Maryland zeroing in on Kevin Willard | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Maryland zeroing in on Kevin Willard

ConnHuskBask said:
I don't know any Maryland fans, but I have to wonder what their reaction to paying a guy $30M who Seton Hall fans think may have maxed out at their program by making the tourney consistently but losing in the first round.

Isn't that what they fired Turegeon for?
Expand ...

Our big problem is that Dan Hurley looks to be equal as a coach in results, ability, and performance to Kevin Willard and Mark Turgeon.
Those are his peers. Not the worst thing in the world, but not what we are looking for at UCONN. We don't need Hurley to have a 10 year tenure of Turgeon's performances at UCONN or Willard's performances at the Hall.

PS: We need to keep an eye on Pikiell to see if he has any interest returning to UCONN as head coach in the future. It will be tough because he's paid well at Rutgers, and has momentum there.
 
HuskyFich said:
Sooo is it just me or did Willard take a step sideways at best?

Maryland hasn't been relevant to anyone born post year 2000. He also is jumping into a conference that has been on the downtrend the past 2-3 years. Can't get over how he didn't entertain other schools. But hey, money talks.
Expand ...
No. Maryland is not a step sideways from Seton Hall.

He's going to be making $4 mil a year and coaching in the Big 10.
Maryland is a much bigger school with a much larger athletic budget.

Seton Hall was irrelevant before Willard took over. He made them pretty respectable for a decade. I imagine he can do better at a place like Maryland. We'll see though.
 
JMick said:
To be fair, I thought the same thing with Cronin going to UCLA. But it still seems nuts. And Cronin was a better coach and had better teams than Willard.

It's definitely not an inspiring hire though.
Expand ...
Yeah, I was thinking of Cronin as a comp too. That's been a clear success for them. The F4 run last year seemed pretty flukey, but they are back in the second weekend again this year after being Top 25 all season.

For comparison, Cronin got 6 years/$24 million, so Maryland went an extra year and some additional money for a less accomplished coach.
 
Huskymagic said:
Our big problem is that Dan Hurley looks to be equal as a coach in results, ability, and performance to Kevin Willard and Mark Turgeon.
Those are his peers. Not the worst thing in the world, but not what we are looking for at UCONN. We don't need Hurley to have a 10 year tenure of Turgeon's performances at UCONN or Willard's performances at the Hall.

PS: We need to keep an eye on Pikiell to see if he has any interest returning to UCONN as head coach in the future. It will be tough because he's paid well at Rutgers, and has momentum there.
Expand ...
I think the fear is that Hurley is just Willard or Turgeon but it's not fair to make that definitive of a statement yet. Willard was at Seton Hall for 12 years and Turgeon was at Maryland for 11. Hurley is getting at least 2, probably 3 more years. What we don't want to do is give him another extension unless things progress.
 
JMick said:
I think the fear is that Hurley is just Willard or Turgeon but it's not fair to make that definitive of a statement yet. Willard was at Seton Hall for 12 years and Turgeon was at Maryland for 11. Hurley is getting at least 2, probably 3 more years. What we don't want to do is give him another extension unless things progress.
Expand ...

Was just about to post the same thing. Hurley already had more tourney wins at URI than Willard had in 12 years at SH. Jury is still far from out on Hurley.

Good point on Cronin too and the similar suspected reactions by the fanbases. Both guys had very similar profiles at Cincinnati and the Hall. Think a lot of it could ultimately just be luck of the draw with the tourney results for Cronin but can't argue with results.
 
.-.
awfuldan said:
Yeah, I was thinking of Cronin as a comp too. That's been a clear success for them. The F4 run last year seemed pretty flukey, but they are back in the second weekend again this year after being Top 25 all season.

For comparison, Cronin got 6 years/$24 million, so Maryland went an extra year and some additional money for a less accomplished coach.
Expand ...
Willard is not even close to Mick Cronin. For one thing, Mick has won 11 NCAA games. Willard 1. Cronin had a 668 winning percentage. Willard is .582. Cronin brought teams to 5he NCAA Tournament 11 straight years. Cronin is a very good coach. Willard is decent.
 
August_West said:
Mick got by round of 32 again. Me thinks maybe it wasn’t him that limited the bearcats. The bearcats limited mick!
Expand ...
it’s hard to advance from a mid-major league! It’s why I give tremendous credit to Jay Wright, Mark Few and Kelvin Sampson.

Those guys have built strong programs in weak conferences!
 
.-.
I get Willard wanting to go to another school. I actually brought this up in the Hot Seat thread a month ago. I get Maryland wanting Willard. While Willard has been dismal in the NCAA, I do think he is a decent coach, although probably a step down from Turgeon.

I get Seton Hall not putting up a fight to keep Willard. SHU could use new blood and it feels like it is time for a change.

The part I don’t get is why Maryland paid $4 million a year for a coach no one else wanted. They could have gotten him for much less.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
I get Willard wanting to go to another school. I actually brought this up in the Hot Seat thread a month ago. I get Maryland wanting Willard. While Willard has been dismal in the NCAA, I do think he is a decent coach, although probably a step down from Turgeon.

I get Seton Hall not putting up a fight to keep Willard. SHU could use new blood and it feels like it is time for a change.

The part I don’t get is why Maryland paid $4 million a year for a coach no one else wanted. They could have gotten him for much less.
Expand ...

I thought the Maryland job might in more demand.

It’s a pretty good gig that will likely only look better after Izzo retires
 
nomar said:
You serious dude?

Expand ...

Try it not being reactive and emotional

Dude is an alum

From the area with family there with all kinds of contacts

Minimal buyout for a d1 hc

There’s zero smoke they’ve even asked, that’s the point. Not even if he’s interested or not, ASKED

This is like if tech didn’t ask about Chris beard, you would’ve wondered what was up.
 
the Q said:
Try it not being reactive and emotional

Dude is an alum

From the area with family there with all kinds of contacts

Minimal buyout for a d1 hc

There’s zero smoke they’ve even asked, that’s the point. Not even if he’s interested or not, ASKED

This is like if tech didn’t ask about Chris beard, you would’ve wondered what was up.
Expand ...

Talk about being reactive and emotional, you're so freaked out by a first round loss that you think Danny Hurley is now an easier get -- or less desirable -- than Shaheen Holloway.

If they didn't ask (and we have no idea whether they did or didn't) it'd be because they knew it would be pointless.
 
freescooter said:
Willard is an average coach. Seton Hall has basically a glorified mid-major so not shocked he is leaving though I am a bit surprised Maryland wants the coach of the 3rd best program in New Jersey. :D As for looking at Hurley, my guess is they want a bargain. FWIW, if I were looking at a NEWBIE coach, I’d be all over McDermott. That guy produces tough teams.
Expand ...
Does this act ever get tired for you? The big east is not a mid major by any metric you can find.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,326
Messages
4,564,167
Members
10,462
Latest member
Liam Rainst


Top Bottom