What it Means to Play for Kevin Willard: Villanova F Tafara Gapare Speaks Up

Villanova senior forward Tafara Gapare is one of three players on the Wildcats’ roster to have followed head coach Kevin Willard from Maryland to the Main Line. 

Willard made an unceremonious exit from College Park, where he addressed job rumors amidst the team’s Sweet Sixteen run, later chiding himself for his openness and saying “I’ve learned over the last two weeks it’s better to say less than more” at the press conference introducing him as Villanova’s head coach. That raised questions at the time as to whether Willard’s players at Maryland would take his exit personally.

Speaking at Villanova Men’s Basketball’s media day, Gapare described what it means to play for the vocal firebrand. Gapare said that Willard recruited him aggressively from the beginning of his college career, but that he turned him down repeatedly. Eventually, Gapare looked at Willard’s body of success and decided to give him a shot.

“Our relationship actually started in 2022 when Maryland lost their coach. It started with [assistant] coach [David] Cox, and then he introduced me to Coach Willard. Right before I was going to college my freshman year,” Gapare said. “They had been trying to recruit all throughout my college career. I kept denying until my junior year, last year, I really saw what I could do with him and he unlocked a lot of potential that I had, shooting wise and also as being an athlete on the court. And ever since that season started it’s just been uphill from there.”

A member of 247Sports’ Top 100 in 2021, Gapare has come off the bench during his three college seasons: he also made stops at UMass and Georgia Tech. 

Realizing Potential

Playing a smaller role behind two of the best big men in the nation in Derik Queen and Julian Reese, Gapare saw an uptick in scoring efficiency. He said that once he came around to it, Willard’s tough style helped him improve.

“Definitely was a tough love approach to what he was trying to get out of me, but all I had to do was embrace it, and that’s all I wanted to do,” Gapare said. “Being under Kevin Willard as a coach is definitely something that a lot of athletes want to be a part of and only a few fortunate are.”

During their time together at Maryland, Willard described Gapare as “one of the most frustrating players I’ve ever coached,” in an interview with Sam Jane of 247Sports, an indication of the drive he feels to get the best out of his players.

While Gapare admitted that Willard’s demanding style grated on him at times — ‘frustrating’ isn’t the word a player wants to hear a coach describe them with — it clearly didn’t scare him away: he followed Willard from College Park to Villanova, and it didn’t take any soul searching for him to make that choice.

“Took a little toll on me midseason, but I’m back here with him now,” Gapare said.  “Was no doubt. We had many conversations and definitely just figured out what we had to do moving forward into Villanova and also helping him as a coach. Helping the program, bring it back to where it was in 2016 and 2018. It’s definitely something that he wants to do as a coach, bring a championship back here.”

Passing On Lessons

Gapare’s relationship with his head coach helps him step up as a leader for this young Wildcats team, most of whom have never played for Willard before. Willard, known for his intensity, joked at the media day that his returning athletes can help newer players know when he’s actually mad, giving them a better idea of what to expect as they acclimate to their new head coach. Gapare seconded that sentiment.

“Definitely a leadership aspect of it. It’s a lot of younger guys on this team and there’s a lot of players that haven’t played for Coach Willard, under his system,” Gapare said. “Definitely a lot of teaching that I’ve gotta do, helping the guys to understand what he’s about as a coach.” 

Beyond his role as an elder statesman, Gapare wants to prove himself during his final year in college, fleshing out his game and showing that he’s more than the young player billed as one of the best recruits in the world on the strength of his athleticism. Defense is one aspect of that development. For example, Willard said he’s deployed Gapare at the five in practices, asking him to take on a bigger role in the paint.

“As for me, being able to expand my game, showing people that I’m not just a freak athlete that can just jump,” Gapare said. “That I’m also a defensive minded player, that I let my defense dictate my offense. Get into a rhythm, open up my jump shot. He knows what I can do, knows that I can shoot, so just trusting in him.”