good candidates were gone

Willard gave us 12 years and wanted to go to a football school. The timing of all of this is awful. This is why there are buy outs in contracts because it happens.

 

[itsacurse]

lol you guys are a bunch of dorks. boo him!

 

[Burnsly]

Good point. Leaving in June or before the season starts is much worse IMO.

Parcells did the same thing with the Giants & we got stuck with Ray Handley.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

Took the program out of hell
Best coach we've had since PJ (although not as good)
Won the Big East Tournament and Big East Regular Season crowns
Won a lot at a school with as few resources as any Power 5 job in America
Stayed for 12 years despite other schools calling to take him away

Kevin Willard is awesome. Once he got it going, he gave us 6-7 really fun and strong years of Seton Hall basketball. He has always been underappreciated by this fanbase.

Yes mid conference play lull...rosters that never got to the apex of expectations...his March Sadness woes...just because shu was burger king and then it became sizzler doesn't mean it was del friscos quality

 

[sardonni]

Yes mid conference play lull...rosters that never got to the apex of expectations...his March Sadness woes...just because shu was burger king and then it became sizzler doesn't mean it was del friscos quality

Sorry, no one here has the right to complain about the guy who pulled the program out of the depths of despair with as little resources of any P5 job in the nation. The disrespect the Seton Hall fanbase showed Willard while he was here, and continue to display after his departure will never cease to amaze me. What Kevin Willard did at Seton Hall was nothing short of miraculous. Willard ran a respectable program that was in Big East and NCAA Tournament contention almost every single season once he pulled the program out of the Gonzo fiasco. Seton Hall has 0 resources. Prior to the $50 million practice facility-which is indeed gorgeous- Seton Hall had a weight room and practice set-up that was worse than many top high schools in NJ. Embarrassing! Yes, the new facility is great and everyone that donated to it is awesome, but it's also 15 years too late! Big programs had these facilities up and running 20-25 years ago!

Look at what happened to the program after Willard left. This guy did everything he could to hold this program together. So many fans here are so ungrateful. For Power 5 conferences, Seton Hall is one of the worst jobs in America for a head coach. We are lucky that Willard stayed for 12 years and that he groomed a Seton Hall alumnus to take over. If you aren't from Seton Hall, why in the world would you coach here? I love Seton Hall and its basketball program and it pains me to see the state of this program. Willard was fantastic because under his leadership, Seton Hall was always the little train that could! We always punched above our weight.

I am tired of the spin from Seton Hall and a section of the fanbase. The resources have always been WAY below the average standard for a P5 school. Seton Hall likes to puff out their chest like we are some basketball school. The truth is the actions of the school and donor base do not match this at all. Seton Hall has been blessed to have a couple of very good coaches in its history, and Willard is one of them.

If it weren't for Willard, there's a decent chance Seton Hall would've become just like DePaul did. Think about that the next time you criticize the man! Look at what Jay Wright and other coaches have to say about him! He's respected nationwide and gets universal praise for the incredible job he did at SHU!

 

[PMB Pirate]

I will show the gratitude I think he deserves. He did a fantastic job and I fully expect Coach Holloway to do something similar. The atmosphere in the building was electric over those last 6 or 7 years when it came to big games, and that's how I gauge a healthy and exciting program.

I met him a few times and he seemed like a pleasant person, I wasn't looking to be pals with the guy so I couldn't give a rat's ass if he wasn't kissing my fanny.

In the end I just appreciate how he developed so many high-quality people- players, managers and current coaches.

Go Pirates

 

[cernjSHU]

Nobody wants to cheer for Villanova. quit on the team in January? You realize Aiken went down in January. You realize how mediocre Richmond was when he took over. You realize we won the last 5 games of the regular season. This happened despite him quitting on us in January. So if Kadary was able to improve so much while KW quit on us, if we were able to win the final 5 games of the regular season while KW quit on us, how come these guys didn’t show up vs TCU when they showed up the previous 2 months when you say KW quit on us.

Congrats on the most illogical post in a long time.

4 of the five wins were the bottom feeders of the Big East. DePaul, G'town Xavier and Butler and just eeked out a wins in each of those games. Those games were very frustrating to watch. Eeked out another horrible game in the Big East tournament to Georgetown before being taken out by UConn. It was a disappointing season and ended poorly as a whole. Illogical? I don't think so. I just remember that season vividly. It seems to me you cannot be objective because you are a Kevin Willard boot licker.

