NEW YORK -- Kevin Willard first deflected.
Asked on Wednesday if he had talked to Rick Pitino, his mentor and former Louisville coach who was fired after the program was implicated in an FBI bribery and fraud investigation, the Seton Hall coach said it was a personal matter and he wouldn't answer questions on that subject.
But before the next question could be asked at Big East Media Day, Willard reversed course and offered support for the embattled coach whom he coached under with the Boston Celtics and then at Louisville.
"All I'll say on the Rick Pitino thing is I support coach 100 percent," Willard said.