Jay Wright Announces Retirement from Villanova
Jay Wright walks off the court at the Finneran Pavilion after a game against Saint John’s in March of 2019. (Nick Schreder/AKSM Photography).
When people look back at his time at Villanova, they will remember a man that brought the program to new heights and was able to keep it at the top of basketball rankings year in and year out. The best part about Villanova's success? It was done his way, the Wright way.
Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports
Story originally published on April 20, 2022 and updated on April 22, 2022
VILLANOVA, PA - What came as a surprise is now bittersweet: After 31 years, 21 of them as the man on the Main Line, Jay Wright has stepped down as the head basketball coach of Villanova.
"It has been an amazing run with incredible players," said Wright at his final press conference.
While this was unexpected to most people, Wright knew within the last few years that it was time to step down. This season happened to be the right time.
"I didn't have the edge I always had, " noted Wright on some of the reasons on why to step down now. "We ask our players that you're either 100% in or you're against us. (But) I couldn't do that."
Wright admitted that he was giving 70% of his effort, and it would not be fair to his players and staff, who were giving 100%, if he could not give the same output.
His effort is almost unparalleled to other coaches in college basketball history. In his 21 years at Villanova he had 520 wins, eight Big East Regular Season Titles, four Final Fours, and two National Championships (in the span of three years), becoming one of 14 coaches to do so, joining the likes of John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, Mike Krzyzewski, Billy Donnovan, and Roy Williams.
During Wright's time at Villanova, he transformed Villanova as a premier program that was elevated to Blue-Blood status. In his last nine seasons, Villanova: won two national championships, seven Big East Regular Season titles, five Big East Tournament titles, went to three Final Fours, had a record of 22-6 in the NCAA Tournament, 130-31 in Big East Regular Season games, accumulating to a 263-45 record overall, a winning percentage of 83.2%.
One speculation as to why Wright was retiring was due to the changes in college basketball, particularly with the NIL (Name Image and Likeness) rules and the transfer portal. That didn't play a huge part into his decision, yet he was impressed with the NIL and believes it's a benefit to college basketball.
"I think these things are eventually going to be good for college basketball," Wright replied. "Some of our guys made really good money, had 3.8 GPA's, and went to the Final Four. I watched how (his staff) handled it (and) they are better than me (at it). (Our players) were good students, made money, and played great."
The most important thing Wright wanted to accomplish before retiring was to make sure that his replacement was going to be announced, and that the current staff was going to remain intact. He thought it would be a disservice if he just left without giving answers to his current players as well as his recruits about what would happen next to the program. Kyle Neptune, who served as an assistant under Wright for 10 years and was the Head Coach at Fordham last year, will take over the reins with the same staff that Wright had this season.
When people look back at his time at Villanova, they will remember a man that brought the program to new heights and was able to keep it at the top of basketball rankings year in and year out. The best part about Villanova's success? It was done his way, the Wright way.