Resigning as head coach of the team less than a week later VillanovaJay Wright has decided to leave the door open for a coaching position in the NBA.
Appearing Tuesday on ESPN's Keyshawn, JWill & Max, Wright said that he's not looking to coach right now, but said “I'd be lying” if he said he hadn't thought about coaching in the NBA.
“Not right now. Wright expressed his NBA ambitions, “That was something that I always thought about.” “My Olympic experience kind of scratched this itch. … It's almost like I did it, in a way. They were great to coach.
Wright was a part of San Antonio SpursGregg Popovich, coach of Team USA's gold-medal winning team, a group which also included Golden State WarriorsSteve Kerr is a coach Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka.
Wright said Tuesday, “Right now… I definitely need to take a break.” Wright stated Tuesday, “Right now, I definitely need a break. [special assistant]Villanova. However, I would be lying down the road — I don’t know how I’m going to feel.”
Wright announced that he would be retiring as Villanova's men’s basketball coach after 21 seasons. This was shocking news coming just weeks after leading the Wildcats to their Final Four run.
Wright claimed that he wasn't passionate enough to be Villanova's coach. This point he repeated Tuesday.
Wright stated, “I know that I made the right choice because I don’t think I’d be able going into next year to do the things necessary to keep this program running at a high standard.” “But, I'm going for this year and will really try to make it work at Villanova and see what happens. It was impossible for me to be the coach at Villanova without being 100% in.
Wright, 60 years old, has been appointed special assistant to the university's President. He was the Wildcats' coach from 2001 to 2001. He won two national titles in 2016 and 2018 and was an integral part of four Final Four appearances. He was named Naismith coach of the year in 2006 and 2016, and inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame for 2021.
FordhamKyle Neptune from's, who worked as an assistant coach and video coordinator for Wright for 10 years, will be taking over as Villanova coach.
This report was based on information from Jeff Borzello, ESPN.
