Villanova Buying In Under Kevin Willard’s High Expectations

Villanova Men’s Basketball began their season with a gritty road loss to No. 8 BYU, a game in which they showed plenty of potential despite youth and injuries. Their home opener against Queens went down as an actual win, not merely a moral victory, but the Wildcats (1-1) looked much worse, allowing 74 points at home in a Quad 4 matchup as the Royals made 57.4 percent of their shots.

Villanova head coach Kevin Willard didn’t mince words about his team’s performance… and unlike the fan reaction following the BYU loss, he said he wasn’t pleased with that game either.

“Really nothing so far. Just how hard we play,” Willard said. “We’re not good on defense and we’re not good on offense right now.”

Although he may just have been in a bad mood after a sloppy game against Queens, perhaps most interesting about Kevin Willard’s analysis of his team’s play is his refusal to pat himself or his team on the back after the BYU game. Many coaches would look at the positives in a five point loss to the No. 8 team in the country, 2,100 miles from home, but not Willard.

Buying In

That relentless coaching style could turn into a calling card as a new era begins at Villanova. There are early examples that the Wildcats are buying in to Willard’s philosophy. Willard cited their effort and praised his players for their unselfish approach on a night when they picked up 17 assists, but freshman point guard Acaden Lewis gave the best example. Lewis got benched in the second half against BYU, then rebounded for 21 points against the Royals. He described his mentality in response to getting benched in his first ever college game.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity. My high school coach always used to say that basketball is not like football. You get to play three or four days later,” Lewis said. “Coach Willard stuck with me. He knows I’m a freshman. I had a rough first game, but I stayed in it, stayed in the work, and watched film.”

For a team with just three seniors and 11 new faces, disjointed play to begin the season isn’t surprising. Willard said at the Wildcats’ media day that he’s learned to expect as much in the era of the transfer portal.

“I think that is an ever-evolving process. It [cohesive play] just doesn’t happen before November 3rd. Our goal is to be playing really, really good basketball by the middle of December,” Willard said. “I think, if you look at college basketball in general, most new teams that start playing really good, that’s usually the time frame you’re looking for.”

As the Wildcats navigate the easier portion of their out of conference schedule, before power conference games against Pitt, Wisconsin and Michigan, perhaps most important for the team is the way they respond to those early struggles. The early returns look promising.