NEW YORK – Ed Cooley had to listen to it all summer. Now the rest of college basketball is about to see what Kevin Willard is so excited about.
Willard’s Seton Hall Pirates were picked first, edging out defending champ Villanova, in the Big East’s annual coaches poll announced Thursday at media day. The Pirates return nine of their top 10 players from an NCAA Tournament team that features All-America candidate Myles Powell and also add some monstrous size to the frontcourt.
Willard and Cooley spent three weeks together this summer coaching USA Basketball’s PanAm Games team and it became clear that the Pirates coach feels his team is ready for a big season.