Honesty.

“I’m anal and I’m an a–hole,” Willard told The Athletic. “If I see something I want fixed and done better, I’m going to say it. … I grew up in New York City and spent the last 15 years in New York and New Jersey. Unfortunately, I have no filter.”

That’s important to remember as you examine Willard’s last few days.

Typically, coaches dismiss or downright dodge questions about the coaching carousel this time of year. But honesty seems to be the new policy — for some — in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. McNeese coach (for now) Will Wade made headlines this week for admitting that he had been talking to NC State about becoming the new Wolfpack head coach.

And Willard, asked before the fourth-seeded Terrapins’ first game about the rumors that he might jump to Villanova, leaned in.

Yes, he’s talked to his team about it. Yes, he’s been offered a contract extension by Maryland. No, he hasn’t signed anything yet — because things are not where they should be.

“I want this program to be great,” Willard said. “I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there’s things that need to change. … I need to make sure that where we are with (name, image and likeness) and revenue share is not where we’ve been with NIL over the past two years. We’ve been one of the worst, if not lowest, in the NIL in the last two years. So that’s first and foremost.”

Then he gave a specific — and embarrassing — example that quickly went viral.

“I wanted to spend an extra night in New York this year to celebrate Christmas with my team, and I was told that we can’t do that because it’s too expensive,” he said. “I don’t know how we can be a top-tier program, and I can’t spend one extra night in New York because it’s too expensive.”

He mentioned that Maryland’s athletic director, Damon Evans, was probably headed to SMU to take the same position, so negotiating right now was awkward. That frankness caught people off guard, too.

He was right, by the way. SMU made Evans’ hire official less than 24 hours after Willard’s comments.

After his rant made the rounds on social media, Willard went off again in the news conference following Maryland’s 81-49 blowout win over Grand Canyon. First, he said that his words don’t matter because people are going to write whatever they want anyway.

“We have a website that might as well be TMZ,” he said, not specifying which outlet he was referring to.

Did he think his message was received?

“Probably not. I don’t think anyone listens to me,” he said as his players giggled next to him. “If you’re in my household, my wife doesn’t listen to me. My kids don’t listen to me.”

He paused, thoughtful.

“My dog does.”

Once again, he was just getting warmed up.

“If something’s not better and I have an opportunity to make it better, I’m going to make it better,” he said. “And really, the only way to do it in college athletics is to put it in your contract. Because if not, they’re going to lie to you. They’re going to sit there and say, ‘Oh, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that.’ Next thing you know, they don’t. Unless it’s in your contract, they don’t do it. I understand it. I know how to play the game.”

Most coaches are strategic — about everything. Willard is demonstrating it in real time.

Willard knows the Villanova job is his if he wants it. So it’s likely that his answer in Saturday’s press conference, roughly 26 hours before Maryland plays upset-minded Colorado State for a spot in the Sweet 16, was merely his latest “checkmate” move.

Question: “Going back to the portal, it feels like a lot of teams have brought in as many new guys as you did, might have missed on a few just in terms of evaluations, what they expected a player to do and what they did. Whereas, it feels like everyone you brought in, at least from outside expectations, really met those. Are there things you feel like you valued more or less last offseason than other coaches that led to that success?”

Willard: “No. I think I’ve talked about this. When I first got this job at Maryland, we were selling hats at tailgates and football games. That was NIL. Then from Year 1 to Year 2, I was behind. The game just totally changed. It just went, poof. We lost Hakim Hart to Villanova, and when I found out what (our budget was), I was like, ‘That’s our total payroll? We have to get with it.’”

You think Willard didn’t know exactly what he was doing by using Villanova as an example? Please.

The fourth-year Maryland coach has been in the business for nearly 30 years. As he said Friday, he knows how to play the game.

It’s the rest of us who need to play catch up.

“I think everyone is looking at this like I don’t like this job,” he said, shaking his head. “I love this job. It’s a phenomenal job. I just want to make the job the best job. And there’s a huge difference in that.”

His asks are mostly straightforward. He wants an associate athletic director to oversee men’s basketball specifically, a common practice at most schools. He wants to rebrand the Xfinity Center. He wants more NIL money. A practice facility is long overdue. And he wants it all in writing.

“If it’s in your contract,” he said, “it puts a sense of urgency on it.”

“We are a Big Ten program, and we are a big-time program. It’s just, I’ve been in this business — I saw how Rick Pitino did stuff at Louisville. I have tons of friends in the business, and I see how they do stuff. When I see that we have a weakness, I want to make it a strength. No matter how small it is or how big it is.”

He was adamant that his “they’ll lie to you” comment was not a shot at Maryland but a generalization.

“What happens is, I’m in the portal, then I go recruiting, then the season starts and you come back and this is still an issue.”

He loves this job, he reiterated. He wants to be at Maryland. He left Seton Hall for this job because he grew up watching Steve Francis play and Gary Williams coach. The tradition of Maryland basketball energized him. The possibilities excite him.

“There are certain things I want to control as, technically, the CEO of the company that I don’t think I should have to ask for,” he said.

Could he give an example? He laughed.

“Good try,” he said.

Should Maryland advance to its first Sweet 16 since 2016, Willard will likely be praised for his coaching.

But when he signs a fat new contract littered with incentives — whether it’s at Maryland or Villanova — we’ll be reminded his true calling might have been as a master negotiator.