Villanova coach Kevin Willard was forced to clarify some comments he made about how working as one of Rick Pitino’s assistants was a “miserable experience.”
Willard garnered attention Saturday after describing his experience as a Pitino assistant in stark terms following his team’s 89-57 loss to Pitino and St. John’s. The Villanova coach was an assistant to Pitino with Louisville and the Boston Celtics, but his comments about his former boss did not sound complimentary.
“I’m not bulls—-ing you, I don’t have hair cause of this guy,” Willard said. “It’s the most miserable experience in life. You fear for your life. Everyone laughs when I say that, but you think you’re going to get fired. It’s miserable. As he’s gotten older, he’s probably become more of a cranky old b—h than he was when I worked for him.
“You literally fear for your life. He walks into the facility at 6:30, you’ve been there since 5:30 thinking you have everything right, and he comes and asks you the one question that you don’t know. He’s that intense. He always has been.”
Kevin Willard on working for Rick Pitino 😂
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 1, 2026
"I'm not bullshitting you, I don't have hair cause of this guy. It's the most miserable experience in life. You fear for your life… And as he's gotten older, he's probably become more of a cranky old bitch"
(🎥: @PHLSportsNow) pic.twitter.com/3MnZZ8vyux
Willard’s comments seemed to be at least somewhat light-hearted, but were not taken as such. The blowback was enough to get Willard to take to X on Sunday and offer a clarification.
“Coach Pitino gave me my first opportunity as a coach, a fact I am forever grateful for. It is impossible to calculate how much I learned in every aspect of the game in my 10 years working for him,” Willard wrote. “As a great competitor, he was often at his best after a loss. His energy and passion in those moments are part of what makes him a Hall of Fame coach. Coach is absolutely the best at what he does.”
Coach Pitino gave me my first opportunity as a coach, a fact I am forever grateful for. It is impossible to calculate how much I learned in every aspect of the game in my 10 years working for him.
— Kevin Willard (@KevinWillard) March 1, 2026
As a great competitor, he was often at his best after a loss. His energy and…
Willard presumably did not hate working for Pitino that much, since he did it for a full decade. His remarks may have been a bit over-the-top, but the respect was real.
Maryland fans are well aware that Willard can be blunt to a fault sometimes. Pitino probably didn’t take any offense to any of these remarks.
