Maryland officially announces Kevin Willard as new head basketball coach
Maryland has officially announced Kevin Willard will be their next head basketball coach. On Monday, the Terrapins Athletic Director Damon Evans took to Twitter to confirm the news that the former Seton Hall leader was taking over the program.
“Terp Nation, please join me in welcoming our new @TerrapinHoops Head Coach Kevin Willard!” tweeted Evans. “M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D MARYLAND WILLard WIN! #OneMaryland.”
Additionally, Evans stated how thrilled he is to have Willard join Maryland in a statement released announcing the hiring.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Terrapin family,” said Evans, via the program’s website. “We are excited about the future of Maryland basketball with Kevin leading the way. Known for his gritty, hard-working teams, Kevin has had tremendous success, winning conference championships and leading his teams to NCAA Tournaments. He has made a habit of scheduling challenging opponents and winning in those games as evidenced by his record against Big Ten teams in recent years. He has familiarity with the region, being a native New Yorker and having spent much of his life in the Northeast corridor. We welcome Kevin, his wife Julie, and their sons Colin and Chase to the Maryland family and we look forward to the next great chapter in Terrapin basketball history.”
“On behalf of the entire University of Maryland community, it is my honor to welcome Coach Kevin Willard and his family to College Park,” said Darryll J. Pines, President of the University of Maryland. “As a leader, coach, mentor, and teacher, Coach Willard is a tremendous choice to lead our men’s basketball program into its next era of distinction.”
Moreover, Willard has built Seton Hall back into one of the most feared programs in the Big East. After an uneven start to his tenure, the Pirates have made five of the last six NCAA Tournaments. Additionally, Willard led Seton Hall to a Big East Tournament title in 2015-16. In 12 seasons at the helm of the Pirates, Willard accumulated a 225-161 record, while going 105-113 against the Big East.
With multiple programs looking for a new head coach, Willard’s name has been floated around the nation. His work with Seton Hall has been revered, as well as his impressive three seasons at Iona in the years prior. Now, Maryland has their guy.
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Continuing, Kevin Willard is joining a program that preaches patience and gives you time to find success. To illustrate, the Terrapins have only had two coaches in that last thirty years — Gary Williams and Mark Turgeon.
First, Williams coached Maryland for 22 successful seasons. The top moment — none other than Maryland capturing the 2002 NCAA Tournament title. Over the course of his career, Williams led the Terrapins on 15 trips to the dance.
Next, Turgeon took over for the legend in Williams, taking the torch in 2011. His Maryland teams were tough, and always a threat — but they didn’t have the same success in the NCAA Tournament. Turgeon accumulated a 226-116 record with the Terrapins, but his teams never made it out of the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, Kevin Willard hopes to provide the same success to Maryland as his predecessors. The new leader of the Terrapins spoke about excited he is to get to work for the Terrapins.
“Growing up and coaching in the region, I have always admired Maryland basketball. Being named head coach of one of the nation’s premier basketball programs is a tremendous honor,” said Willard, via the team’s website. “Thank you to President Pines and Damon Evans for trusting me to energize this proud program as we look to galvanize our passionate fanbase with a gritty, hard-working style of basketball. Having coached against Maryland several times and at XFINITY Center, I know how Terp fans feel about this team. I embrace the high expectations. Skill development and a dedication to academic success will be cornerstones of our program and I can promise Terp Nation we will work to make them proud of this basketball team as we build winners on the court and in the classroom. Julie and our boys are excited to join the Terrapin family.”
There’s an opportunity to build something special at Maryland, and Kevin Willard will be looking to do that immediately.