Villanova coach Kevin Willard says working for Rick Pitino ‘miserable’

It’s been a strange season to gauge for Villanova men’s college basketball. They boast plenty of signature wins, including tough road victories at Creighton, Marquette and Wisconsin. But despite a respectable resume and a 22-7 record, the Wildcats have been unable to get a sniff of the Top 25 rankings.

Now in the final week of men’s college basketball regular season, Nova’s Top 25 chances have clearly evaporated, dropping road games the past two Saturdays to No. 6 UConn and No. 15 St. John’s, the latter in blowout fashion.

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Villanova’s 32-point loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28 added insult to injury for Wildcats first-year coach Kevin Willard.

Following the 89-57 debacle Willard, who previously worked under Red Storm coach Rick Pitino as an assistant, was asked what Pitino was like at practice immediately following a lopsided defeat. He didn’t hold back with his answer.

He didn’t have fond memories.

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“I’m not [expletive] you — I don’t have hair because of this guy,” said Willard, who is bald. “I had a full set of hair when I started working for him. It’s the most miserable experience in life. You fear for your life every day. Everyone laughs when I say that, but you think you’re going to get fired. It’s miserable.

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“As he’s gotten older, he’s probably become more of a cranky old [expletive] than he was when I worked for him, but you literally fear for your life,” Willard said. “He walks into the facility at 6:30 and you’ve been there since 5:30 thinking you have everything right and he comes in and asks you the one question you don’t know. He’s that intense. He always has been. He’s got the most energy of any coach I’ve ever been around. I think that’s why he’s got 900 wins and national championships because he does it better and more intense than anybody.”

Willard started his coaching career by working…

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Publish date : 2026-03-02 15:27:00

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