In the end, he did a good job, not a great job here and under achieved with his best teams, and performed poorly in the tournament. But it is apparent you can't be objective with Willard.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

Sorry, no one here has the right to complain about the guy who pulled the program out of the depths of despair with as little resources of any P5 job in the nation. The disrespect the Seton Hall fanbase showed Willard while he was here, and continue to display after his departure will never cease to amaze me. What Kevin Willard did at Seton Hall was nothing short of miraculous. Willard ran a respectable program that was in Big East and NCAA Tournament contention almost every single season once he pulled the program out of the Gonzo fiasco. Seton Hall has 0 resources. Prior to the $50 million practice facility-which is indeed gorgeous- Seton Hall had a weight room and practice set-up that was worse than many top high schools in NJ. Embarrassing! Yes, the new facility is great and everyone that donated to it is awesome, but it's also 15 years too late! Big programs had these facilities up and running 20-25 years ago!

Look at what happened to the program after Willard left. This guy did everything he could to hold this program together. So many fans here are so ungrateful. For Power 5 conferences, Seton Hall is one of the worst jobs in America for a head coach. We are lucky that Willard stayed for 12 years and that he groomed a Seton Hall alumnus to take over. If you aren't from Seton Hall, why in the world would you coach here? I love Seton Hall and its basketball program and it pains me to see the state of this program. Willard was fantastic because under his leadership, Seton Hall was always the little train that could! We always punched above our weight.

I am tired of the spin from Seton Hall and a section of the fanbase. The resources have always been WAY below the average standard for a P5 school. Seton Hall likes to puff out their chest like we are some basketball school. The truth is the actions of the school and donor base do not match this at all. Seton Hall has been blessed to have a couple of very good coaches in its history, and Willard is one of them.

If it weren't for Willard, there's a decent chance Seton Hall would've become just like DePaul did. Think about that the next time you criticize the man! Look at what Jay Wright and other coaches have to say about him! He's respected nationwide and gets universal praise for the incredible job he did at SHU!

This screams of a bobby g related poster

 

[radecicco]

The win at Creighton, our nemesis, in the final regular season game that put us over the top for an NCAAT bid in 2022 was amazing. No Aiken and Richmond got hurt in the first five minutes and didn’t play the rest of the game. But yeah, the coach quit on the team.

 

[NYShoreGuy]

 

[NYShoreGuy]

 

[SHUHoopsFan]

4 of the five wins were the bottom feeders of the Big East. DePaul, G'town Xavier and Butler and just eeked out a wins in each of those games. Those games were very frustrating to watch. Eeked out another horrible game in the Big East tournament to Georgetown before being taken out by UConn. It was a disappointing season and ended poorly as a whole. Illogical? I don't think so. I just remember that season vividly. It seems to me you cannot be objective because you are a Kevin Willard boot licker.

In the end, he did a good job, not a great job here and under achieved with his best teams, and performed poorly in the tournament. But it is apparent you can't be objective with Willard.

X was top 25 for a portion of the year. Vividly? You mean how they crushed Creighton at home when he quit. Beat a top 25 X team when he quit on them. Almost won at Nova when he quit on them. Checked out coach almost beat Wright? Almost won at UConn when he quit on them. Thats logic???? Just deranged.

 

[cernjSHU]

X was top 25 for a portion of the year. Vividly? You mean how they crushed Creighton at home when he quit. Beat a top 25 X team when he quit on them. Almost won at Nova when he quit on them. Checked out coach almost beat Wright? Almost won at UConn when he quit on them. Thats logic???? Just deranged.

X finished tied for 7 with St Johns. Stop trying to say they were a good team and the did not make the tournament. Best win was Creighton but you obviously don’t know basketball if you think that team performed well. They didn’t. Are you saying that Willard didn’t take the job with Maryland way before the season ended? That was the worst kept secret. He took a job with Maryland before the season ended.

That’s a real class act.

 

[SHUHitman]

I will certainly boo him. Yes, he brought us out of the abyss but he left like a snake with those terrible answers in the press (just like how he just left MD) and he went to THAT team with those fans. Just because you did something in the past doesn’t mean you’re extended unlimited gratitude

He made a business decision, one best for his career and family. No different than what Kadary did. It is what it is, I appreciate what he did for us while he was here, bad ending otherwise. He also speaks warmly of us whenever possible, I don't really expect much more.

 

[walshtrips]

general question to the board. I figured it was unlikely he’d ever end up at the Rock again in a game against SHU where fans would have a chance to acknowledge him positively or negatively.

When thinking about the response, keep in mind, he ended up with more career Ws than PJ.

I will cheer for him as he resurrected our program and brought us back to relevancy. I thought his exit was mishandled, but otherwise he's top notch in my book.

 

[lloyde dobler]

This screams of a bobby g related poster

Who is this Bobby G that you speak of?