Everyone knows of the 1985 Villanova Wildcats and how they shocked the nation by stopping the Georgetown Hoyas in the NCAA Championship game. That was 23 years ago. Today the program has changed a great deal, and it started with the hiring of Jay Wright in 2001.
A new era of Villanova basketball began when Wright became head coach. He was a Villanova assistant coach from 1987 to 1992 under Rollie Massimino, eventually following him to UNLV. Wright would find success as a head coach at Hofstra University, taking the team to three NCAA tournaments and being named America East Coach of the Year twice.
Wright moved past Hofstra when he was named coach at Villanova to replace coach Steve Lappas, who had underachieved as a head coach. In his second year Wright was able to land a highly regarded class of players, which included stars like Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter, Jason Fraser, and Randy Foye.
This class would take Nova to four straight postseasons, consisting of two NITs and two NCAA tournaments. The two NCAA appearances resulted in two losses to eventual national champions (UNC and UF) and a No. 1 seed.
Move forward to today, and Wright has led the Wildcats to seven consecutive postseasons in his seven-year tenure as head coach. By making three Sweet 16s in the past four seasons, Jay Wright has made Villanova a constant contender come tournament time.
His recent success has helped bring in some star high school players during his time at Villanova, and it has seemed to pay off. Maybe Jay Wright doesn't have a national championship, but it is evident that his success will pay off sometime in the near future.
Jay Wright will field a team that returns all his starters from a Sweet 16 team that lost to eventual national champion Kansas.
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