On why he likes coaching in college
"The appeal of college, for me at least, is that you still have a chance to really impact men's lives. You don't have that in the NBA. You're not impacting LeBron James. But I got to impact Derek Queen this year. I got to impact all these kids' lives—whether they like it or not—through our discipline, through our work ethic, through everything that we try to do as a program. We still impact young men's lives. That's still a huge part of what we do in college basketball. Yes, there's money. Yes, there's NIL. Yes, we have no rules. Yes, it's mayhem. But at the end of the day, when you run a really good program—I think we run a really, really good program—you have a chance to impact young men's lives."On the bench
"Those guys have been critical for us all year, if you think about just the energy they bring, the defense. Jordan with his defense, Tafara with his length, Jay—Jay has an unbelievable ability to get his hands on the ball. So just for them to continue to come in and change the game from a defensive standpoint, that's really been critical for us."On whether a lot of college coaches will leave for the NBA because of all the new job duties
"Could be the best question I've ever been asked. I think you will see a lot of college guys try to go to the NBA. I spent four years in the NBA, and those guys—you have to earn their respect as a coach. The NBA is the elite of the elite. If you look at the guys coaching there, they're usually guys that started as either former players who have done it and know the game inside and out and see the game on a chess level, or it's guys that started as a video guy, did advanced scouting, then was an assistant. And when you become a head coach, the players have such respect for your journey. I look at guys that have gone from college right to the NBA, and it's really hard to gain that respect on the NBA level. The great thing about the NBA is you have a GM, a salary cap, long-term contracts, summers off. You stay at Four Seasons. You travel great, eat great, get to stay an extra night in New York. You're going to get me in trouble. The NBA is the best of the best on everything. I lived there for four years. You land, and you don't worry about your bags—they just show up in your room. You're not on the tarmac putting them in the back of the bus with the managers.On how much NIL has changed
"When I first got this job at Maryland, we were selling hats. We were selling hats at tailgates and football games ... Year two, I was behind. The game just totally changed. It just went poof ... We lost Hakim Hart to Villanova ... I knew we had Derik and Ju, so I changed. I really did. I changed my mindset. We lost Hakim Hart last year. How I want to play and how I need to develop a roster is no longer developing four freshmen, letting them become sophomores, bringing in four more freshmen ... I had to adapt so quickly. I think we did a good job—my staff and I—of just saying, 'Okay, how do we want to play? Who's out there? What type of attitude?' There's so much that goes into it. You can still miss on the portal. I don't think we missed because we were really specific on what we wanted: unusual, great kids. That was the main thing—I wanted great kids. These guys are."On whether coaches need to be the face of their programs because players move around so often
" I hope not. I think this game is still all about the kids and their opportunity. I know it doesn't seem that way. I watched how excited Derik Queen was on Selection Sunday. I still think this sport will figure out a way to make sure that these kids—because this is their opportunity. I'm a head coach. This is their opportunity to make it. It shouldn't be about the coaches. It really shouldn't. It should be about developing these young men and giving them the best opportunity. They're 21 years old. I'm 49. My job is to make sure they can get to 49.""Have I felt any obligation to be the face of the Maryland program? I don't think anybody wants this face anywhere. If you go to Xfinity Center, I'm not on one wall. And that is on purpose. I would much rather have Derek Queen smiling, Julian Reese smiling, everyone getting to know them, everyone remembering them. My job is—no, absolutely not."
On adapting to coaching in the Big Ten
"When I started at Iona as a head coach, was there a defined style of play I wanted? Yeah. I had worked for Rick Pitino for 10 years, so I thought I was Rick Pitino. I ran the same practices, ran the same plays. When I got to Seton Hall, I still thought I was Rick Pitino—until I walked into the first meeting and saw Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins, and Jim Calhoun. Then I realized, unfortunately, I was Kevin Willard. But a good coach. The Big Ten has made me evolve as much as anything. I look at Matt Painter and what they've done, and the fact that the Big Ten is 9–0 in the NCAA Tournament now—the Big Ten has forced me to evolve. The different styles, the different coaches, the level of players. You look at the freshmen in this conference and how good they are, top to bottom. I've evolved as a coach dramatically in 19 years, but the last three years in this conference, I've had to change even more. To win 14 games in this league—we talked about it as a staff—that's crazy. And to do it in the venues we have to go on the road, with the players and coaches. I've evolved—as my hairline has evolved."That's a long time."
