Seton Hall basketball: Kevin Willard is proud of Shaheen Holloway, coaching tree
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – There is a larger-than-life mural featuring Kevin Willard in the Xfinity Center media room. It’s a symbol of the resources the Maryland basketball coach has at his disposal – his own big-time campus arena, for one – that don’t exist at his last stop.
Yet nearly two years after he moved on from a largely successful 12-year tenure at Seton Hall, Willard is keeping a close eye on his old program.
“I watch every game that I can,” he said Tuesday after suffering a home loss to Rutgers.
The surprising Pirates are 15-8 overall and 8-4 in the Big East heading into Sunday’s game at Villanova (noon, CBS Sports Network). Willard’s fingerprints remain in the form of head coach Shaheen Holloway – his right-hand man at the Hall for eight seasons – and star point guard Kadary Richmond, whom he brought to South Orange as a transfer from Syracuse.
“Sha’s doing awesome – he’s a superstar,” Willard said. “He’s got the right personality for the job. His kids play the way he played – and the way he coaches.”
Willard left Holloway with two impact players – Richmond and forward Tyrese Samuel, who played well last season is excelling as a postgrad at Florida this winter. Richmond is performing at an All-Big East level. He is one of just two players in Division I to have posted six games of 20-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists this season.
“Sha’s been very patient with Kadary,” Willard said. “Kadary always needed a little time to figure out how good he could be. They’ve both worked together to get what everybody’s seeing, which is: Kadary is an NBA guard.”
A proud grandfather
It’s been a challenging second season for Willard at Maryland. The Terps are 13-10 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten. They’re shooting just 40 percent from the field. He’s taken some solace in the continued growth of his coaching tree.
In addition to Holloway, George Mason is 15-8 in year one under Tony Skinn. Wagner is 11-11 in year two under Donald Copeland after posting a key win at FDU Thursday. Grant Billmeier has begun rebuilding NJIT as a first-year skipper and earned a signature victory Thursday as his Highlanders halted Vermont's 23-game America East Conference winning streak. Tevon Saddler, who served on Willard’s staff at Maryland last year, is 12-10 at the helm of Nicholls State.
“It’s really cool – maybe it’s like being a grandfather, I guess?” Willard said of his proteges. “It keeps me busy because I’ve got to watch a lot of games.”
Willard himself is a branch on Rick Pitino’s tree, one of the sports’ most prolific.
“This is really what you want – I learned that from Coach Pitino,” he said. “You have guys who have worked, who have put a lot of time in for you, who have sacrificed a lot, and to see them become head coaches, there’s nothing better.”
One factor in Maryland's step back this season could be that three members of Willard's staff got head-coaching gigs after the Terps won an NCAA Tournament game last March. That’s a lot of turnover.
Willard attended NJIT’s game at George Mason in November to support Billmeier and Skinn. For the most part, though, he takes the tack that Pitino took with him.
“You sit back and you wait for the phone to ring,” he said. “You send positive messages – great win, tough loss. They always know I’m there if they ever need me, but being a first-year head coach or a second-year head coach, I’ve got to let them figure it out on their own.”
Nova knockout?
Holloway, obviously, is further along in his career than the others on Willard's tree. His four-year run at Saint Peter’s became the stuff of legend when the Peacocks made the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in 2022. At the moment he’s a leading candidate for Big East Coach of the Year. Nobody expected the Pirates to sit all alone in third place in the second week of February.
The Hall’s game at struggling Villanova (12-11, 5-7) is huge on a couple of fronts. It’s the opportunity for a fifth Quad 1 victory, which would get the Pirates off of the Big Dance bubble. It could deliver a knockout blow to the Wildcats, who bedeviled the Hall (and the entire league) for many years. And Seton Hall has won just once on the road in this series since 1994 – Willard’s best squad got it done in 2020.
One thing is certain: He’ll be watching.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Kevin Willard, Shaheen Holloway and a coaching tree
