Kevin Willard
 Willard (middle) as an assistant coach with the Louisville Cardinals under Pitino. | |
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Seton Hall |
| Conference | Big East |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
April 6, 1975 Huntington, New York |
| Playing career | |
| 1992–1993 | Western Kentucky |
| 1994–1997 | Pittsburgh |
| Position(s) | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1997–2001 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 2001–2007 | Louisville (assistant) |
| 2007–2010 | Iona |
| 2010–present | Seton Hall |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Big East co-Coach of the Year (2016) | |
Kevin Willard (born April 6, 1975) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Seton Hall University and former coach of Iona College. He took over Iona from Jeff Ruland on April 10, 2007.[1]
In his third season with Iona, Willard led the Gaels to the 14th 20-win season in program history. It was a nine-win improvement from his first two seasons in New Rochelle. After inheriting a program that was 10th to last in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Gaels improved to a Top 80 RPI in 2009–10, the highest turnaround over the timespan in NCAA Division I. After completing the turnaround, Willard accepted a head coaching position in the Big East with Seton Hall University on March 28, 2010.[2]
Willard came to Iona after spending ten years as an assistant under Rick Pitino. He started his coaching career in the NBA ranks, working on the bench with the Boston Celtics. After Pitino resigned from the Celtics in 2001, Willard followed him to Louisville, and spent the next six years as an assistant there.
Willard played basketball at Western Kentucky during the 1992–93 season (his freshman year) before transferring to Pittsburgh to finish his career.
Willard's father, Ralph Willard, is the associate head coach at Louisville and a former head men's basketball coach at Holy Cross, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iona Gaels (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2007–2010) | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | Iona | 12–20 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Iona | 12–19 | 7–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2009–10 | Iona | 21–10 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| Iona: | 45–49 (.479) | 27–27 (.500) | |||||||
| Seton Hall Pirates (Big East Conference) (2010–present) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Seton Hall | 13–17 | 7–11 | 12th | |||||
| 2011–12 | Seton Hall | 21–13 | 8–10 | 10th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2012–13 | Seton Hall | 15–18 | 3–15 | 13th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Seton Hall | 17–17 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Seton Hall | 16–15 | 6–12 | T–7th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Seton Hall | 25–9 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Seton Hall | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Seton Hall: | 107–89 (.549) | 42–66 (.387) | |||||||
| Total: | 152–138 (.526) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Willard takes over for Ruland at Iona". ESPN.com. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ↑ "Reports: Seton Hall to hire Willard". ESPN.com. 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2010-03-28.