NEW YORK — One of the first people to congratulate Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard in the wild wake of the school’s first Big East Tournament championship since 1993 was Rutgers AD Pat Hobbs.
An emotional Hobbs found Willard amid the wild celebraton on the Madison Square Garden floor and the two men hugged and shared a few words.
It was Hobbs who, as the Dean of the Seton Hall Law School, first hired Willard six years ago and stuck with him through some tough times.
“I’m just so happy for Kevin, I’m happy for Seton Hall,” Hobbs, now the Rutgers AD, told SNY.tv exclusively on the floor. “The guy has worked so hard, through so much adversity, broken feet, Herb Pope almost dying his first year, last year disappointing, it’s unbelievable. Congratulations Kevin Willard.”
It’s been an amazing turnaround for Willard, who just a year ago was on the hot seat and said he had to convince his friend Pat Lyons, the school’s AD, that he could win at Seton Hall.
Now just look at the year he’s had. He was the Big East co-Coach of the Year along with Villanova’s Jay Wright, he’s taken Seton Hall to the Big Dance for the first time since 2006 and now he has knocked off top-seeded Villanova to win the Big East Tournament title, 69-67, in an epic game before 19,812.
“Kevin’s done a great job with them and they have a bunch of sophomores out there,” Wright said on the podium. “Down the stretch they executed. That’s a well-coached basketball team and I think Kevin’s done a gret job with them.”
When he hired him away from Iona six years ago, Hobbs said he saw qualities in Willard that gave him confidence.
“Yes, a man with a plan who was going to work hard, not be deterred, keep moving,” Hobbs said. “And he got it done and he did it the right way.”
Now Hobbs must make another coaching hire at another New Jersey Division 1 program: Rutgers.
What will he be looking for in the man who replaces Eddie Jordan, who was fired on Thursday after three seasons? Someone similar to Willard?
“Absolutely, absolutely,” he said. “I’m going to get the equal of Kevin, that’s hard to do. He’s a spectacular guy, but we’re going to be out there working very hard the next couple days to bring Rutgers this excitement.”
Rutgers, of course, hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1991, but Hobbs wants to choose someone who can begin to turn it around as soon as possible.
“As quick as we can,” Hobbs said on the timeframe for making a decision. “We got a lot of work to do.”
Dan Hurley, the New Jersey native and Rhode Island coach, is considered the No. 1 option, and he also happens to share the same agent as both Willard and Rutgers football coach Chris Ash — Jordan Bazant.
What qualities will Hobbs be looking for?
“Hard work, dedication, integrity, doing it right,” he said. “Working hard.”
Somebody with New Jersey roots?
“That’s great if we can, but there’s a lot of good coaches out there right now,” Hobbs said. “Just have to find the best person for Rutgers.”
And Hobbs hopes to make that decision soon.
“I wanna get to the next level this week,” he said. “Wanna try to get it done this week.”
Time will tell if the next Rutgers coach is the equal of Kevin Willard. But he’s the standard in New Jersey at this moment.
