When Kevin Willard was hired in 2022 to lead the Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team, the program was in dark times. They had fired long-time coach Mark Turgeon and they just finished a season going 15-17 overall and 7-13 in the conference.
In comes Willard who had just spent 12 seasons at Seton Hall with an overall record of 225-161. But jumping from a soft Big East conference to a tough Big 10 conference would not be an easy task.
From the jump in the 2022-2023 season, Willard came in and showed the value he can bring. In his first season, he went 22-13 and finished fifth in the conference. After a down season in his sophomore season, he came back strong this year. Maryland ended the year at 26-8 overall and 14-6 in the conference. Maryland ended up tied for second place and lost in the semi-finals of the Big 10 Conference Tournament.
But in today’s world, coaches and teams are judged by their success in the NCAA Tournament. Willard entered the 2023 tournament as a No. 8 seed and won one game before losing to the one seed in their bracket. This season, Maryland was awarded a four-seed with a match-up against the 13-seeded Grand Canyon team.
Maryland looked as dominant as ever, crushing Grand Canyon by 32 points and setting themselves up with a Round of 32 matchup against the 12 seed in their region. A Sweet Sixteen appearance is not only within sight but is probable.
The ceiling is incredibly high for Willard and this Maryland program. They have been able to recruit well within the DMV area and keep their best prospects close. He has also been successful at playing the transfer portal game which is as important as ever.
With the ever-changing landscape that is men’s college basketball, now is the right time for Maryland to extend Kevin Willard and keep him in College Park for the foreseeable future.
Every offseason, high-profile jobs become available and it’s just a matter of time until Willard’s name is on top of those program’s wishlist. It appears he has already caught the eye of some big-time programs like Villanova which reportedly offered him the head coaching job.
Maryland stuck with Mark Turgeon for 11 years and they may have found their next long-term coach. Maryland must find a way to extend Kevin Willard after a dominant Round of 64 win and a potential deep tournament run.