Maryland Basketball Scoop: The Terps are moving along, but are Kevin Willard whispers becoming a chorus?
Maryland is coming off a magical week, ending its Sweet 16 drought in dramatic fashion and becoming one of the stories of the NCAAs thanks to Derik Queen's heroics, Kevin Willard's comments, speculation about Willard and Villanova and Damon Evans' abrupt departure. So while there's plenty to celebrate, questions loom.
Maryland basketball is coming off a magical week, ending its Sweet 16 drought in dramatic fashion. The Terps are becoming one of the stories of the NCAA Tournament thanks to Derik Queen's heroics, Kevin Willard's comments and a wild storyline that's seen speculation about Willard and Villanova, along with the abrupt departure of AD Damon Evans to SMU.
So while there's plenty for Terps fans to celebrate heading into a Sweet 16 matchup with Florida, a lot of questions continue to loom. Who is Willard negotiating at Maryland now that Evans is gone? Is Villanova targeting him, and will he make a decision soon? Which outcome have some insiders shifted toward?
Will he be back in College Park?
There's also the matter of hiring an AD to replace Evans. Some names have emerged. Internally, there are two factions when it comes to the search, so someone won't end up happy. On top of all of that, the transfer portal opened today and Willard needs to know what he has to spend. Queen, Julian Reese and Selton Miguel will all be gone, so they'll need to hit for the cycle again in the portal if they're going to avoid a fall-off from this breakout season.
Here's the latest exclusive Inside Maryland Sports scoop:
Willard has told his players and others he's coming back assuming he gets the resources he wants from Maryland, which includes a $4.5 million share of the revenue-sharing pot and more NIL fundraising, which are very reasonable asks. He also mentioned in an interview with The Athletic he wants to do some sort of rebranding of Xfinity Center and more control as a "CEO," and like any coach in his high-leverage situation, it goes without saying he'll be looking for a raise and an extension. I say this not because I've been told he's seeking a certain amount of salary or a number of extra years, but because when you coach a team to the program's best season in a long time, that's what you expect and usually get.
Evans planned to allocate the $20.5 million revenue-sharing pot so that the football program's budget would be in the top half of the Big Ten and basketball in the top four of the conference at $4 million, a source said.
But with Evans leaving, it remains unclear who is handling negotiations. School president Darryll Pines has been involved, but it doesn't sound like he's been actively negotiating with Willard. Multiple sources said Willard was expected to negotiate with Evans over the weekend, despite that he's on his way to SMU, which seems odd. But so is the whole situation. New interim AD Colleen Sorem is taking over the department, but it's become an open secret that she and Willard have a frosty relationship.
I asked a source with deep Big East connections what he thinks of the Willard-Nova talk.
"I think it will be Richard Pitino [hired by Villanova]. Gut feeling," he said.
Multiple well-connected insiders at Maryland remain confident he'll come back, but none views it as a 100% done deal. If he's planning to come back, one would think it would be announced in the next few days to avoid any distractions heading into the Sweet 16. Willard is aware of the speculation he's helped create with his comments about turning down Evans' contract offer and needing more resources to remain committed to Maryland.
Maryland hoped to get a deal done with Willard a couple of days ago, but that didn't happen unless they've agreed verbally without announcing it. Now that they're advancing in the tournament and still haven't addressed the uncertainty, a lot of people are starting to wonder what the deal is, and the Villanova talk is growing louder.
"If this isn't resolved before this next game and Villanova hasn't hired anybody at that point, I got to believe he's gone," said a source with direct knowledge of Willard's situation.
If Villanova remains without a coach, you have to wonder who else they might be waiting for. Especially with today being a big day.
"If Jay Wright's not coming back from the dead, who the f*ck is their guy? The portal opens today," a source said.
Willard didn't sound like a guy getting ready to leave when he told The Athletic, he's been holding two-hour staff meetings to plan for the portal. Naturally, we'll be following those efforts, which could be telling. Willard, his wife and kids are said to be enjoying living in the area.
"I don't think he wants to leave," a source with ties to his family said. "Everybody thinks they're really happy."
Maybe Willard is playing the leverage game a bit longer. Maybe he's planning to come back, but the deal isn't done, or an announcement hasn't been made. Some believe he'll end up at Villanova. Until he and Maryland address it, the speculation will grow. It's getting louder by the day.
