These days it’s not unusual to witness a coaching change, maybe even two, in a single season in a single conference. It’s the business part of the game. It just comes with the territory. A trio of changes? That’s a bit more of an eye-opener. But when you have four changes to your school’s marquee sports program in a league with just 11 teams? Well, that gets you your very own story. Kind of like this one.
 
That’s exactly the scenario the BIG EAST is facing this season as change has come to the sidelines at Butler, Seton Hall, Xavier and Villanova. But in an odd quirk, it’s also a homecoming of sorts for each new coach - Thad Matta at Butler, Sean Miller at Xavier, Shahaeen Holloway at Seton Hall and Kyle Neptune at Villanova.
 
Four men who will come in looking to either resurrect a program, get it over the hump or simply keep the good times rolling. And it all starts next week with the tip off to the 2022-23 BIG EAST season on Monday.
 
The biggest change in the BIG EAST - and probably all of college basketball - came when Jay Wright shockingly decided last April he was done after 21 years and a pair of national championships and four Final Four appearances on the Main Line with Villanova. Stepping into those rather large shoes now will be Neptune, who spent eight seasons as an assistant at Nova under Wright before departing for Fordham for one season where he led the Rams to a respectable 16-16 finish.  
 
So how does Neptune feel about following in the footsteps of a Hall of Fame legend who is about more popular in Philly than the cheesesteak?
 
“I’m excited,” Neptune said. “To be the head coach at Villanova is a dream come true for me. I think working at Villanova for so long I think I felt the same pressure, if you want to call it that, as an assistant coach. I just have to come to work every day and put my best foot forward and try my very best to help keep this culture in place. That mindset hasn’t changed from the different spots that I’ve been in in the program. My mindset is exactly the same as it was a couple of years ago when I was here. I’m just really excited to be here and to get out there and compete.”
 
But helping revive a dormant Fordham program to a .500 season is one thing. There was far less media coverage, far less scrutiny and far less expectations compared to the bright lights of the BIG EAST and its marquee program. So how will Neptune handle life in the searing hot spotlight that comes with Villanova basketball? He thinks he’ll be just fine, thank you.
 
“I think, as a competitor, you put anybody in any situation and most guys will think of it as life and death,” Neptune said. “So last year at Fordham I looked at it as just as important as I look at my job now. So it’s not that big of a difference in terms of mindset.”
 
Neptune will get his first taste of being the Top Cat at Nova when he opens the season against Big Five foe La Salle Monday night. And he can’t wait to get this party started. 
 
“I grew up here. I started here in the 2008-09 season,” Neptune said. “So I got my basketball education here. So much of who I am as a person I’ve learned from being at Villanova. Not just basketball but being a man. I’m a different person (from Wright) but I think the core of what I believe in is what I’ve learned here at Villanova.”
 
Miller returns to where it all began for him as a head coach when he guided Xaver from 2004-2009. Now after being without a coaching gig for a year after being let go at Arizona in April of 2021, he is grateful to be once again on a coaching sideline. And even more grateful that it is with the Musketeers after enduring a year without basketball in his life.
 
“Growing up the way I have, the son of a high school coach and playing the game, I was never without it,” Miller said. “So there were times I didn’t know what to do. There were some enjoyable parts like Thanksgiving and Christmas (with the family). But when you’re so wired to go to practice or play a game at that time, you feel like you should be doing something else. But for the most part the one thing that stands out to me was how much I love the game and how much I missed being a part of it.”
 
Miller returns to Cincinnati after being away for over a decade. But in his first stint as Musketeers' coach, Miller enjoyed enormous success, having led the Musketeers to four NCAA Tournaments as well as a Sweet 16 and an Elite 8.
 
“It means the world to me to be back here,” Miller said. “Xavier has believed in me. They gave me my first head coaching opportunity when my record was 0-0. You always need that first person to believe in you. And I now have the opportunity to believe in who I am at a critical time for Xavier. We haven't been to the tournament in four years while in arguably the best conference in the country, certainly one of them. So, it’s a tall order and I think their belief in me, it makes me feel even better, if that's possible, being back at Xavier and living in Cincinnati. It’s a place I loved the first eight years I was there and I’m thrilled to be back. Grateful to be back.”
 
