The Tablet . Sports | Diocese of Brooklyn

In the case of the Willards, Ralph, the father, and Kevin, the son, that is certainly true.

After all, Ralph is the basketball coach at Holy Cross College and Kevin makes his debut as a collegiate head coach at Iona this season.

That will be on Nov. 10 when the Gaels of New Rochelle officially get underway at Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA.

Unlike his dad, Kevin, who was both assistant and associate to Rick Pitino at Louisville, has inherited a program that won only two of 28 games overall and only one of 17 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last season.

At the time of his appointment last April 10, Kevin was the latest in a list of head coaches who were pupils of Pitino.

Like Father Like Son: Kevin Williard, left, worked as both assistant and associate to Rick Pitino, right, head men’s basketball coach at the University of Louisville. Willard’s father Ralph, had also been one of Pitinto’s pupils. Kevin is now spreading his wings and debuting as the head coach of men’s basketball at Iona this season

Billy Donovan of Florida; Mick Cronin of Cincinnati; Herb Sendek of Arizona State; Tubby Smith of Minnesota and Reggie Theus of Mexico State were some of the others.

As was Kevin’s father, now with the Jesuit Fathers’ school in Worcester, MA, and who also coached Kevin at Pittsburgh.

Which was one of the reasons why the now 32-year-old son decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“There are not too many times you get to say that your dreams have come true, but this has truly been a dream of mine since I’ve been following my father around St. Dominic’s High School as a little kid,” said Willard at the annual Media Day of the MAAC at Madison Square Garden last week.

“This is truly an honor, not only because I’m becoming a head basketball coach but I’m becoming a head coach at a college with such great tradition and history. To follow the footsteps of Coach Jim (now deceased) Valvano and Coach Tim Welsh at such a great institution is a complete honor and a dream.

“I guess you could say coaching was in my blood and that I was born into it.”
Playing for his father at Pittsburgh was a big factor, also.

“I saw how my dad helped kids off the court, too,” continued Kevin.
“When I told him that I also wanted to coach he was very supportive. He let me decide what I wanted to be…to find my own path.”

Willard will look to continue the up-tempo style, pressure defense, and strong work ethic that helped Louisville return to national prominence over the last six seasons.
“The three-pointer is one of the most important aspects of the college game,” offered the young coach. “Scoring from and defending the perimeter will be one of the keys to this ‘fun’ style of basketball. Fun for the players and fun for the fans.”
At Louisville, Willard was responsible for assisting in game preparations, scouting and preparing game plans. He also served as chief recruiting coordinator.

During his tenure, Louisville was ranked in the top 25 rankings for the past five seasons and reached the post-season play in each of his six years.

The Cardinals gained the NCAA Tournament on four occasions, including a visit to the 2005 Final Four. The first time in 19 years that they had advanced that deep.
In Kevin’s seasons at Louisville, the Cardinals posted a phenomenal 142-58 record, averaging nearly 24 wins per season.

The 2004-05 season saw Louisville finish as the No. 3 team in the nation in the final poll while posting an outstanding 33-5 record. The win total matched the most victories in school history. The Cardinals also earned their first-ever Conference USA regular season title and claimed the league tournament championship. Louisville reached its first NCAA Sweet 16 since 1997 as the No. 4 seed in the Albuquerque Regional before advancing to its first NCAA Final Four since 1986.

When Pitino took a short medical leave in 2004, Willard guided the Cardinals to a 64-48 victory over Houston for the one game during Rick’s absence.

Prior to Louisville, Willard worked with Pitino as an associate with the Boston Celtics for four years. His duties with the NBA team included game and practice preparation, scouting and assisting the coaching staff, advance scouting, video tape breakdowns and individual workouts prior to games.

Upon being appointed at Iona, Willard took a copy of last year’s Gaels media guide, dug a hole and buried it behind the Hynes Center on campus.

“These kids are going to enjoy playing basketball again. This year we want to prove to people that last year was a fluke. That was not Iona basketball.”

Siena of Albany was No. 1 and was followed by Loyola of Baltimore, Niagara, Rider and Marist.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” said Willard, whose predecessor, Jeff Ruland, was bought out of his contract in March after nine seasons. “We’re laying down the right foundation.”