Kevin Willard

[whiteandblue77]

I don't know about y'all but I'm sick of people bashing the BE coaches.

So far this year with JT3... I know we're now "discussing" Willard, but next week it will be Mullin, then Wojo, then Leitao. I can say as someone who has been harsh in my criticism of Coach Mac on the CU board it's time to muzzle it on the coaching, they all are young enough to know that the New Big East is up for grabs and it's an exciting time for all of them. Let's let the fistfight begin now, on the court, for the next few years and after the dust settles and we (pray tell) have a couple of them meeting again in Final 4s... then we can judge.

for now it's premature.

pretty sick of it.

[Hall2012]

I don't know about y'all but I'm sick of people bashing the BE coaches.

So far this year with JT3... I know we're now "discussing" Willard, but next week it will be Mullin, then Wojo, then Leitao. I can say as someone who has been harsh in my criticism of Coach Mac on the CU board it's time to muzzle it on the coaching, they all are young enough to know that the New Big East is up for grabs and it's an exciting time for all of them. Let's let the fistfight begin now, on the court, for the next few years and after the dust settles and we (pray tell) have a couple of them meeting again in Final 4s... then we can judge.

for now it's premature.

pretty sick of it.

I intended this thread to be fairly positive, not bashing. I noted caution because his teams have started strong before, but the point of this wax to point out some noticeable changes to his coaching style and that the team seems to be responding.

[NovaBall]

I tend to agree with you, mostly because I think this team has enough talent where they can legitimately be Big East title contenders in the next 2 years when these sophomores are juniors and seniors. Usually a coaching change results in players leaving and it would be really disappointing to lose any of these guys prematurely.

Like I said though, a lot of the fan base doesn't agree with me. They're out of patience and it's NCAA tournament or Willard's neck for them.

Exactly. This team could be really good the next couple of years if the core stays in tact.

I was plenty critical of Willard in the past. But if they didn't quit on him a couple years ago, now is not the right time. So long as Seton Hall plays hard through the season, keeps getting better, and at least a nice NIT showing, I don't think you improve your program by firing him. He has a loaded sophomore class. Might as well give him the chance to see them through.

I do think the Hall dances this year though. But I would not make that the ultimatum on Willard.

[NovaBall]

Here is why I am somewhat sympathetic of Willard's trajectory:

Willard took over after the Bobby Gonzalez mess. That team was a bunch of jerks. Herb Pope et al.
Willard took over, struggled his first year (2011), raised a lot of doubters. Willard's year two (2012), that team was okay. They burned through non-conference play, but had a real tough stretch to close out January, and weren't able to make up after that conference losing streak (in a year when stretches like that in the Big East were possible). I'm not saying he deserves some sort of moral victory credit for year 2, but the team showed signs of life.

Seton Hall was not a hot school for recruits at this time. They were being overshadowed by the other Big East schools, seen as a school unable to compete, etc... He was losing recruits to Rutgers. But Willard took a long term approach to it and landed a monster recruiting class. He really focused in on one group of recruits. Some may criticize him for this approach, but given the hand he was dealt this is how he felt he had to play it. Promised the world and more to get one monster class. And it worked.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... -its-smart

But the roster was weak, and these kids weren't going to be on campus until the 2014 season.

Last year they actually played well enough to get ranked starting January. Obviously chemistry issues ruined that group. But this year he seems to have them playing together.



So I don't view this as an excuse for Willard. But I don't view this like a Norm Roberts or Tim Welch overstaying their welcome situation either. I think there is a clear roadmap for Willard to succeed. If the school was willing to give him this long, what harm does it cause to let him see this thing through?

[MUBoxer]

Off topic a bit but could a Hall fan explain to me why you guys got rid of Orr immediately after and NCAA bid? I mean he accounted for 2 of the 3 of your NCAA bids by a coach not named carlissimo

[Hall2012]

Off topic a bit but could a Hall fan explain to me why you guys got rid of Orr immediately after and NCAA bid? I mean he accounted for 2 of the 3 of your NCAA bids by a coach not named carlissimo

From what I understand, they were unhappy with his recruiting, specifically his inability to get NJ/NY players to stay home. He also had zero recruits signed for the next season at the time of his firing.

[MUBoxer]

Off topic a bit but could a Hall fan explain to me why you guys got rid of Orr immediately after and NCAA bid? I mean he accounted for 2 of the 3 of your NCAA bids by a coach not named carlissimo

From what I understand, they were unhappy with his recruiting, specifically his inability to get NJ/NY players to stay home. He also had zero recruits signed for the next season at the time of his firing.

Jeeze that one backfired a bit.

[NovaBall]

Orr as seen as not being charismatic enough, not relating with the alumni enough, etc...

I think most people liked Amaker a lot, and Orr felt the effect of that. Also, Gonzo was hot over in Manhattan. He had made a few tournaments and advanced in the same time Orr was putting up 12 win teams. Gonzo was seen as a high energy guy who could recruit the major metro area and knew how to win with lesser players.

Another thing is I think most people thought the 2006 was a bit undeserving of a NCAA bid. They were an 18-12 team that followed up after a 12 win season and were blown out in the tourney by some unknown team from Wichita.



That was also the same year that Rutgers fired their best coach in decades, Gary Waters, because they thought that Fred Hill was the answer. Fred Hill was an old Seton Hall guy under Amaker who was on the Nova staff and given a lot of credit for recruiting guys like Nardi and Foye. There was a fear that with Fred Hill Rutgers recruiting would burst out and Louis Orr wasn't going to be able to keep up.

If I remember correctly it was like Seton Hall and Rutgers were getting into an arms race over who could hire the more energetic recruiter as their new coach who would be able to take the next step that Waters and Orr, with their uncharismatic ways who had reached their peak, could not. Both ended up being complete disasters and going out in blazes of glory.

[Hall2012]

I honestly don't believe Willard's job is really in danger this season, barring something disastrous. He's certainly on the hot seat with the fans, who are understandably running out of patience, but not so much with the administration. Most fans are used to a coach being given 4 years to get a team of all "his guys" and if he doesn't at least dance by then, he's out. That clearly wasn't the case with seton hall hiring Willard, though some fans fail to see that. Seton Hall hired Willard as a young coach with high upside but minimal head coaching experience, looking for him to sort of learn on the job, grow into the role, and stay for a long time. They were committed to a long rebuild and had no expectations for his first few years. My guess is his "4 years" really started last year with the big recruiting class in the administration's eyes. The only way I see him being let go sooner is if this year is a complete disaster and they see a real chance to land Danny Hurley.

[stever20]

i think the interesting thing with Seton Hall. If you go by the NCAA metric- if they miss the tourney, that means they would have gone like 8-10 or worse during the BE season. Have to say based on where things are now, that would be a major letdown. Especially on the heels of what happened last year- pretty close to same situation.