Report: Maryland hiring Big East head coach to be next head basketball coach

Maryland is hiring Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard to lead their basketball program into a new era. After mutually parting ways with former coach Mark Turgeon after almost 11 years at the helm, the Terrapins are bringing in Willard to takeover their program.

“Sources: Maryland will officially announce Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard as its next head basketball coach this morning,” tweeted Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. “A press conference is set for Tuesday. The Chiropractor is officially headed to the Spring Break capital of the Northeast.”

Moreover, Willard has built Seton Hall back into one of the most feared programs in the Big East. After an uneven start to his tenure, the Pirates have made five of the last six NCAA Tournaments. Additionally, Willard led Seton Hall to a Big East Tournament title in 2015-16. In 12 seasons at the helm of the Pirates, Willard accumulated a 225-161 record, while going 105-113 against the Big East.

With multiple programs looking for a new head coach, Willard’s name has been floated around the nation. His work with Seton Hall has been revered, as well as his impressive three seasons at Iona in the years prior. Now, Maryland has their guy.

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Continuing, Kevin Willard is joining a program that preaches patience and gives you time to find success. To illustrate, the Terrapins have only had two coaches in that last thirty years — Gary Williams and Mark Turgeon.

First, Williams coached Maryland for 22 successful seasons. The top moment — none other than Maryland capturing the 2002 NCAA Tournament title. Over the course of his career, Williams led the Terrapins on 15 trips to the dance.

Next, Turgeon took over for the legend in Williams, taking the torch in 2011. His Maryland teams were tough, and always a threat — but they didn’t have the same success in the NCAA Tournament. Turgeon accumulated a 226-116 record with the Terrapins, but his teams never made it out of the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, Kevin Willard hopes to provide the same success to Maryland as his predecessors. There’s an opportunity to build something special at Maryland, and Willard will be looking to do that immediately.