Villanova head coach Kevin Willard has made it a common theme to go viral during post-game press conferences. Now, it is during in-game press conferences too.
With 11 minutes left in the first half of Villanova men’s basketball’s NCAA Tournament first-round game against Utah State, Willard was pulled aside for a TV interview at the media timeout.
TNT sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi asked Willard about Utah State’s 16 paint points within the first nine minutes of the game, which gave it a nine-point lead. Willard quickly cut in with a response.
“I’m gonna fire my staff,” Willard said.
“Not now,” Shehadi responded.
“Yeah, I am,” Willard said. “Because we’ve given up eight points on underneath out-of-bounds defense. The only thing I’m gonna do is fire them and get a new staff.”
Willard then sharply turned back to the Villanova huddle to continue coaching, with no idea his 30-second interview would gain thousands of likes and views on social media before halftime.
Following Villanova’s 86-76 loss to Utah State, Willard sat down at the post-game press conference and fielded questions after the players were dismissed. When asked about Utah State’s out-of-bounds plays, he again mentioned making changes to his staff.
“I don’t think we did,” Willard said. “We gave up a big three-pointer late. Yeah, I’m probably going to have to make some changes to my staff just cause of how bad we were.”
After the second time Willard commented on staffing changes, a reporter notified him that his in-game comments were going viral on social media. Willard cut the reporter off before they could even get out their questions, saying, “It’s a joke. God bless it.”
The reporter continued with his question, asking Willard, “You gave an interview during the game. It went viral. You are being pretty heavily online…”
Willard interjected again, saying it was a joke.
“Welcome to my life. It’s a joke,” Willard said.
Some Villanova alumni expressed their displeasure with hearing Willard make the comments, believing it was not a good joke to make and does not represent the University’s values.
“IMO, Fr Peter should fire Willard,” one Villanova alumnus wrote on X after the game. “By his unhinged behavior, he is an embarrassment to Nova, and a very poor role model to the young, student-athletes in his charge. I say that as a proud, Villanova alumna.”
However, many took the opposite side, recognizing it was a joke. Many fans noted Willard has turned the program around and is back in the NCAA Tournament.
“Respectfully, you’re out of your depth here,” a Villanova fan responded. “Willard has a dry sense of humor. The Jay [Wright] days are over. He was 1 of 1. You’re never gonna get another Jay.”
While the Villanova fan base was split on its takes about Willard’s comments and humor, it was not the first time Willard went viral for his post-game comments.
Earlier this season, Willard made comments about St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino, whom he had formerly worked under as an assistant. The comments came after Villanova fell to St. John’s, 89-57, at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 21.
“I had a full set of hair when I started working for him,” Willard said when asked about working for Pitino. “It’s the most miserable experience in life. You fear for your life every day. And everyone laughs when I say that, but no, you think you’re going to get fired, and it’s miserable. And as he’s gotten older, he’s probably become more of a cranky old b*tch than he was.
“You literally fear for your life. You walk in, he walks into the facility, and he’s walking in at 6:30, and you’ve been there since 5:30, thinking you have everything right. And he comes, and he asks you one question that you don’t know. He’s got the most energy of any coach I’ve ever been around. I think that’s why he’s got 900 wins and National Championships, because he does it better and more intense than anybody.”
That full response was broken up on social media and left a lot of people to take it out of context. It got to the point where Willard had to issue a rare tweet stating how great a coach and boss Pitino was and still is.
“Coach Pitino gave me my first opportunity as a coach, a fact I am forever grateful for,” Willard posted on X the day after his comments on Pitino. “It is impossible to calculate how much I learned in every aspect of the game in my 10 years working for him. As a great competitor, he was often at his best after a loss. His energy and passion in those moments are part of what make him a Hall of Fame coach. Coach is absolutely the best at what he does.”
Last season, Willard was public about his situation at Maryland during its Sweet 16 run. He noted issues with funding, not being unable to stay an extra night in New York City. It was originally reported that Willard agreed to a contract extension at Maryland that would have made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NCAA. However, he departed Maryland for Villanova soon after its Sweet 16 loss to the eventual national champion, Florida.
Last weekend’s comments or “jokes” were not the first time Willard was taken out of context or in the wrong way. Willard will most likely be taken out of context in the future due to his sense of humor and deadpan delivery. It is going to be something Villanova fans will have to get accustomed to.
