Would Jay Wright Coach Knicks, Villanova Proteges?
As New York Knicks games continue to resemble the campus of Villanova in the late-2010s, it feels like there's only one piece missing: head coach Jay Wright.
With Tuesday's reported trade of between the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, one that's sending Mikal Bridges to Manhattan, the Knicks now employ four of Wright's Wildcats. Bridges joins Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart, who headlined the Knicks' recent run to the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.
Wright has since retired from the Villanova post and now serves as a college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. His name has nonetheless lingered in conversations about head coaching vacancies of both the amateur and professional variety.
With so many of his former proteges stationed in Manhattan, many have paired Wright and the Knicks in their hardwood fanfiction, especially considering his success with New York's Wildcat litter. Wright, arguably the historic face of the Villanova program, is the Wildcats' all-time leader in victories with 520 and won two national titles in 2016 and 2018. All four Knicks in question were part of the first championship run while Bridges, Brunson, and DiVincenzo stuck around for the latter.
Don't, however, expect Wright to be waiting by the phone, expressing no interest in usurping current Knicks boss Tom Thibodeau in an interview with Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
"There’s no part of me that wants to be there with them. I’m sitting back like a proud papa just watching them and enjoying it,” Wright told Braziller. “I love their respect for Thibs. I love how Thibs coaches them. He’s perfect for them. I love their system. I really enjoy how they play the game.
"I think this is on Thibs and their whole organization, how they continually progressed and competed every time someone went down with an injury. They just kept grinding, they never gave in to it, never made excuses. It was so impressive this year.”
Wright, of course, refers to the Knicks' trying season that saw them win 50 games despite their injury reports often resembling starting lineups. New York lost major contributors like OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson for extended periods throughout the year but kept its cool under Thibodeau's watch.
The Nova guys have undoubtedly attached themselves to Thibodeau: Brunson and Hart recently had Thibodeau on as a guest on their "Roommates Show" podcast and the trio also took in a New York Rangers playoff game earlier this spring.
Thibodeau, who is set for a large contract extension this offseason, has brought long-sought stability to the Knicks' head coaching position: come opening night of the 2024-25 season, Thibodeau will become the first Knicks boss since Jeff Van Gundy to reach his fifth season at the helm. He currently ranks fifth on the franchise's all-time coaching wins at 175 and holds the same position on the postseason wins list at 14. Under the watch of Thibodeau, the Coach of the Year winner for the 2020-21 season, the Knicks are one of three teams (alongside Boston and Denver) to win a playoff series in each of the last two postseasons.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks