Maryland basketball coaching candidates: where will Terp take place to replace Kevin Willard?

Kevin Willard he agreed to become the next coach of VillanovaLeaving Maryland who needs a coach after the first trip of the men’s basketball program to Sweet 16 from 2016.

It doesn’t help to leave the door, Willard Put all the infrastructure issues of Maryland bare. The main among them is the fact that Terp are still one of the few high -level programs in the country without a dedicated practice structure. The downside of the medal, few bases of fans are more passionate than those of Maryland and few places can say that they have won a national championship this millennium.

How squares those two realities? This is what makes Maryland’s search so fascinating.

How good is the job good?

You have to love a charge.

The professionals are obvious. It begins with a base of angry fans, which rival with that of almost all the programs in the country. The adhesion to the Big Ten, one of the two richest conferences of money in college athletics, is also a huge advantage and will only become more crucial in A post-home agreement, the world of revenue sharing. Geographically speaking, Maryland has an attractive swimming pool of local talents from the DMV area and is easily accessible from most places along the eastern coast. And, of course, the program won the National Championship in 2002. What other programs rival all this?

Well, those who also have such obvious comments. Do not have a practice of dedicated practice in today’s age is, frankly, embarrassing and unjustifiable; You can understand Willard’s longtime frustration for the problem. And while we are on the subject of money, the affiliation to the Maryland conference should mean that Terps can spend with the best of them, but it has not been like this in recent years.

According to the data of the United States Public Education Department since 2022-23, Maryland was 26th among public schools in male basketball expenditure. This is a point under Michigan and one above Oregon, who is not a terrible company to maintain, but is also in the ninth place among the Big Ten teams is not ideal. Oh, and those angry fans? They are fantastic when things are fine-of this season, when Terps went 27-9 and have earned a seed n. 4 In the NCAA-MA tournament when they are not, that passion quickly becomes vitriol.

Also, how ancient is Maryland’s history? Yes, that 2002 owner is still hanging on the center XFinity, but Terps have not passed beyond the Sweet 16 since then – and had returned to the second weekend of the tournament only twice before this season.

All this to say that this work can be good. Really good. But as Willard discovered, it can also be incredibly frustrating.

List of calls (in alphabetical order)

Chris Beard, Head Coach, Ole Miss: Let’s start an eclectic list with a well -known winner who led Ole Miss to Sweet 16 this season. Beard comes with a significant baggage – was fired from Texas in January 2023 for an accusation of domestic violence that in the end the police dropped – and a significant success. He is the only coach in this list that brought a team to the national championship match (Texas Tech in 2019), which matters something. But given the headache of public relations with which the school already has to do, would Maryland want to add more fuel to that fire taking the beard? The 52 -year -old eventually will have a bigger job, which is Maryland, but it is understandable if Terp does not want to invite other public ridiculous at this moment.

Mark Byington, head of the coach, Vanderbilt: Was there a more impressive and unexpected program of program than by Byington orchestrated in Nashville this season? Vanderbilt went from 9 to 23 last season to 20-13 in his first year with the program and did the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. He arrived in the wake of byington, 48 years old, bringing James Madison to a ranking of the Top 25 of the AP last season, the first in the history of the program. The native of Virginia has spent most of his life and his career in the region, which apparently would allow him to hit the ground by running from a recruitment perspective. Maybe not the sexiest rental, but byington was a winner wherever he was – and this is without the level of resources with which Maryland could work.

Jamie Dixon, head of the coach, TCU: Although TCU has lost the NCAA tournament for the first time in four seasons, Dixon remains one of the most underestimated coaches of sport. He won over 500 games in his career with a 66.9 percent victory percentage. But while Dixon has some regional ties dating back to his mandate to Pitt, will he really leave his Alma Mater? It seems unlikely, and even more if you consider that it will be 60 years old in November. However, it doesn’t hurt to make the call.

Bryce Drew, head of the coach, Grand Canyon: Drew was in the mix for Virginia’s work at the beginning of this cycle, so what about another near opening? The time has come for Drew, who has just completed his 13th season as head coach, between his period in Valparaiso, Vanderbilt and Grand Canyon, to get another crack in a high job. The mandate of the 50-year-old in Vandy did not end well, but his success at the Grand Canyon-four consecutive seasons of 20 wins, as well as four appearances on the NCAA tournaments in five years-is impossible to ignore. What Drew could do on the recruitment track with resources at higher highs would be fascinating; Do not forget that Darius Garland and Aaron Nesmith obtained during his short period in the century.

