Kevin Willard insists he has no idea what’s next for him in coaching, not yet. Not moments after Maryland’s NCAA Tournament defeat to top-seeded Florida, and certainly not before speaking with his agent and his wife.
Willard has been linked to the Villanova job and also publicly expressed concerns last week with the direction of the Terrapins program, calling for “fundamental changes.”
Also complicating matters is that Maryland athletic director Damon Evans just took over at SMU.
“My biggest concerns in life right now, I don’t know who my boss is going to be,” Willard said when asked if there’s something Maryland can do to keep him. “The guy that brought me here who I really like and am appreciative of him bringing me to College Park is not here anymore, and I don’t know who we’re going to hire. And in today’s day and age, that worries me a little bit. I’m just being honest.”
Willard said he has no regrets being straightforward about his feelings — “My honesty got me in trouble, it might as well keep getting me in trouble.”
And when asked if he has received an offer from Villanova, Willard said, “I have no idea.”
“No, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ll just be honest with you. I haven’t talked to my agent, I haven’t talked to my wife,” he said after No. 4 seed Maryland lost 87-71. “I made a promise to my team that I was going to just focus on this team and that’s all I’ve done. I haven’t talked to anybody. I have an agent, I’m sure he’s talking to people because that’s what agents like to do. But I don’t know.”
Fans booed the coach as the team departed its Bay Area hotel earlier in the day.
“I understand fans are going to be pissed because I’m in limbo, I get it,” Willard said, sharing that he himself is angry because he didn’t envision being in this spot.
He spoke to his players and some said they appreciated the transparency.
“We were able to put it to the side really,” fifth-year senior Jordan Geronimo said. “We all came here on one mission, to win. Yes there was extra stuff going on behind the scenes but Coach addressed us, the team personally, and said what he had to say. I think that gave us closure. I feel like that extra nonsense didn’t play a part.”
Willard, who will turn 50 on April 6, led Maryland to a 27-9 record in his third season and is 65-39 overall at the school, with two March Madness appearances in three seasons. This was his seventh NCAA Tournament berth overall after getting there five times with Seton Hall, and his first time in the Sweet 16.
“I really enjoyed coaching this basketball team, from the time they stepped on campus in June they’ve just been so much fun to coach and to kind of see them grow together,” Willard said.
For now, Willard would like to celebrate what his team accomplished in the Big Ten and on the big stage. The Terrapins had their best record since also going 27-9 in 2015-16, the program’s last Sweet 16 appearance.
“What this group of guys was able to come together and do and the season that we had, just proud of them, they fought all year long,” Willard said. “This was by far the best team I’ve ever been around.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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