Jay Wright, William B. Finneran Endowed Head Coach, Men’s Basketball
“In November 2004, we were about to begin our fourth season at Villanova. We had yet to reach an NCAA Tournament. Over breakfast at the Villanova Diner, journalist Dana O’Neil told me she felt compelled to write that another miss might make Villanova consider a change. Although I was feeling none of that pressure from our AD Vince Nicastro, I understood the narrative. We were hired to win and had yet to do so consistently. At that moment, doubt was perfectly natural. Yet what our staff was seeing each day in practice told us we were close. We elected to stay the course, and as our young team matured, we turned a corner, eventually posting a 24-8 record that allowed us to advance to the 2005 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.”