Will Bryce Drew have another blow in a power conference school? (Kirby Lee / Image images)

Mitch Henderson, head of the coach, Princeton: After three consecutive seasons with a top-100, Princeton returned a little to Earth in 2024, ending 19-11 with the worst offensive efficiency of Henderson’s 14-year-old mandate at his Alma Mater. But Princeton’s Sweet 16 of 2023, when the tigers eliminated Arizona and Missouri as a seed n. 15, still looms great, as well as Henderson’s offensive ability. The 49 -year -old made Princeton one of the most coherent programs of the Ivy League, but does it matter that he is missing a high -content coaching experience? Otherwise, Terps could do worse.

Bucky McMillan, manager of the coach, Samford: This would certainly be a strange geographical suitable for someone who practically never left Alabama, but winning is winning and McMillan’s up-time style would be one of the favorite fans in College Park. The 41-year-old won over 20 games for four consecutive seasons, a fact made more impressive since he lost several stars from his NCAA tournament team of 2024. Three crimes in Fila-100 tell you where McMillan, who did the rare jump from high school directly to division I, makes its bread. Is a jump too early too early? Perhaps. But at this point in the intake cycle, Maryland could also do worse.

Tony Skinn, head of the coach, George Mason: A former Maryland assistant who also played high school basketball in the state, Skinn easily has the strongest ties with the Terps of anyone on this list. Having trained under Willard in College Park, Skinn knows better than most of the advantages (and disadvantages) of this concert, and you have to imagine that he would take the opportunity. The 42-year-old almost brought his Alma Mater to the NCAA tournament in this season-The VCU resisted the Patriots for a short time in the match of the Atlantic 10-MA title has still gone 27-9 with a top-30 defense at national level. He has 47-21 in two seasons with George Mason and is considered a nascent star in the sector. Take Skinn would be a risk? Safe. But it could also be Maryland, for once, continue with the pack before a star goes up completely.

And on the extension of the contract just signed by Skinn, who binds him to George Mason until 2029-2030: the buyout is not yet prohibitive for a Maryland school. (For the context, Bryan Hodgson accepted an extension with the state of Arkansas in this cycle before leaving for the South Florida. It would not be minimally previous.)

Drew Valentine, head of the coach, Loyola Chicago: Valentine is ending his fourth season with the rablers and still does not go around 34 until May. He has only one NCAA tournament in his mandate in Chicago, but has won at least 23 games in the last two seasons and has bounced well from a disastrous 10-21 campaign in 2022-23. As with McMillan, it looks like a big jump for Valentine’s Day too early, but you never know.

Buzz Williams, manager of the coach, Texas A&M: Williams spent six seasons in Marquette before jumping into Virginia Tech, then five seasons with the Hokies before jumping in A&M and has just completed his sixth season at College Station. Translation: It is that time in Williams’ mandate when he tries to make another leap and, despite the success of aggies this season, basketball will always be the second violin for football at Texas A&M. Williams, 52, has a regional experience of his days of Virginia Tech, but has shown during his career that he can win anywhere. And in terms of recognition of the brands in name, it is probably the highest profile of any candidate that Terps can reasonably hope to land so late in the cycle. Williams almost certainly would not be a long -term solution of Maryland, but it would win immediately, which is all that really matters.

And the rental is …

Beard, Byington or Williams, if – and this is a great “se” – Maryland can convince some of them to give up their concert concerts. All three brought their teams to the NCAA tournament this season and apparently would ensure that there is no abandonment in College Park. (Byington is probably the most excellent of the three, and his regional ties are a bonus, even if it is not a “big” name.) But there is no guarantee that none of the three would be willing to leave the century – in which case the Terps could make much worse that reporting the former assistant Tony Skinn. Skinn’s star feels as if it were on the rise, and while Maryland could take on a cycle too early, it is better than the alternative: wait too long and lose.

(Top of Tony Skinn: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)