UConn men and Big East: Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard on Huskies return, says ‘It sucks for us’ ... Let the rivalries begin

Since UConn’s move to the Big East became known during the summer of 2019, it has generally been one long rolling out of the red carpet.

The men’s basketball program was rejoining several of its old rivals in the new version of the conference, and would find its home in a basketball-centered league.

But now the games, depending on how much more havoc the COVID-19 pandemic can wreak on the schedule, are nearly upon us, some dates have finally been announced, and that welcome mat might start to show a kink or wrinkle here and there.

“Well, it sucks for us, to be honest with you,” said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard during the Big East’s Media Day, staged virtually Wednesday. “I didn’t vote for it. I voted against it, to be honest with you. I’m still really not that happy about it. If you don’t know, no one in this league listens to me, so it’s not like I’m used to getting my way anyway.”

Willard may have been joking, half-joking or perhaps sarcastic, or all of the above. In the past, he has been enthusiastic about the addition of UConn, telling The Courant last summer he expected games to be “electric.”

But his comments, relayed to UConn coach Dan Hurley, signaled this much: It’s on. The old, pot-stirring rivalries are coming back.

“Listen, that logic, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to me,” Hurley said. “But I’m not the coach at Seton Hall. Obviously, we’re all competitive and I just think that the stronger your conference is, Seton Hall under Kevin has had great success, NCAA Tournament appearances, playing at the top of the Big East, I don’t think any of that is going to change. UConn is going to add one of the most passionate fan bases in the country.”

Seton Hall, among other schools, has some reason to rue the return of UConn. Hurley, a Seton Hall alum, has deep New Jersey roots and has already found success recruiting in the Pirates’ backyard.

“For the league in general, I think it’s great,” Willard said. “It’s a great program, great tradition, great history. I think the program where it’s at now with Danny, it’s definitely on the rise. They have great players. I’m a big fan of what Dan does and how he coaches and how his teams play. And I think it’s only going to make this league better. Obviously we’ve been the best basketball league in the country three of the last four years. I think they just help us to continue that trend.”

That is more in line with the general feeling around the Big East, which announced the first part of its pandemic-altered schedule, games to be played between Dec. 11-23. UConn plays St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion Dec. 11, at Georgetown’s McDonough Arena on Dec. 13, at Providence’s Alumni Hall Dec. 13, Creighton at Gampel Pavilion Dec. 20 and at DePaul, home court to be determined, on Dec. 23. Tipoffs and TV information will come later; the remainder of the conference schedule will start Dec. 30 and will be released in late November.

“UConn was obviously a staple in the Big East, so welcome back.” St. John’s coach Mike Anderson said. “It’s going to be a big challenge coming right out of the gate.”

“I’ve always been impressed with the job Coach Hurley has done,” said Creighton coach Greg McDermott. “I played against his team in the NCAA Tournament when he was at Rhode Island and didn’t have a lot of success, so I understand the toughness they display when they play and there’s a premium on execution on the offensive end of the floor. They’re coming into the league at a time when their program is strong and they’re going to add real value to the Big East.”

Providence coach Ed Cooley called the addition of UConn “a natural fit.”

Commissioner Val Ackerman said a conventional travel model with COVID health and safety measures in place, was “Plan A,” but a bubble for games after Dec. 30 was a possibility. Villanova coach Jay Wright said “no question about it, a bubble is the way to go if you want to get all the games in.” The policy on admitting fans will be school-by-school, and likely game-by-game.

So there is much yet to be worked out as to how the Huskies' first season in the conference will play out, but there was no shortage of respect for UConn, however it was expressed, and vice versa. The conference’s coaches picked them fourth in the preseason poll and named sophomore James Bouknight to the preseason second team.

“[UConn’s return] is awesome for the league," said Wright, whose team was picked No.1. "The beauty of the Big East is authenticity — every school is a basketball school. We played UConn last year at home and it was a [close] game, so we know how tough this is going to be.”

If UConn had remained in the American Athletic Conference, it might have been picked first or second in the preseason, based on the Huskies strong finish last season. In the Big East, Villanova, Creighton and Providence were ranked ahead of UConn, Seton Hall, Marquette and Xavier right behind.

“We were well on our way to getting our level of talent in here back to where it needed to be,” Hurley said. “Our first recruiting class, when there was no hint of the Big East, was Bouknight, Akok Akok, Jalen Gaffney and R.J. Cole. So we were already recruiting at a very high level, but the [move] certainly has enhanced that and added to the excitement level surrounding us.”

The league, since it was assembled in its current form in 2013, has traditionally been strong top to bottom. “We’re not being politically correct when we say anybody can win,” Wright said. “Every night, it’s a battle.”

That’s what the Huskies signed up for: “For us," Hurley said, "the difference from where we’ve been the last couple of years, these games are like high-profile. Everyone’s watching Big East basketball, these are national-stage games. This is absolutely no nights off home or away. You could lose any game because top to bottom, there is just no nights off in a conference like this. The electricity on game night, every single night, all 20 games, you can’t [afford] to sleepwalk through a half.”

Bouknight, UConn’s marquee player and considered a top NBA prospect, said he was “honored” to be chosen for the second team, among the top 10 players in the Big East.

“Growing up, wanting to play high major college basketball, you just want to play the best teams in the country. Not taking anything away from the AAC, but just every night playing against the Villanovas of the world, the St. John’s of the world, it’s just like a dream come true. But wasn’t a surprise. UConn belongs in the Big East, and everybody knows that. We’re just ready to take on the opportunity."

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com

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