Villanova officially introduced Kevin Willard as its 10th head coach in men's basketball history. After guiding the Maryland Terrapins to their first Sweet 16 since 2016, he's tasked with restoring glory to the Wildcats men's basketball program.
However, his ugly, public, well-chronicled departure from Maryland still doesn't sit well with Terps Nation, and reasonably so. Chief among those ostensibly struggling to face the Sweet Chin Music is Maryland hero Derik Queen, who took to social media to air his grievances.
Maryland star Derik Queen isn't thrilled about Kevin Willard’s exit to Villanova
Queen quoted Villanova's post on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing Willard as the new leader. He was at a loss for words, letting a series of pouting and facepalming emojis do the talking for him. The All-Big Ten First Team big man is upset about seeing the news and spoke for all Maryland fans.
As you can see, Queen isn't pleased to see Willard holding up a No. 25 Villanova jersey. Paradoxically, he wore that number during his lone season at Maryland. The Terps star is demonstrably disturbed, knowing the team's success this season came at the expense of losing the coach who recruited him.
Despite recently declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft, Queen remains very much invested in the Terps and College Park. After all, he's a Baltimore native and has voiced his desire to inspire future "local kids" to play at Maryland. But the messy Willard-Villanova situation is a bad look for the school, which won't help matters.
The Terps built momentum in 2024-25 with their deepest NCAA tournament in nearly a decade. Queen laid the foundation and wants Maryland to keep the ball rolling as he heads to the Association. Willard was supposed to play a massive role in that, and therein lies the problem, considering he ran off to Villanova.
You know that feeling of getting dumped by someone and reaching a point where you move on to bigger and better things? But you can't help but be curious about whatever your ex is doing, or in this instance, bothered by? That's Queen right now.
Ranked as the No. 8 prospect on FanSided's latest big board, Queen's bound to be a lottery selection (and potentially a high-end one). He's going pro and will get paid handsomely because of his projected draft position to make that leap to the next level. Nevertheless, Willard strikes the wrong chord for him.