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'He said he was staying': Maryland's Rodney Rice says Kevin Willard has been transparent with team

Originally posted on Maryland Terrapins on SI
By Chris Breiler | Last updated Mar 27, 2025 10:58 PM ET

While the outside world continues to speculate over Kevin Willard's future at Maryland, the players say that their head coach has been transparent about his intentions. Following the Sweet Sixteen loss to 1-seed Florida on Thursday night, Rodney Rice said that the questions surrounding Willard weren't a distraction for the team. While he admits that he sees some of the dialog taking place on Twitter, Rice said Willard made his intentions clear.

"He's been transparent with us," Rice said. "That's all I can say, he's been transparent with us. We know what he's thinking, I guess. I mean, he said he was staying. He's fighting for some changes, and that's that."

When asked if all of the speculation was a distraction to the team, Rice didn't seem to think so.

"Nah, it's not a distraction," Rice said. "We're just playing ball at the end of the day. I see everything on Twitter, all that stuff. But it doesn't distract me, I just play."

Rodney Rice on Kevin Willard's future and the Sweet 16 loss to Florida

On Willard: "He's been transparent with us... he said he was staying, he's fighting for some changes"

Says it wasn't a distraction heading into the game#Terps pic.twitter.com/fC6WmrJZJU
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) March 28, 2025

Given how fan support for Willard has dropped considerably over the last week, it's hard to imagine how he could possibly return to Maryland at this point. Some of those folks were openly calling for Willard to be fired prior to Maryland's Sweet Sixteen matchup against Florida, and even more are now in the camp of not wanting him to return.

But if Willard's demands ultimately bring positive change to the Maryland basketball program, it feels like the uncertainty of the last two weeks will be worth it. The expectation in College Park is for the basketball team to compete for championships. And with Willard fighting for the resources necessary to do that, we could see another wild twist in this story before it's all said and done - one that could ends with Willard staying at Maryland.

This article first appeared on Maryland Terrapins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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