The college basketball coaching carousel has come and gone. First judgments have been made, but we will not truly know just how successful these hires are until the players take the court and a season (or two or three) is in the books.
Perhaps the biggest story from this year’s carousel is Maryland. Former Terps head coach Kevin Willard was in the news for the greater part of two weeks, from a report on Selection Sunday that he was nearing an extension with the school to the eventful press conferences during the Terps run to the Sweet 16 to his ultimate exit to Villanova.
Maryland moved quickly on a hire, hiring former Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams within a few days of Willard’s departure. It’s been nearly 40 days since Williams has been on the job, and they have been action-packed.
None of Maryland’s 13 scholarship players from its 2024-25 roster will be on its 2025-26 team. Williams has brought in 10 players – eight transfers (four from Texas A&M) and two freshmen – and still has five roster spots to work with.
The Field of 68 recorded its coaching carousel show on Monday. Jeff Goodman, Randolph Childress and Matt McCall talked about the biggest moves, including everything with Willard and Williams.
The crew gave their takes on Willard’s departure, the Williams hire potentially being a head-scratcher, how the new Terps coach just wins and much more.
CHILDRESS ON WILLARD’S DEPARTURE
“My thing about Willard was everybody was upset about the process, right? Everybody who’s tied to Maryland was upset. I don’t care.
I know he’s fighting for his life when he says, ‘Give me money. Give me resources. We’re nickel and diming.’ Listen, I say this without – people can be upset about it. I don’t care. Maryland and me – that’s home.
I’m from there, as you know, Jeff. It’s still a basketball school to me, and I don’t give a damn how many millions they try to throw toward football. It just hasn’t been what they think it’s going to be like most of these schools … There should have been more resources put in that program, so I don’t blame him for saying some of the things that he said.
I could care less. People who are upset were thinking about it with their heart. Now he goes to Villanova, a school where he doesn’t have to worry about that.
And there’s a ton of coaches out there that’s upset and frustrated with how they have to deal and navigate it with schools that have rich tradition in basketball, like the University of Maryland.
And all of a sudden the Terps, you’re talking, he’s complaining and they’ve had financial issues. Like everybody’s gonna go through it, but – so I have no problem with that.
“They rebounded well. That was a major hiccup. I felt like their athletic department, their school, their trustees, they screwed it, screwed up, in a sense of allowing it to get to that far. You should have extended him. When you knew the AD was leaving, then you bypass it.
There’s too many layers – and Matt, you know this as well – there’s too many layers involved in this that they should have been ahead of this if you wanted him. So my take, they just didn’t want to extend him.
For whatever that reason is, I look at it as you didn’t want to extend him. You didn’t give him the contract, or whatever that is … And he felt as though, you know what? I can get out of here. Go somewhere else.
I got this Villanova job, which we know he has. And he took it and said, ‘Hey, I don’t have to sit here and fight over financial reasons. I know I’m going to go there and be top dog and get all the resources I need because it’s Villanova.'”
MCCALL ON WILLARD
“Yeah, I mean, I’m with RC in terms of, like, let’s be proactive. Let’s not be reactive. Like, when we get to this point, we’re reacting. And my only knock on Coach Willard, and I don’t know how you handle that situation. And Will Wade was in a completely different situation, being at McNeese, but he was just forefront, honest, open, and, ‘Yeah, of course, I’ve talked to them. This is what it is. Of course. I’ve talked to them.’ I don’t know [if you can do that at the high-major level], Jeff. I don’t think you can, and that was the knock. It’s like, you see what this guy’s doing at McNeese, and he’s being open and honest and upfront, and this is what Maryland fans are seeing. But you can’t, I don’t think you can. So that’s not a knock, and I don’t blame him.”
Childress: “And you know this, Matt. 90% of the coaches that – you got to lie. 90% of these guys lie.”
GOODMAN ON VILLANOVA’S ROSTER
“Here’s what – I don’t like their roster. I don’t like their roster right now. Their roster looks completely underwhelming. I mean, you got Devin Askew. You brought in Acaden Lewis, who’s a freshman, who we have no idea. Askew’s been well traveled.
I mean, he had a good year at Long Beach State, but everywhere he’s been at a high-major spot, he’s been OK. I just, I look at their roster, and I’m like, ‘Ehh, I don’t know.’ And again, like we talked about, that’s Year One.
Year One might be an NIT. And then you go into Year Two, and it’s like, ‘Man, you better deliver.’ You better deliver right away in Year Two. You can get one mulligan in your first year. But if you go 0-for-2, just ask Kim English right now at Providence.
You go 0-for-2, you go into Year Three, and the fan base is kind of, ‘Uhh,’ they’re split. Are you the right guy or aren’t you? And Year Three is going to determine whether you get Year Four, because most guys aren’t getting four years anymore like they used to if you don’t go to the NCAA Tournament. So I like the Willard hire.
I don’t know if I love it because, again, I’m looking at the roster, and I certainly don’t like the roster in Year One.”
