Villanova Basketball Off To Gradual Begin After Historical past Of Teaching Stability

It got here as a shock to the basketball world when legendary Villanova head coach Jay Wright determined to retire after final season. In contrast to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who introduced his retirement earlier than final season, Wright stored it beneath wraps till Kansas eradicated Villanova within the Remaining 4.

Wright coached the Wildcats for 21 years and led them to 4 Remaining Fours and two Nationwide Championships. 

Villanova has solely had three head coaches since 1973. Steve Lappas coached Villanova for 9 seasons earlier than Wright, and Rollie Massamino coached for 19 years previous to Lappas.

The fourth coach, Kyle Neptune, assisted Wright from 2013-21 and took a head teaching job at Fordham for a 12 months final season. He went 16-16 a 12 months in the past, earlier than taking the Villanova job in April.

Villanova basketball’s 2-5 begin to the season signifies it’s no straightforward process to interchange an icon like Wright. If there’s one factor Villanova is used to, it’s stability. 

Altering a legendary coach is tough

Two of Villanova’s most profitable coaches, Massamino and Wright, every struggled of their first seasons on the faculty.

Earlier than his rise to stardom, Wright’s first three seasons have been removed from nice. He compiled a 52-46 report with no match appearances. Wright lastly broke by in his fourth season, guiding the Wildcats to a 24-8 report and a Candy 16 look. 

Massamino confronted comparable struggles early in his tenure, too, going 16-38 in his first two seasons at Villanova. He didn’t attain the NCAA Event till his fifth season.

Massamino is most recognized for Villanova’s Cinderella run to the Nationwide Championship in 1985, when the Wildcats knocked off Georgetown. It’s nonetheless thought-about one of many largest upsets within the historical past of faculty basketball. 

Although Lappas didn’t have almost the identical success as Massamino and Wright, he made the NCAA Event in 4 of his 9 seasons. It took Lappas till his third season to make the match. 

Taking the reins of a high program isn’t straightforward even for the most effective coaches, which is sweet information for Neptune.

Stability of coaches at Villanova

Within the 103rd season of Villanova basketball, Neptune is the ninth head coach in program historical past.

To place that in perspective, blue blood applications comparable to Duke (18), North Carolina (18) and Kentucky (21) all had considerably extra coaches in program historical past than Villanova.

With that, the entire aforementioned applications have had, or at the moment have, legacy coaches:

• North Carolina: Dean Smith, Roy Williams
• Duke: Mike Krzyzewski
• Kentucky: John Calipari, Adolph Rupp

The steadiness of coaches at Villanova is actually outstanding.

Villanova Basketball’s tough begin and upcoming schedule

With among the best cultures in sports activities beneath Jay Wright, Villanova not often had tough patches in a season, not to mention tough seasons. Beneath a brand new voice comparable to Neptune’s, there are anticipated to be rising pains.

Villanova is 2-5 and have misplaced 4 straight to the likes of Michigan State, Iowa State, Portland and Oregon, all of which have been unranked on the time. Villanova had not misplaced 4 straight video games since 2012.

The street received’t get any simpler because the Wildcats host Oklahoma on Saturday and have three extra non-conference video games earlier than Large East play:

• Wed., Dec. 7: Penn at Villanova, 7 p.m.
• Sat., Dec. 10: Villanova vs. Boston School, 5 p.m. (Prudential Heart)
• Sat., Dec. 17: Villanova at St. Joseph’s, 4 p.m.

No. 7 Creighton and No. 8 Connecticut are the one ranked groups within the Large East as of now, however the convention usually boasts high quality competitors. Xavier, Windfall, Seton Corridor, Marquette, Butler and St. John’s are anticipated to battle for NCAA Event bids.

Villanova kicks off Large East play in opposition to St. John’s on Dec. 21.

Winningest head coaches in Villanova historical past

Due to solely having 9 coaches in program historical past, the record of winningest coaches is quick.

Wright has the most with 520 profession wins and a .725 successful proportion from 2002-22.

Alex Severence coached the Wildcats from 1937-61 and recorded 413 wins, 4 NCAA Event appearances and one Remaining 4.

Massamino is third all-time with 355 wins from 1974-92, with 11 NCAA Event appearances and one Nationwide Championship.

Jack Kraft received 242 video games from 1962-73, with six NCAA Tournaments and one Remaining 4 look.