With Willard’s departure, only a few players remain on the roster. One of them is former five-star recruit Derik Queen, a Baltimore native. There had been speculation that Queen might enter the transfer portal after Willard’s exit, but he quickly shut down those rumors.

Three days after officially becoming Villanova’s head coach, Kevin Willard spoke Wednesday with reporters on Zoom. Willard has had a busy few days. He traveled Monday to Indianapolis to watch the women’s team play in a WBIT semifinal,

One of the deciders in the process was none other than Jay Wright, Willard’s former adversary over a decade coaching at Seton Hall. After formal conversations with university President Rev. Peter Donohue and athletic director Eric Roedl, Willard fired up the old Big East phone tree Saturday night.