By AARON BRACY
September 3, 2024
In E.J. Smith’s well-written piece on Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s introspection after last season’s late struggles in Tuesday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, former Villanova coach Jay Wright is heavily quoted as a source of counsel for Sirianni.
Wright discussed his impression of Siranni.
“He’s just always digging and analyzing and reading and trying to find answers,” Wright told Smith. “I love that about him.”
Farther down in the story, interestingly, Wright compared some of his own struggles – yes, he had some – at Villanova with what Siranni experienced with the Eagles in 2023.
Here’s what Smith wrote:
Wright found success early at Villanova, similar to Sirianni, and had a string of NCAA Tournament berths before a Final Four appearance in 2009, his eighth season. That success came with a new world of recruiting, something he now attributes to a culture shift at the school that eventually needed a reversal: His roster became weighted more heavily with one-and-done recruits rather than developmental players who could grow into leaders.
By 2012, Wright realized that the team’s culture was going in the wrong direction and changed the structure of his coaching staff and his approach in recruiting to address it, something he said he has discussed with Siranni.
In light of this, it’s interesting to take a look back at the years to which Wright is referring. Here is how the Wildcats followed up that Final Four appearance in 2009:
-2009-10: 25-8 overall, 13-5 Big East, NCAA second round
-2010-11: 21-12 overall, 9-9 Big East, NCAA second round
-2011-12: 13-19 overall, 5-13, NCAA second round
It was during the dip that Wright began targeting “developmental players” who would pay huge dividends. This includes Daniel Ochefu, Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins. By 2016, when Villanova won its first national title under Wright, Ochefu and Arcidiacono were seniors, and Hart and Jenkins were juniors. Added to that mix in 2016 were freshmen Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo (who ended up redshirting as a true freshman after getting injured). Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo – the latter two who could be put into that “developmental players” mold – went on to lead the Wildcats to their second national title under Wright, in 2018.
It is no secret how important developing four-year players was to Wright’s success at Villanova. It is interesting to hear him discuss it as something he shared with Sirianni as part of a coach’s growth.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.