NCAA Basketball: Mount Rushmores for the top 25 programs of all-time
By Brian Rauf
Villanova Basketball Mount Rushmore: Rollie Massimino, Jay Wright, Jalen Brunson, Ed Pinckney
Rollie Massimino
The orchestrator of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, Massimino spent 19 seasons in charge of the Villanova Wildcats and led them to their first national championship in 1985, where they knocked off a heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas team.
Massimino accomplished many more things while serving as Villanova’s head man, as he led them to five conference championships, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and five Elite Eights. However, it was that victory that cemented his place as one of the forever faces at Villanova. Though he went on to coach at UNLV, Cleveland State and Northwood/Keiser, he will always be remembered as the head coach of the Wildcats.
Jay Wright
Massimino has to step over, though, because Jay Wright has become the best coach in program history. He owns the program record for wins (448 and counting), conference regular season titles (six), conference tournament titles (four), NCAA Tournament appearances (14), Final Fours (three) and national championships (two).
Nicknamed “GQ Jay” because of his style on the sidelines, Wright has turned the Wildcats into the class of the modern-day Big East. Since realignment in 2013, Villanova has won five of the six Big East regular season titles and four of the six Big East Tournaments. They have also won two of the last four national championships.
Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson played a major factor in Villanova’s recent success and is the only player in program history to win National Player of the Year so, despite wrapping up his college career just over a year ago, his place on this Mount Rushmore is secure.
In his three-year Villanova career, Brunson won two national championships and two Big East titles, to go along with being a consensus All-American and the National Player of the Year in 2018. He averaged 18.9 points and 4.6 assists per game that season.
Ed Pinckney
The star of Villanova’s 1985 National Championship team, Ed Pinckney was a three-time All-Big East selection and was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player following that title-clinching victory over Georgetown. As a No. 8 seed, that team is still the lowest seed ever to win the NCAA Tournament, and Pinckney’s play was a big reason for that.
The versatile forward went on to have a 12-year career as an NBA role player and is now working in the league as an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves.