Jay Wright is stepping down from his post as the Villanova Wildcats' head coach. The legendary head coach officially announced his retirement from coaching after 21 seasons with Villanova and seven with the Hofstra Pride.
Villanova became one of the best programs in the country under Wright. The Wildcats won two national championships, made the Final Four four times and won the Big East tournament five times. Wright amassed 520 wins at ‘Nova and won the Naismith Coach of the Year twice. His teams produced five consensus All-Americans — Allan Ray, Randy Foye, Scottie Reynolds, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson.
As Wright moves into a new role with Villanova and hands the program over to Kyle Neptune, the head coach of the Fordham Rams and former assistant coach under Wright, the legendary coach's former players reacted to his retirement.
Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins and Ryan Arcidiacono helped Wright capture his first national championship in 2016. They all praised Wright and Jenkins wondered if he would make a surprise return.
Ray gave a shoutout to Wright for his great career, as well.
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Mikal Bridges, one of the best players Wright has ever sent to the NBA, showed some love for his replacement.
Amid speculation that the Villanova program will crumble without Wright, Daniel Ochefu said that the culture will remain strong under Neptune. Thanks to Wright, the Wildcats have the infrastructure to keep going strong.
Jay Wright's tenure at Villanova makes him one of the best coaches that college basketball has ever seen.