Villanova Introduces Kevin Willard: Embracing College Basketball’s New Era

Villanova formally introduced Kevin Willard as their William B. Finneran Endowed Men’s Basketball Coach during a press conference on Wednesday, April 9 that included speaking appearances from university president Peter M. Donohue, Vice President and Director of Athletics Eric Roedl and, of course, Willard himself.

Willard, who spent the past three seasons as Maryland’s head coach described the path that took him to Villanova, saying he expects it to be his last coaching job.

“I feel like I’m in the prime of my career. I just turned 50,” Willard said. “We made a family decision… where we wanted to spend, technically, my last job… this will be our last move.”

Willard also gave a look at his vision for the program in the brave new world of college sports kicked off as a result of the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era, one that has turned basketball into borderline free agency through the transfer portal.

Donohue kicked things off, introducing Willard and describing the importance of the men’s basketball program to Villanova’s image and global standing. He also issued a formal thank you to former head coach Kyle Neptune, who Willard replaces.

Villanova Leadership Gives Opening Remarks

“First, I want to thank Kyle Neptune and his staff for all they have done for Villanova University and for our student-athletes over the past three years,” Donohue said. “They have been wonderful role models for our young men and our program, and I am very grateful for Kyle taking on the responsibility that he did when he replaced [former head coach and two-time national champion] Jay Wright.”

Donohue capped his address with a lighthearted reminder of the men’s team’s importance to the university, its students, fans and alumni base.

“To coach Willard, on behalf of the entire Villanova community, we are thrilled to welcome you to our family,” Donohue said. “No pressure, but we expect great things in the season to come!”

Roedl described what the Wildcats’ search committee looked for in their national hunt — and evidently found in Willard.

“In our first meeting as a search committee, we identified the key qualities and characteristics that we sought in our next head coach, which included a close alignment and fit with our community and Augustinian values, an experienced head coach who has won at the highest levels of college basketball, an outstanding leader of young men,” Roedl said. 

“Someone with a commitment to the holistic development of student-athletes, including their pursuit of a Villanova degree; a coach with an understanding of the modern landscape of college basketball and of what it takes to be successful in the Big East and nationally, and a coach who would connect and engage with our campus, alumni and donor communities.”

Kevin Willard’s Path to Villanova

Willard began his introductory remarks with a joking allusion to his interactions with the media during his final days at Maryland, ones that turned into a national storyline amidst the Terrapins’ Sweet Sixteen run.

“I’m gonna be brief, ‘cause I’ve learned over the last two weeks it’s probably better to say less than it is more,” Willard said. “I promised my wife I would be on my best behavior.”

Willard retold the story of his asking former Wildcats head coach Jay Wright for permission before accepting the job. He added that the conversation happened amidst a television appearance for Wright, who now works as an analyst for networks like CBS Sports and TNT Sports.

 “I texted Jay, ‘cause I forgot he was on TV,” Willard said. “Jay, I just want to say thank you. You’ve always been a great friend, you’ve always been there. It meant the world to me that you got back while you were talking about Sweet Sixteen games. Getting him away from the camera is tough.”

Willard said that he doesn’t want to change anything about the Wildcats’ culture. He does, however, want to help them adapt to the wheeling, dealing NIL era.

Embracing College Basketball’s New Era

“I’m not here to change Villanova basketball. Villanova basketball is one of the elite basketball programs in the country. I’m not here to change the culture, I’m not here to change the attitude, I’m not here to change anything besides the way we play… and change the dynamic of what has become college basketball,” Willard said.

“College basketball has changed dramatically in the last three years. My job is to help us adapt, my staff’s job is to help us adapt, and navigate the new world while embracing this unbelievable university, this unbelievable family and a culture that I have seen up front for 12 great years… this is an honor, and I’m privileged to be here. And I just want to say thank you for everyone’s support, and go ‘Cats.”

Answering a later question, Willard continued to describe the upheaval occurring amidst college sports.

“We all hope that it settles out and we get some guide rails, get our hands on this. Because it’s out of control right now. The average person just doesn’t understand what’s going on with the transfer portal, NIL, how much money is being spent,” Willard said. 

“I think we all hope that there are some guide rails that get put in place to not only help the schools, because I think the schools are gonna be challenged dramatically in the next three to four years, but I think to also help the players and give them some guidelines and give them some rules that will help them stay at schools longer, be part of a family that’s like this, a culture like this.”

Kevin Willard’s Play Style

“You have to be flexible, and really where the flexibility comes in is your playing style. You’re not gonna always have to be able to play fast or play big or play small. Your roster changes so much, but your culture doesn’t have to change,” Willard said. “We have values that we are gonna live by every day. That’s not gonna change as a coaching staff, it’s not gonna change for me… our roster might change a little bit more, things like that might change, but our culture will be as strong as ever.”

Many fans worried that the Wildcats’ coaching search saga would inhibit their ability to replenish their roster for next season through the transfer portal, but Willard described how he’s hit the ground running, interviewing transfer candidates in recent days.

“We’ve been working. I think we’ve done 120 zooms in seven days,” Willard said. “We’re making sure we’re doing it the right way with the kids that we want. We’re gonna lose some kids to the portal, that’s [understandable]… but I’m extremely confident about the team that we’ll put on the floor next year.”

Slow Tempo? Slow Your Roll

When asked about differences in speed of play between the different teams he’s coached, Willard says he looks at it through the lens of defensive effort, not the speed with which his team plays in the half-court, getting into the nuts and bolts of his outlook on the game.

“The harder you make your opponent work for a field goal, automatically your tempo on the other side of the offense slows down,” Willard said. 

“The difference between first and last [in offensive tempo] is only about 2.2 seconds in the half court. So when you really start thinking about tempo, the way I look at it is on the defensive end. How hard are we making teams score, how long are we taking them, are we forcing turnovers? So, KenPom’s great and I love it, but when you really dissect what the numbers are, each year you’re going to be different depending on your defense.”

Backing up his point, Willard said that during the 2024-25 season, his team played at a slower pace as they relied on taller players… but looking at his record historically, they still only took one second more than the rest of his teams averaged.