The Candy Sixteen is lastly right here, because the No. 4 seed Maryland Terrapins are taking up the No. 1 seed Florida Gators on the Chase Middle in San Francisco on Thursday evening, seeking to attain their first Elite Eight since their Nationwide Championship in 2002.
It’s been an ideal season for the Terrapins, who’ve constructed one of many strongest beginning fives within the nation with Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese and Derik Queen. They completed second within the Huge Ten through the common season, and have now kicked off their NCAA match with wins over Grand Canyon and Colorado State, with the latter coming off a Queen game-winner on the buzzer.
That has led the Terrapins to their first Candy Sixteen in practically a decade and their second within the final 22 years. However, heading into Thursday’s essential recreation, not one of the media focus has been on what can be their hardest problem of this season.
As an alternative, all of the headlines have been on head coach Kevin Willard, who has publicly flirted with the thought of leaving the Terrapins for the vacant Villanova opening within the media over the previous few weeks.
Willard first aired out his soiled laundry with former Athletic Director Damon Evans forward of Maryland’s first-round recreation in opposition to Grand Canyon, citing the necessity to make infrastructure adjustments inside the program.
Not solely did he make his frustrations public, however Willard additionally name-dropped Evans’s ties to SMU earlier than an announcement was official, which was unorthodox.
“Damon and I talked on Sunday evening proper earlier than Choice Sunday. He gave me a time period sheet proper earlier than Choice Sunday. I actually wasn’t centered on it. Been centered on this group, Willard mentioned. “Damon’s talked to my agent. I talked to Damon this morning at size about the place we’re,” Willard mentioned forward of the Grand Canyon recreation. “Clearly it’s tough proper now as a result of I believe we all know his state of affairs.”
He’s in all probability going to SMU. So it’s sort of robust to barter with any individual that’s possibly not right here, however I have to make basic adjustments to this system. That’s what I’m centered on proper now. That’s why, in all probability, a deal hasn’t obtained finished. As a result of I need to see, I have to see basic adjustments. I need this program to be nice. I need to be one of the best within the nation. I need to win a nationwide championship.”
I don’t understand how we generally is a top-tier program, and I can’t spend one further evening in New York as a result of it’s too costly,” Willard continued. “So there’s basic issues I’m preventing for for my group and my program.”
Willard primarily centered on the dearth of NIL sources for the basketball program, seemingly placing Maryland in a tough place as he navigates his subsequent teaching determination.
“There’s issues that want to alter,” Willard mentioned. “Once you’re at a spot for 3 years and you place your coronary heart and soul into it, you sort of say it to sit down there and say, Okay, wait a second for us to be actually profitable, ‘ X, Y, and Z wants to alter.’ And before everything, I have to guarantee that we’re the place we’re with NIL and rev-share isn’t the place we’ve been with NIL…The previous two years, we’ve been one of many worst, if not lowest, in NIL within the final two years. In order that’s before everything. I additionally need to make a basic change the place I can do the issues that I need to do with my program.”
However then, after Maryland’s 25-point win over Grand Canyon final weekend, Willard fired again at reporters when requested about his contract state of affairs.
“There’s no state of affairs,” Willard mentioned. “The one state of affairs is you guys and Twitter. I can’t management you guys, and I can’t management Twitter. I’ve talked to those guys. These guys know precisely what’s occurring. I’ve been open with them, I’ve been sincere with them. They know precisely what’s occurring. I can’t management you guys. No matter I say, you’re going to put in writing no matter you need to say anyway. That’s why this can be a waste of my time.
“I imply, we now have an internet site that’s like, it would as effectively be TMZ. So, I can’t do something about it. I can’t do something about Twitter, I can’t do something about what’s occurring. I can deal with what I can deal with. We had been centered, I’m excited to be right here, I’m excited to be with these guys. There’s nothing else to speak about. You guys simply write regardless of the hell you need to write, I don’t give a sh**. I actually don’t.”
If you happen to thought the state of affairs was coming to an finish anytime quickly, suppose once more. As a result of issues continued to be awkward throughout Willard’s press convention on Wednesday forward of Maryland’s Candy Sixteen matchup versus Florida.
First, the top coach went on The Kevin Sheehan Present on Tuesday, the place he outlined the place he presently stands with the athletic division, even sharing that he’s staying ‘as of now.’
“Maryland’s been nice. We’re in excellent form,” Willard mentioned. “All the things that my issues have been in regards to the job, and that was my complete level on the press convention. Perhaps my Jersey got here out of me, not within the biggest approach, was I need to make this program one of the best, and I believe when you have got a possibility to do it, you need to benefit from the chance.”
Clearly, shedding the Athletic Director, [it’s] been somewhat onerous to be sincere with you. It’s as a result of I wasn’t anticipating Damon [Evans] to depart and go to SMU. However, I’ve been working with [Deputy Athletic Director] Brian Ullman and everybody within the athletic division, and so they’ve been nice and so they understood my issues and what I need. And once more, I don’t need monumental issues. I simply need this program to be one of the best it may be, and I’m not asking for that a lot. As of proper now, I’m staying.”
However then, on Wednesday at his press convention forward of Thursday’s recreation, Willard was requested about Maryland soccer head coach Mike Locksley’s feedback on the need to maintain issues in-house. In response, the top coach fully side-stepped the query in a non-discreet approach.
“The most important factor is we’ve obtained to cease [Walter] Clayton,” Willard mentioned in response. “He’s actually good. He shoots the basketball going left 48 p.c. He shoots it proper going at, like, 38 p.c. So actually, the final couple of days making an attempt to give you a recreation plan to cease Clayton as a result of I believe he’s the most effective guards within the nation that we’ve seen. And actually clearly making an attempt to repair our rebounding woes have been on the prime of my thoughts, too. It’s an enormous downside.”
Would possibly as effectively pencil in Kevin Willard into the Villanova job…can NOT consider he mentioned this earlier than an NCAA Event Candy 16 matchup.
— Ryan Coyle (@ryancoyle35) March 26, 2025
Then, when later requested about his radio present feedback about working with the athletic division, Willard, as soon as once more, side-stepped the query and centered on Florida.
“Yeah, we’re enjoying Florida. We’re enjoying Florida. It’s an enormous match-up for us,” Willard mentioned in response. “That is all in regards to the Candy 16 and these guys having fun with it as a lot as potential. I’ve get pleasure from it tremendously. I do love this city. It’s an ideal city. Nice meals. Acquired to have dinner with P.J. Carlesimo final evening, which is all the time lots of enjoyable, the tales we get to inform about Seton Corridor. And Chris Mullin and Coach Van Gundy joined us. We had a good time final evening.”
I can’t recall a latest state of affairs the place a group made it to the Candy Sixteen and the main target was on a coach probably leaving for a brand new alternative. Now, no matter how Willard handles himself all through the remainder of Maryland’s season, there can be this bubble of hypothesis across the head coach, who isn’t doing a lot to quell the rumors.
Now, Maryland has seemingly finished effectively to dam out the noise with two wins within the NCAA match to date. They’ll want to do this once more on Thursday once they face their hardest problem of the season.
However, even with a recreation of such magnitude arising, Willard’s future stays the most important query mark for Maryland, and it’s unclear when a resolve will come.