Villanova is the anti-one-and-done,anti-Power-5 establishment program that just won a national title over a North Carolina program embroiled in alleged academic improprieties. The hard-working, mostly unheralded Wildcats are viewed as uncorrupted and led by a personable coach in Jay Wright.
Wright, widely respected by coaches and media alike, took the time to address the media Monday night more than an hour after his Villanova team upset No. 1-seeded North Carolina 77-74 on the shot of the century, Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beating three-pointer. Wright responded to questions by reporters by referring to them by their first name. North Carolina coach Roy Williams, on the other hand, lambasted the media the day before the title game in Houston by saying, “I’m a hell of a lot smarter about basketball than you guys are.”
Just one example Villanova’s feel-good title bucks the image of what major college basketball has become under high-profile, handsomely paid head coaches who often draw the headlines more than their players. The small, private Catholic school in Philadelphia, with an enrollment of less than 10,000, is everything the big boys of college basketball are not under Wright, whose $2.4 million contract ranks only 16th among active coaches.
The Wildcats won with juniors and seniors. They don’t just share a state with other teams; they are in the same city with five other Division I programs – Penn, LaSalle, Temple, St. Joseph’s and Drexel. They are not in the ACC, Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12. They remained in the Big East, a conference that was once revered as the best in college basketball but in recent years has lost Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia and Notre Dame due to a wave of realignment caused by major conferences wanting more financial power by attracting more television markets.
Connecticut was also part of the Big East but is now mid-major status with the American Athletic Conference. Its women’s basketball dynasty under Geno Auriemma just earned a national title for the fourth consecutive season, a perfect complement to Villanova’s title, proving that a program does not have to be part of a Power 5 conference to win a championship.
The lack of one-and-done talent by Wright helps develop a culture within the program, something that is different at programs like Kentucky and Duke in recent years. Mike Krzyzewski ($7.3 million contract) and John Calipari ($6.9 million) also happen to be the two highest paid coaches in college basketball. Their pressure to win is more intense than it is for Wright, who gets paid less than Baylor’s Scott Drew ($2.5 million) despite the fact Drew has lost 48 games over the last four years after coaching the Bears to the Elite Eight in 2012.
In the last three seasons, Villanova has won three straight Big East regular-season titles, one Big East tournament championship and now claims a national title despite not having a one-and-done player. Josh Hart, a junior, is a borderline NBA draft talent, rated No. 41 prospect this year by DraftExpress.com. Freshman Jalen Brunson is expected to return because he is not listed as a draft-worthy player this year.
“Do you want to be part of the Villanova community and culture of this program?” said Wright of his recruiting philosophy, which does not necessarily single out one-and-dones but is not geared at all toward seeking their involvement.
On a few occasions, Wright reportedly has resorted to calling prospective one-and-done recruits to tell them they may have to look elsewhere because returning players may take a bulk of the minutes.
That approach is unconventional these days but Wright is smart enough to realize that he may have to do things differently than coaches of Power 5 conferences because of where he’s at. Villanova now has two national titles, 31 years apart, but it’s not on the tip of everybody’s tongue when talking about elite programs.
Similar to what Auriemma and Kevin Ollie have done at Connecticut, Wright must build and rebuild with talent — not necessarily reload — because of Villanova’s affiliation with the Big East. Gone are the rivalries against the former Big East opponents, the big games against some of college basketball’s elite. The conference is now affiliated with programs such as Butler, Creighton, Marquette and Xavier, noteworthy programs that are also viewed as mid-majors. Villanova is a glorified mid-major whose football program is an FCS entity in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“I’m really, really happy for the Big East,” Wright said after the championship game. “We’re a new entity that college basketball just is trying to figure out, you know. And I just hope the power five sees a value in us as a part of all of this in basketball. We want to keep up with the power five. We want to do everything they’re doing, just do it in basketball. I hope this gives us a place at the table because basketball is really important to all these schools.”
It may take another 31 years for Villanova to win its next title. Other programs of non-Power 5 conferences such as Butler, VCU and Memphis have come close in recent years to winning a title but came up short. We may not see programs like these reach the top regularly, although they will certainly make a challenge.
What Wright has done, bringing the title to the small Catholic school in Philadelphia, has made the powers-that-be at the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC realize that prescribed notions are not always the best. Winning with one-and-dones is not necessary. Bending the rules is not required to becoming a champion.
“This program, this culture is about high-character guys,” Hart told the media after beating North Carolina. “A lot of guys that have been here love the family. I think that’s the reason why a lot of guys are able to stay around so long, because we genuinely love each other, we love the program, we love playing Villanova basketball.”
Villanova not only won a title it became the feel-good story of the year, perhaps the decade, in the midst of how major-college competition is evolving.
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