Kevin Willard is wearing Villanova blue; to former Seton Hall starter, it makes sense

Late Wednesday, when Mike Nzei saw a photo of Kevin Willard wearing a powder-blue Villanova warmup, he had to laugh.

For four years at Seton Hall, with Willard as his coach, Nzei and the Pirates fought the Big East blueblood tooth-and-nail. They met in two Big East Tournament title games and an unforgettable 2019 regular-season finale that got the Hall into the NCAA Tournament.

Now Willard was wearing their outfit, having taken the Wildcats’ reins after three years at Maryland.

“When I got that news, I was shocked and happy for him at the same time,” said Nzei, a former starting forward and Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year who works in Goldman Sachs’ global banking division. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, they went for our guy – the guy who gave them problems all those years when he was at Seton Hall.’”

Willard’s career move sent shock waves through the sport – he’s the first coach to leave the Big Ten for the Big East since realignment in 2013 – but to Nzei, it makes sense.

“He’s proven himself in the Big East,” he said. “He knows what it takes to win in that league. He’s a Big East guy. I feel like he belongs there.”

On Wednesday Willard spoke with reporters for the first time since his tumultuous exit from College Park, and although he chose his words carefully, a few of his remarks were telling for those who know him well. Here are three takeaways that might have gotten past those uninitiated in Willard-speak:

1. He’s tired of leaning on transfers.

Way before the transfer floodgates opened, Willard used transfers to reload at Seton Hall (Quincy McKnight, Bryce Aiken, Romaro Gill, Ike Obiagu, Derrick Gordon, Madison Jones, Kadary Richmond). He mined the portal perfectly last offseason to build a Sweet 16 roster at Maryland.

“We want to focus on high school kids and develop them, making them a priority again,” he said Wednesday. “We’re still going to recruit high school kids and we’re going to develop high school kids because I think they can help you—year to year—develop your culture, keep your culture. It’s very hard to just bring transfers in every year and keep a culture that you want to work.”

Focusing on high-schoolers is risky today because portal poachers are always lurking, but Villanova pours enough money into its program to play the retention game, so Willard can lean on his player-development chops and avoid the headaches that come with constant roster turnover.

2. He doesn’t quite know what to make of having a general manager

At Maryland Willard was his own GM, and he did a good job in that role. Villanova was an early adherent to the GM structure, hiring former Wildcat player and Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy for the position (for men’s and women’s hoops). Locally, as Rutgers and Seton Hall explore hiring someone in that capacity, it’s clear that while coaches need help navigating the legal and logistical complexities that come with free agency, they want to retain full control of the player evaluation – and dollar valuation – process.

“I’m looking forward to working with Baker – he has been really good so far with me,” Willard said. “I didn’t have a GM at Maryland, so it’s kind of nice that he’s been back doing this for two years and understands the agent side, dealing with the money side, and I think we’re going to continue to evolve. I don’t think you can have one set way. I think every year, more and more agents are getting involved, the transfer portal changes, the timeline changes, so I think the one thing we’ll be is very flexible and continue to evolve as the rules change.”

3. He has a new appreciation for Seton Hall fans and his time in South Orange

After clashing with Maryland’s administrators over how funding is split between football and basketball, there is no doubt Willard came to realize that being at a school where hoops is king has major advantages. And after apoplectic Maryland fans spent the past two weeks chasing him with pitchforks, it reinforced the classy way most Hall supporters handled his departure three years ago.

“I’m still very close with a large group of Seton Hall supporters,” he said Wednesday, joking that “I had to get their blessing” to resurface with a league rival. “So as much as I love wearing this (Villanova gear) right now, the first time I put it on was a little bit of a shock.”

He has Nzei’s blessing.

“You know the Villanova-Seton Hall game is going to be a big, blockbuster game,” the Newark resident said. “I will be there, front row – rooting for Seton Hall, of course, but I will be happy to see him back in the building. Once a Big East guy, always a Big East guy. I will support Nova as long as they’re not playing the Hall. That guy will always have my support.”

Nzei is in touch with several of his former teammates from what was a golden era of Pirate hoops – four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two Big East titles – and he feels like that sentiment is shared among the group. Willard’s new gig will be a topic of discussion, no doubt, when the 2016 Big East championship squad reunites for a 10-year anniversary commemoration that is in the works sometime in the coming year.

“He did a lot for our program and for the young men who came into our program,” Nzei said. “I hope he does really well at Nova, but I feel like he will always be a Pirate – no matter what uniform he’s got on his body.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kevin Willard's wearing Villanova blue; former Seton Hall star reacts