How much is Jay Wright worth?
| Net Worth: | $10 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Former college basketball coach |
| Date of Birth: | December 24, 1961 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 6′ 1″ |
About Jay Wright
As the head coach at Hofstra University in 1994, Wright oversaw a program that had struggled during the 1980s and early 1990s, posting just one 20-win season since 1980 and not making the NCAA tournament since 1977. Jim Garvey, Hofstra’s athletic director, called Wright “an outstanding recruiter,” noting that this was an area where the school could need some work. His hire came about the same time when Hofstra was joining the North Atlantic Conference.
Wright attended high school in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Council Rock North. He attended and graduated from Bucknell University in 1983. While there, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and a member of the basketball team.
Wright’s first position after graduation was as an assistant coach at Rochester (a Division III school). He began his career in college basketball coaching as an assistant at Drexel University in 1986, a position he held until 1990. After that, he worked as Rollie Massimino’s assistant at Villanova from 1987 to 1992. He followed Massimino to UNLV in 1992 and stayed there until 1994.
The Flying Dutchmen finally had a winning season after 12 years in 1997-98. Hofstra, which featured future NBA players Speedy Claxton and Norm Richardson, beat Hartford to get to the semifinals of the America East tournament, but ultimately lost to Delaware, the tournament’s eventual champions, and ended the season with a 19-12 record.
Claxton led the league and ranked seventh in the nation in assists per game while also leading Hofstra in scoring. For his efforts, he was voted the America East Conference Player of the Year.
Tim Capstraw presented The Runway to the Fashionable Four award to the best-dressed college basketball coach from 1998 to 2002, and Wright won it twice. They finished third in the conference in 1998–1999 and lost to Drexel again in the AEC tournament semifinals. However, the 1999 National Invitation Tournament would be Hofstra’s first playoff appearance in 22 years thanks to the team’s first 20-win season since 1991–1992.
The Pride’s program flourished under Wright’s leadership, and by 1999 they were among the best in the America East. From 1999-2001, they went 72-22, including two trips to the NCAA tournament, and won their league both years. In both the 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 seasons, Wright was honored as the America East’s best coach. In addition, he was named the Eastern Basketball Coach of the Year for the 1999–2000 season.
It was in 2002 that Wright secured one of the best recruiting classes in the country, highlighted by McDonald’s All-American center Jason Fraser. The 2002–03 season was a disappointment for the Wildcats when a phone card abuse controversy led to the suspension of more than half the team. The Wildcats qualified for the NIT once more but went no further. In 2003–04, the talented young players from the previous recruiting class received increased playing time, but the team still had a below-average year and made it back to the NIT. In 2002 and 2004, Villanova made it all the way to the NIT quarterfinals.
The 2004-2005 season was a breakthrough year for Wright’s Wildcats basketball team because of the development of forward Curtis Sumpter and guards Allen Ray and Randy Foye. In a season in which they defeated No. 2 Kansas and No. 3 Boston College, Villanova was 22-7 overall. In recognition of their efforts, the Wildcats received a fifth seed and made it into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.
As a result of having returned nearly all of last year’s starting lineup, the Wildcats entered the 2005-06 season ranked in the top four of both major preseason polls. The Wildcats, led by seniors Allan Ray and Randy Foye and an explosive sophomore in Kyle Lowry, lived up to the hype and finished with a 25-4 record overall and a 14-2 record in Big East play, good enough to share first place in the league with University of Connecticut.
Wright’s seasoned squad got the school’s first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in 2006, and they went on to beat Monmouth and Arizona. And then, with a victory over Boston College by a single point, Wright’s group finally returned to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988. The Wildcats’ season ended there, though, when they were beaten by the eventual champion Gators. It was the second straight year that Wright’s Wildcats were knocked out in the tournament by the eventual champion.
The 2006–07 team lost three starters to graduation, but they returned to the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row owing in large part to the play of McDonald’s All-American Scottie Reynolds and the healthy return of Curtis Sumpter, who had missed the previous season with an ACL injury. They were tenth in the bracket with a record of 22-10, however they were eliminated by Kentucky in the second round.
With McDonald’s All-American Corey Stokes and Jordan Brand All-American Corey Fisher at the helm, Wright assembled another highly regarded recruiting class in the offseason of 2007.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Villanova in 2007-08; the Wildcats slid through a rough patch that included a five-game losing streak. Wright and the Wildcats bounced back to earn the last at-large NCAA tournament seed, a No. 12 seed. They first shocked fifth-seeded Clemson in the first round, and then they defeated second-seeded Siena to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years. Again, they fell short of the championship and this time it was the Kansas Jayhawks who prevailed.
The 2008-2009 squad cruised to a fourth-place finish in the Big East and a double bye in the conference tournament thanks to the efforts of seniors Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds and juniors Corey Fisher and breakout sixth man Corey Fisher. The third-seeded Wildcats avoided an NCAA tournament first-round shock by coming back from a double-digit deficit against the underdog American. After that, they went on to win by twenty points against the sixth-seeded UCLA Bruins, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in five years.
In 2009-10, Wright signed a recruiting class that was among the best in the country. In addition to Maalik Wayns (Philadelphia/Roman Catholic) and Dominic Cheek (Jersey City, NJ/St. Anthony’s), notable members of this class include forwards Isaiah Armwood (Rockville, MD/Montrose Christian School) and Mouphtaou Yarou (Nattingou, Benin; attending the same Montrose Christian School) and guard Isaiah Johnson.
Some people in 2012 speculated that Villanova’s recent troubles put Wright’s position in jeopardy. As a result of the efforts of freshmen Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu and sophomores Darrun Hilliard and JayVaughn Pinkston, the Wildcats improved to the point where they won 20 games and qualified once again for the NCAA Tournament.
Villanova earned the top seed in the East Region of the 2015 NCAA tournament, but they were knocked out by North Carolina State in the second round.
Despite being a No. 2 seed in the South Region, Villanova advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009 after defeating UNC Asheville, Iowa, Miami, and Kansas. Villanova’s 95-51 victory over Oklahoma in the national semifinal was the largest in Final Four history. Next, Wright’s Wildcats defeated North Carolina in the championship game on a last-second 3-pointer from Kris Jenkins to win the game 77-74 and give Wright his first national title as a head coach.
Wright received the 2018 Legends of Coaching Award from the John R. Wooden Award program shortly before the start of the 2017-18 season. Villanova, the East Region’s top seed, reached the Final Four for the second time in three years after beating Radford, Alabama, West Virginia, and Texas Tech.
When Wright’s Wildcats beat Michigan in the National Championship Game, it was their second title in three years. The final score was 79–62. On April 8, 2018, Villanova’s assistant head coach Ashley Howard accepted the head coaching position at Philadelphia Big 5 opponent La Salle University.
After winning his second national title, Wright had to face a challenging challenge. Players like Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman, and Jalen Brunson left the team last year after being selected in the 2018 NBA draft. Wright had to start the season with a young, inexperienced team because of this.
The 2019 Wildcats finished the season with a record of 24-7. With a 13-5 mark in Big East play, Villanova tied for first place in the conference with Creighton and Seton Hall. The Wildcats were the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament when it was abruptly canceled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Though other conferences postponed or cancelled their tournaments, the Big East tournament was the latest to be called off.
Wright was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2021 class, and he is largely considered to be one of the top coaches in NCAA history.
