SAN ANTONIO -- Before taking the Villanova job this past weekend, Kevin Willard had a phone conversation with Jay Wright from the back of Willard’s deck.

When Kevin Willard left Maryland, the worry was that he was going to take some Terrapins with him. So far, nobody has followed Willard to the 'Cats, but Maryland has lost almost its entire roster to this point to either graduation or the transfer portal.

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.