Jay Wright (coach)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, USA, and was a Villanova fan as a kid. He is married to a former Villanova cheerleader.
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[edit] Personal Life
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.
[edit] Early Coaching career
Upon graduation, 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 with the UNLV program, where he remained until 1994.
[edit] Hofstra Head Coach
In 1994, Wright was named head coach of the Hofstra University basketball team, which had struggled through most of the 1980's and early 90's. Under Wright, the program slowly and steadily improved, and by 1999 the Pride were the premier team in the America East Conference, and eventually winning the league championship in 2000, and 2001. From 1999-01, Hofstra went 72-22 and made two NCAA tournament appearances. Wright was named America East Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
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.
Wright recruited and coached current NBA guard Speedy Claxton who led the team to their first America East championship in 2000.
[edit] Villanova Head Coach
On March 27, 2001, Wright was named the coach of Villanova becoming only the eighth coach, and fifth since 1936, in the 81-year history of Villanova men's basketball. He led Villanova to 3 NIT appearances before going 22-7 in the 2004-2005 season, earning a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Wright's first NCAA Tournament victory came in 2005 against New Mexico. Villanova also defeated Florida in the second round, and then lost by one point, to North Carolina, the No. 1 seed (and future champion).
The 2005-2006 season saw the Wildcats ranked in the pre-season Top 4 of both major polls, thanks to the return of most players from the previous season. The Wildcats did not disappoint, finishing with a 25-4 regular season record, including a 14-2 record in the Big East regular season which tied the Wildcats for first place in the conference.
On February 14, 2006, Wright signed a 7-year contract with Villanova University which should make him head coach through the 2012-2013 season. The announcement came just one day after the Villanova men's basketball team beat the AP's #1 ranked team, Connecticut, for one of the biggest wins in program history.
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 defeated Boston College by one point, thanks to a goaltend by Boston College with 2.5 seconds remaining, to advance to the Elite 8 for the 1st 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, 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.
During the offseason, Wright has hit the recruiting trail and produced great results, securing commitments from players such as McDonald's All-American Scottie Reynolds for 2006, fellow All-American Corey Stokes as well as Corey Fisher and Malcolm Grant for 2007.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Assistant Coach
- University of Rochester (1984 – 1986)
- Drexel University (1986 – 1987)
- Villanova University (1987 – 1992)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1992 – 1994)
[edit] Head Coach
- Hofstra University (1994 – 2001)
- Villanova University (2001 – Present)
| Preceded by Butch van Breda Kolff |
Hofstra Head Men's Basketball Coach 1994 – 2001 |
Succeeded by Tom Pecora |
| Preceded by Steve Lappas |
Villanova Head Men's Basketball Coach 2001 – |
Succeeded by incumbent |
McDonald • Kershaw • McDonald • Smith • McDonald • Reilly • van Breda Kolff • Lynner • Gaeckler • Harrington • Berg • van Breda Kolff • Wright • Pecora
