Vum DAN GELSTON
VILLANOVA, PA (AP) – Jay and Patty Wright held hands as they wound their way around Madison Square Garden Court, trying – if only for a second or two – to thank the people who followed Big Hold East Tournament title. Play until Usher blocks anyone from coming out of the couple.
For the students, the band, the coach flashed the “V” as he did after a win. The former Villanova players get a quick wave or a hug. No one who wants a moment with the trainer stays unmoved in the hoopla and the coals and gear that blat across the sound system.
“You’re going into the first round of the NCAA tournament, it’s not like that,” Wright said of the New York championship scene. “And you’re not in this arena. And you’re not in New York City. This is a big hit. This is big time. And we all know it and we feel it.
Now with that party over, the trick is to avoid the comedown as the second-placed Wildcats (26-7) travel to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Tournament Open Friday against No. 15 Delaware.
“When you go through that experience in Madison Square Garden, and you’re in that excitement, and then you come down from that and people hype you up, you have to refocus yourself,” Wright said. “It concerns me. It’s something we’ve done before.”
Yes, they have.
Wright has been such a masterpiece to avoid the excitement in recent years at the NCAA Tournament as he slams donors and fans. He can refocus in a snap – with two national titles since 2016 to show that.
This time, he tries to do it against a neighbor; just 43 miles apart the schools. But the gap in budgets, talent and national prominence between the basketball programs is greater than their seed: Villanova is 15-0 against the Blue Hens (22-12).
That does not mean that Villanova is looking past Delaware.
Even though the Wildcats are on the roll, Wright has stopped his program and measured the Big East titles and tournament appearances years ago, at least since he won the first of two national championships in 2016 (2018, the other ).
Wright preached cautiously with his wildcats.
He recorded the 2015 postseason when the Wildcats romped past Xavier in the conference tournament finals, earning a No. 1 seed and thumped Lafayette, only upset by NC State in the second round.
And there was pressure that season: President Barack Obama chose Villanova to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game. At that point, Villanova had not reached the second weekend under Wright since the 2009 Final Four Run.
Look around the pavilion or across the street at the Villanova practice facility, and it’s clear that the Wildcats have learned some lessons about this span. They have so much crystal under the glass that it looks like Tiffany’s. There are two national championship banners in the block, and the common dominator through the buzzer-beating triumphs and breezy blowouts in the championship is 60-year-old Wright.
“He’s a classic guy and a really good coach,” former UConn coach Jim Calhoun told MSG. “Even though he thinks he looks like a movie star, he’s actually a real nerd. He’s a movie guy. I was never a movie guy.
Wright’s wardrobe might actually be the only real change through the season. Once known as GQ Coach, Wright gave up costumes as the pandemic transformed Sideline clothing into a permanent casual Friday.
Clothes moved out of the rack as Wright picked up another milestone:
– He achieves 25 or more victories for the 10th. Time in his 22 seasons.
– The Wildcats have won a regular season or postseason conference championship in each of the nine seasons since the Big East was reconfigured in 2013.
– It’s the eighth time the Wildcats have been a No. 1 or 2 seed under Wright.
– His 516 victories in Villanova (638-231 in total in Villanova and Hofstra) are the most in the program and earned him an induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is the only active coach with more national titles (5) than Wright
Krzyzewski is the NCAA career leader and winner. The No. 2 coach is Philadelphia’s own Herb Magee, who retired this month with 1,144 wins over a career spent in Division II Thomas Jefferson. Even a Hall of Fame coach, the 80-year-old Magee, said Wright is among the All-Time Greats.
“I think one of the best coaches who has ever trained is Jay Wright,” Magee said. “It’s his style of play and what he does to win games. It’s simple things like breaking pressure or applying pressure. Last-second things. He’s as organized and as good a basketball coach as anyone I’ve ever seen.
Once a school that produced only the occasional player in the NBA, Wright’s incumbents included Mikal Bridges, Kyle Lowry, Jalen Brunson, and Saddiq Bey.
“He’s just a great person you want to be around, from whom you want to learn,” said former Wildcat Kris Jenkins. “That your parents want you to be obviously around. He really cares about every player and I think it’s easy to play a coach when he feels that way.
Wright and the Wildcats are looking to cut more championship nets.
The brackets are out this week, and so, at Villanova, is a ladder. Just in case.
___
More AP College Basketball: and and
Add Comment