Villanova Basketball: 3 takeaways from Jay Wright’s sudden retirement
1. Neptune continues the “culture” that Coach Wright has built
In the era of transfers and players staying around for just 1-2 at most, Villanova proved to be the exception. Gillespie and Samuels staying for a 5th season isn’t a surprise and the team was one of three teams (Purdue and Stanford) to not add a transfer this year and it paid off with another trip to the Final Four.
The Wildcats haven’t had National Player of the Year candidates, surefire NBA Draft picks, or top-10 recruiting classes. But the chemistry and experienced, thanks to players not opting to leave and enter either the pro ranks or the transfer portal, became their ultimate advantage. And it’s a credit to Coach Wright, who players, past, and present, have nothing bad to say and the continuity it creates has been an important key to the program’s success.
We're excited to turn the reins of this treasure of a program over to @kyleneptune . Kyle was a part of our staff for 10 years , helped us win two national titles and returns after a successful season @FordhamMBB . He understands our culture and will keep it strong . pic.twitter.com/Nf6n1B5Gcv
— Jay Wright (@CoachJayWright) April 21, 2022
That’s not going to be an easy thing to replicate for the new head coach, Kyle Neptune. He’s familiar with how the Wildcats operate and he was excellent in his lone season leading a program, taking Fordham from two wins in the 2020-21 campaign to a 16-16 record this past season. It’s only one year but he gets an A+ for what he did with the Rams and if Coach Neptune can continue what Wright has successfully built, Villanova won’t skip a beat.
But it’ll be interesting to watch, as he’ll have to do it more with transfers instead of five-star talent out of high school. There may be growing pains but I doubt this program will be closer to the NIT than more protected seeds at the top of the NCAA Tournament picture.