Picked No. 2 in the BIG EAST Coaches’ Preseason Poll, Miller likes what he has seen so far from his team and is ready to hit the ground running.
 
“I think we have a great group of guys. I think it’s a high-character group that really wants to win,” Miller said.  “You can always sense when a team is hungry and at Xavier the last four years we haven’t been in the tournament, and I think this is a group that’s really hungry to change that.”
 
And led by a coach who is hungry - and thankful - for another chance at leading a team.
 
“I had no expectations that I would coach in college again,” Miller said. “It’s not as if I had a timetable. But I’m grateful for the opportunity, that’s for sure.”
 
Miller’s first game back as the Musketeers’ head coach will come Monday night when they host Morgan State.
 
For Matta, it’s not just a return to a school that he once coached, but a return to a school that has been like a second home to him. And his family. We’ll let him explain it all.
 
“Last year I was in Indiana (working in the Hoosiers’ basketball office) and I looked at some jobs while I was out (of coaching) and this one just felt right,” Matta said. “Butler is home for me in terms of me being an alum there and my wife going there and my two daughters going there. I just love what this place stands for.”
 
Matta, who played three seasons with the Bulldogs and guided them to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach in the 2000-2001 season, said it’s been a bit of a whirlwind since landing back in Indianapolis.
 
“It’s funny. Life has been going so fast the last six months so I’ve yet to have that moment of, ‘Hey, you’re back at Butler,’” Matta said. “It’s just been non-stop, and I just really haven’t had the opportunity to take a deep breath. I think at some point that will hit me, But every morning I walk into Hinkle Fieldhouse and I think, ‘This is a heck of a setup.’”
 
Matta, who arrives at Butler having never endured a losing season and with three 30-victory campaigns to his credit, knows he has something of a reclamation project on his hands with a Bulldogs team that hasn't tasted the NCAAs since 2018. But he likes the makeup of his new Butler squad so far.
 
“What I like so far is that I love our guys. They have been tremendous from Day One,” Matta said. “I love their work ethic and their thirst to get better. I don’t know a ton about the BIG EAST right now and I probably won’t start looking at that until late November. The focus just has to be on us right now in terms of how we can get better. Our motto is “Let’s be better today than we were yesterday.”  And guys have done that to this point.”
 
So, after 439 career wins, why did he come out of retirement?
 
“I just think Butler presented the right situation,” Matta said. “I actually enjoyed retirement. My wife and I really enjoyed things, even during Covid. So it was not something I was itching to do but I told people if the right situation presented itself I’d look at it and Butler was obviously the right situation. I’m looking at this as a great opportunity to come in and try and rebuild something that Butler deserves.”
 
Matta will open his second stint as Butler coach when the Bulldogs host New Orleans Monday night.
 
Finally, there is Holloway, who became something of a national media favorite when he led his upstart St. Peter’s Peacocks to not one, not two, but three shocking NCAA Tournament victories last spring before parlaying that good fortune into replacing Kevin Willard at Seton Hall.
 
It was a magical ride that Holloway is not quite sure he’s over yet.
 
“I’m still dreaming and I don’t want to wake up,” Holloway said. “I still can’t believe this happened but now I just want to build on it. I want this team to understand that whatever happened last year doesn’t matter.”
 
Holloway, too, is returning home to the school he once played for and coached at as he was Willard’s associate head coach for eight seasons before taking on the Saint Peter’s job. So will there be nerves when the Pirates open their first season under Holloway on November 9 vs. Monmouth? Don’t count on it.
 
“With me, with basketball there are never nerves,” Holloway said with a laugh. “This is something I’ve waited my whole life for. I’ve always known I wanted to be a coach and coach at this level. I didn’t know it was going to happen this quickly but I’m ready. I’m prepared and we’re going to continue to build here every single day. I want to get better every single day. I’m never satisfied and I’m hungry.”
 
And might he be bringing some of the magic he displayed at St. Peter’s with him to South Orange?
 
“I’m a very passionate guy. I believe in hard work and I’m an old school coach,” Holloway said. “I believe that if you work hard, great things will happen. I’m just so super excited to be here.”