The Maryland Terrapins just wrapped up what wound up being one of their best college basketball seasons in decades. They were a No. 4 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament and made a run to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling short against the Florida Gators.
There were two shining stars in this outstanding season for Maryland. On the court, Derik Queen stole the show, winning Maryland's Round of 32 game at the buzzer and playing his way into being a potential top 10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Off the court, it was head coach Kevin Willard, whose honesty was eye-opening, to say the least.
Before Maryland began their NCAA Tournament run, Willard made it clear that while he was offered an extension to remain in College Park long term, but had not signed it yet for one clear reason.
"I need to make fundamental changes to the program," Willard said. "That's what I'm focused on right now. That's why probably a deal hasn't got done because I want to see -- I need to see fundamental changes done. I want this program to be great. I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there's things that need to change."
When Maryland was eliminated from the tournament, Willard was honest about his coaching future, saying "I don't know what I'm doing."
Maryland coach Kevin Willard spoke on his future after the team's loss to Florida in the Sweet 16. pic.twitter.com/e5Mlvj7ouE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 28, 2025
In order for Willard to stay put, changes would have to be made. Evidently, the Terrapins were unwilling to meet all of Willard's demands by the time he agreed to become the next head coach of the Villanova Wildcats.
Kevin Willard was nothing but honest before ditching Maryland for Villanova
This kind of honesty is jarring and a little refreshing. When put in Willard's situation, most often, we'll see head coaches either dismiss a question about a contract or commit to their current program. Willard did neither, making it clear that he was considering leaving Maryland and was not fully committed to the university.
We can question whether that was the right approach for him to have had immediately after a crushing Sweet 16 loss, but Willard was just keeping it real. It's hard to fault him for that when fans of all sports beg for more honesty from coaches.
Willard hopes his transparency can help lead the Wildcats back to prominent NCAA Tournament success. They won two National Championships in three years not too long ago, but have now gone three straight years without an NCAA Tournament appearance, let alone a deep run.