Check out the highlights from Jay Wright's win over Houston. 1:06
A quiet Wednesday night in mid-April got very loud in the world of college basketball when it was learned that Jay Wright, the coach of the Villanova men, would be retiring after 21 seasons, 520 wins, two national titles and four Final Fours. Wright stepped down 18 days after the Final Four loss to Kansas.
While the world waits for word from Wright, the college basketball team of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi weighed in on his accomplishments, where the shock factor of his retirement ranks in college hoops history.
The most popular topic on sports radio in Philadelphia was "Is Jay Wright the greatest coach in the city's history?" after the Final Four. The answer is the same regardless of the news of Wright's retirement. Jay is on a very short list if he isn't the No. 1 answer.
Start with the university. Rollie Massimino, Steve Lappas, Al Severance, Jack Kraft, and Jack. Massimino had a great NCAA title in 1985. Wright is outside in the field.
The Philadelphia Big 5 has produced many Hall of Fame coaches. Many are giants in the city and beyond, but Wright surpassed them all as a college coach.
What do John Thompson, Jim Boeheim and Massimino have in common? They are icons of the Big East, with multiple Final Four appearances and a national championship. Wright added an Olympic gold medal to his collection.
Wright was the one who killed the Big 5 because he was too good. Wright saved the Big East when it was reborn a decade ago. In the first five years of the Big East, the only thing that Villanova did was win two national titles. Think about that.
College basketball has lost a good coach and representative. Jay Wright has been an incredible competitor and a first-class mind. That is where the winning was born and what an entire sport can never replace.
I think his best achievement was the national title run. We view the championship as a miracle from a group that gave us one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in the history of the NCAA tournament. Kris will not have to pay for another meal in Philadelphia after that incredible moment. It was something else.
Before it got to the national tournament, the team had defeated some of the best teams in the country. The team lost only one game the rest of the way, an overtime battle at Creighton. In the NCAA tournament, the Cats beat every team by double digits, including a 17 point win over Michigan in the title game. It was one of the most dominant runs in recent NCAA tourney history. It was a statement that the Power 5 would be viewed as the Power 6 with the Big East getting a spot.
His ability to develop NBA talent isunderappreciated. There are not many programs with more players in recent years who have found spots in pro rotation than Wright. Kyle has played more NBA games than any other person in the history of the school. Bey scored 16.7 points per game for the Pistons. The Dallas Mavericks have a reliable point guard in Jalen Brunson. The Phoenix Suns had a finalist for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Dante Cunningham made $20 million over the course of a decade. Josh Hart signed a three-year deal. Those who went through Wright's program were prepared to compete once they arrived. That part of his legacy deserves more attention.
On April 4, 2016 North Carolina's Marcus Paige hits a miracle 3 to tie the score but is outdone by Kris Jenkins who hits a 3 to win the title.
Wright's retirement or career change is a way up there in terms of shock value. It is time to start thinking about the next chapter when you reach the age of 60. College basketball coaches are not in normal jobs. Wright is almost 17 years younger than Jim Boeheim, 13 years younger than Leonard Hamilton, and 12 years younger than Jim Larranaga. The standard operating procedure is to keep going through your 60s when you reach Wright's level. He decided that two national titles would suffice.
You might have to go back over 50 years to find something like what Wright has done. In December 1976, Al McGuire surprised a lot of people when he said that he would step down as the head coach at the end of the season. At the time, he was just 48 years old. Still, even McGuire's precedent doesn't measure up to Wright's departure. The national title was won by Marquette. The team came very close to not making the NCAA tournament field, but that was not something McGuire knew in advance. Wright knows what his legacy is and what his decision entails. This is a bombshell.
Neptune is just 37 years old and has only one year of head-coaching experience under his belt. It is going to be a shock to see someone else on the sideline. Neptune should be aware of the culture of Villanova. He worked under Wright and Joe Mihalich at Niagara for three seasons. Neptune was an assistant coach at the time. He was in that position for eight years, winning two national titles and solidifying himself as the next in a long line of Wright assistants to get a head-coaching job.
Neptune was named the head coach at Fordham in the spring. He went 16-16 overall and 10-8 in the Atlantic 10 in his lone season with the Rams. While those numbers don't jump off the page, consider that Fordham hadn't won eight A-10 games in two years.
The seniors on the Final Four team were: Brandon Slater, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, and Jermaine Samuels. After the NCAA granted every student-athletes a free year due to the impact of the 2020-21 season, only Gillespie and Samuels are officially out of eligibility. Although he will be out indefinitely, Moore is the top player that is certain to return. The other starter is also back. There are a lot of questions across the rest of the roster. Wright mostly used just six players throughout the key parts of the campaign, and only one is healthy and set to come back. Bryan Antoine, Chris Arcidiacono, Jordan Longino, and others played different roles along the perimeter this past season. None of the five players played more than 10 minutes per game.
The three freshmen are led by five-star forward and ESPN 100 point guard Mark Armstrong. Brendan Hausen is a four-star shooting guard.
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