Maryland Basketball Scoop: The latest inside intel on Kevin Willard
As Maryland basketball prepares for the NCAA Tournament, another story has grown involving Terps coach Kevin Willard. What's the latest?
As Maryland basketball prepares for the NCAA Tournament, another story has grown involving Terps coach Kevin Willard. What's the latest?
Maryland is working to get Willard locked into a new deal and hopes to do so before the team leaves for the tournament, multiple sources told IMS.
"They're trying to get this done before they leave for Seattle," a source said.
Whether that deal is "top ten" nationally in pay, as has been reported, remains to be seen. It's also unclear whether Villanova has had any real talks with Willard's agent, though it does seem their interest is legit. It doesn't seem like a money grab by the coach in terms of salary or long-term security, but more about resources for the basketball program. Willard is intrigued by the job given his Big East roots and the fact that they don't have to spend real money on football, meaning more resources for basketball. But the sources I've spoken to believe he'll remain at Maryland.
"They're working feverishly behind the scenes," a source said.
Program insiders have said for some time that Willard doesn't believe Maryland is operated like a basketball school in terms of investment in the program. He'd like AD Damon Evans to invest more money in basketball. The athletic department has been planning to give about 14 million of its revenue-sharing cash to football, largely because it has a roster to pay that's about seven times as large as basketball's roster and many of its Big Ten peers have more.
"That's basically the rift," another source said.
With his team having a big season, vaulting Maryland back to the national spotlight, Willard has a lot of leverage and seems to be using it to get more resources for his program. My gut feeling based on multiple conversations today is a deal will get done before they head out. But that's a short time window. If Villanova job is filled, that could make it less urgent, though his name could always pop up for other jobs. Northwestern's Chris Collins, UCLA's Mick Cronin and VCU's Ryan Odom have all been reported as top candidates.
