Jay Wright (coach)

College coach infobox
Name = Jay Wright
Sport = Basketball


ImageWidth = 100px
Caption = Jay Wright
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1961|12|24
Birthplace = flagicon|United States Churchville, PA
DateOfDeath =
Deathplace =
College = Villanova
class="wikitable"
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row 2, cell 3| Title = Head coach
Awards = Naismith College Coach of the Year (2006)
Big East Coach of the Year (2006)
America East Coach of the Year (2000, 2001)
Championships = Big East Regular Season Championship (2006)
America East Tournament Championship (2000, 2001)
America East Regular Season Championship (2000, 2001)
CurrentRecord = 128-70 (.646)
OverallRecord = 250-155 (.617)
Player = *
Years = 1979–1983
Team = Bucknell
Position =
Coach = *
CoachYears = 1984–1986
1986–1987
1987–1992
1992–1994
1994–2001
2001–present
CoachTeams = Rochester (asst.)
Drexel (asst.)
Villanova (asst.)
UNLV (asst.)
Hofstra
Villanova
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =

Jerold "Jay" Wright (born December 24, 1961) is an American basketball coach. He is currently the men's basketball coach of Villanova University. He was born in Churchville, Pennsylvania, U.S., and is married to a former Villanova cheerleader. In 2006, Wright signed a seven year contract extension with Villanova University which should make him head coach through the 2012-2013 season. Wright is famous for his four guard offense that Villanova ran to success in the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments.

Education

Jay Wright graduated from Council Rock High School North in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Later, Jay Wright graduated from Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1983, where he played on the basketball team and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Early coaching career

Upon graduating from college, Wright got his first job as a coach at Division III Rochester. In 1986, he got his first position in Division I college basketball as an assistant coach at Drexel University. His next job came as an assistant to Rollie Massimino's National Championship program at Villanova, where he remained from 1987-1992. In 1992 he moved with Massimino to UNLV program, where he remained until 1994.

In 1994, Wright landed his first head coaching position. Hofstra University hired him to breathe life into a program that had struggled through the late 1980s and into the early part of the 1990s. Piece by piece, Wright transformed the Pride into a potent force in the America East Conference. This period was capped by a three-year run, which concluded in 2001, that saw Hofstra post a 72-22 (.766) record and make a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Wright earned America East Coach of the Year honors in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01. He was also tabbed Eastern Basketball's Coach of the Year in 1999-2000.

Hofstra head coach

In 1994, Wright was named head coach at Hofstra University, which had struggled through most of the 1980s and early 90's. Under Wright, the program slowly and steadily improved, and by 1999 the Pride were a premier team in the America East Conference. They won the conference championship in 2000 and 2001, and from 1999-2001, went 72-22, including two NCAA tournament appearances. Wright was named America East Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.

Wright took the Pride to the Postseason three times:
* 1999 NIT: Hofstra was defeated by Rutgers University 58-45 in the first round
* 2000 NCAA Tournament: As a #14 seed, Hofstra lost to Oklahoma State University 86-66 in the first round.
* 2001 NCAA Tournament: #13 seed Hofstra was defeated in the first round 61-48 by UCLA.

Villanova head coach

On March 27 2001, Wright was named head coach at Villanova, becoming the eighth coach in the 81-year history of the program. Wright inherited a mediocre team from previous coach Steve Lappas, and in Wright's first season, they made the NIT. In 2002, Wright was able to secure one of the top rated recruiting classes in the country, led by McDonald's All-American center Jason Frasier. However the Wildcats had a mediocre 2002-2003 season, which was marred by a phone card abuse scandal that eventually resulted in suspensions to over half the roster, though penalties from the NCAA were avoided. The Wildcats again made the NIT but did not advance far. The 2003-2004 season saw more playing time for the talented young players from the previous recruiting class, but it also resulted in a mediocre season and another NIT appearance.

In 2004-2005 season, Wright's fourth as head coach, the team make real strides. They finished 22-7, including an upset over #2 Kansas, and earned a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament. Villanova defeated New Mexico and Florida to advance to the sweet 16. However their tournament run came to an end next round after a narrow loss to North Carolina, the No. 1 seed (and eventual champion).

The 2005-2006 season saw the Wildcats ranked in the pre-season top four of both major polls, thanks to the return of most players from the previous season. Led by seniors Allan Ray and Randy Foye, and explosive sophomore Kyle Lowry, the Wildcats lived up to the hype and finished with a 25-4 regular season record, including a 14-2 record in the Big East regular season, which tied them with University of Connecticut for first place in the conference.

In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Wright's experienced team earned a #1 seed for the first time in school history and posted victories over Monmouth in the first round and Arizona in the second. Wright's squad then narrowly edged Boston College to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1988. However, the Wildcats run ended there, as they lost to eventual champion Florida. This marked the second consecutive year in which Wright's Wildcats were eliminated by the eventual national champion.

For his performance in the 2005-2006 season, Wright received national coach of the year honors from CBS/Chevrolet; the Naismith Awards; and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He was also named the Big East Coach of the Year.

The 2006-07 squad had to replace three starters, but thanks in part to the healthy return of Curtis Sumpter, who had missed the previous season with an ACL injury, and McDonald's All-American Scottie Reynolds the Wildcats made it back to the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. With a 22-10 record, they were seeded 9th but lost to Kentucky in the first round.

In the 2007 off season, Wright once again came up with a highly rated draft class, this time led by McDonald's All-American Corey Stokes and Jordan Brand All-American Corey Fisher.

The 2007-2008 season saw the Villanova struggle at times, including a five game losing streak. Wright and the Wildcats were able to rebound and were able to get a 12 seed, the final at large seed, in the NCAA tournament. They upset fifth-seeded Clemson in round one and beat Siena in round two to advance to their third Sweet 16 in four years. They lost again to the eventual champs this time to Kansas.

Head Coaching Record

USA Basketball

Wright has coached, as a head coach or assistant coach, United States basketball teams three times in international competitions. He led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2005 University Games as head coach, and was an assistant coach in the 2000 World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Tournament. [cite web|title = Villanova University Mentor Jay Wright Chosen Head Coach Of 2007 USA Men's Pan American Games Team| work = USA Basketball| url=http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=07_mpag_coaches| accessdate = 18 July| accessyear = 2007 ] Wright coached the American team in the 2007 Pan Am Games to a fifth place finish, with a 3-2 record. Wright's name has been mentioned as a candidate to coach the United States team in the 2012 Olympics. [cite web | title = Wright Right for Olympics| work = PhillyBurbs.com| url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/256-07182007-1379462.html| accessdate = 18 July| accessyear = 2007 ]

Players who were coached by Wright who went on to play in the NBA

*Speedy Claxton, Hofstra, Drafted 2000, #20 overall, Played in NBA 2000-current
*Randy Foye, Villanova, Drafted 2006, #6 overall, Played in NBA 2006-current
*Kyle Lowry, Villanova, Drafted 2006, #24 overall, Played in NBA 2006-current
*Allan Ray, Villanova, Undrafted free agent signed in 2006, Played in NBA 2006
*Norman Richardson, Hofstra, Undrafted free agent signed in 2001, played in NBA for 2001-2002 season with the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls

Fashionable Four

Jay Wright is a multiple winner of GQ's Fashionable Four, an award given to the best dressed coach in college basketball. http://www.collegeinsider.com/neworleans/history.html

References