One year ago, Maryland men’s basketball was a rudderless ship. Abandoned by their captain, the vessel listed and careened through a sinking season, the first losing campaign in nearly three decades.
Now — sooner than anyone could have reasonably expected in his inaugural season in College Park — Kevin Willard has all at once repaired the rudder, righted the ship and set the Terrapins sailing toward brighter skies.
The first of those came Thursday night: An indelible, “Where were you when?” moment of this new era for Maryland fans in a 68-54 upset of No. 3 Purdue at Xfinity Center.
Seeing a court full of Terrapins fans jumping in jubilee after the signature win of Willard’s first season — even if he was “trying to get out of there” because “everyone was trying to rub my head” — wasn’t surprising for the Long Islander who’s brought his brand of hard work and hustle from Seton Hall to the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic.
“[Assistant coach] Grant Billmeier and I were in early [Thursday] morning watching film, and I said to him, ‘There’s no doubt we’re gonna win this game,’” Willard recounted. “I had no doubt. You know, these kids have worked extremely hard. When we have played bad they’ve had a great attitude. They’ve worked hard.”
How far Willard has, for lack of a better term, resurrected the Maryland program and its supporters cannot be understated. In 2020, the Terrapins were potentially headed for a March to remember after clinching a share of their first Big Ten regular season title. The COVID-19 pandemic, though, would prematurely end that opportunity.
Long-simmering disappointment with then-coach Mark Turgeon reemerged after another NCAA Tournament second-round exit in 2021. With fan apathy at a new low that fall after a Dec. 1 home loss to Virginia Tech, Turgeon abruptly left — officially described as a mutual departure by the university — after nearly 11 years at Maryland.
Enter Willard, who in extremely short order after he was hired in March pieced together a locker room that couldn’t have any idea what their future or playing time would look like.
“Ten months ago, we put a roster together in a month, month and a half. And a lot of kids had to buy into what our vision was for this program,” Willard said.
Willard didn’t waver on his expectations or ambitions — “I knew where we would get” — as he worked to rebuild frayed ties between program alumni and reconnect and refocus on area talent. That included Charlotte guard and former DeMatha Stag Jahmir Young.
“He wanted to finish his career playing in the NCAA tournament. I told him if he comes and plays for me, that’s what we’re gonna do,” Willard said. “And so guys had to buy in, guys had to believe in what we’re doing.”
Young did, and in the process has become one of the best point guards in the Big Ten while leading the Terrapins into the top half of the conference standings. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, he and Willard have Maryland headed toward a likely NCAA Tournament berth — an incredible development given how dire circumstances seemed just a season ago.
“I want to keep this going,” Willard said. “If we had lost the game, it wasn’t going to be the end of the world. If we won the game, it’s not the end all — we still have five games left in conference play and we have to have to get ready for March.”
Willard brimmed with confidence about what’s to come for Maryland — “Oh, we’re gonna sustain this” — mentioning the incoming recruiting class (ranked No. 13 by Rivals) while crediting those who stuck around amidst uncertainty to be a part of something new.
“That group has laid the foundation down. Every recruit that came to watch us work, every recruit that watches us practice, every high school coach that comes and watches us practice, they all love it. They all love what we’re doing,” Willard said. “And it’s one of those things that [athletic director] Damon [Evans] and I talk about all the time: This is not just a one year thing. This is a long term thing.”
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