Jay Wright Calls It A Career As The Changes In College Basketball Continue And Accelerate

The coaching carousel had nearly come to a stop after a very busy off-season when Jay Wright announced his decision to retire as Villanova’s head coach.

That vacancy didn’t last long though: his former assistant Kyle Neptune, who spent a year at Fordham, will return to the Main Line.

Wright steps away with an immense reputation and clearly one of the best coaches our this era. He arguably stands up against just about anyone. And as far as we know, there’s not a whiff of controversy about his career.

Neptune, who was 16-16 in his one year at Fordham, is the third former assistant to step into some big shoes recently, following Hubert Davis at UNC and Jon Scheyer at Duke.

Hubert Davis is a bit older than the other two, but the basic theme is the same: coaches of an older generation are leaving the game at a time of sweeping change with NIL rights, the new transfer rules and, soon, other major NCAA changes.

It won’t be long before coaches like Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, Jim Larranaga, Leonard Hamilton and others follow.

What we are going to see is who best understands the emerging environment and who can capitalize.

And the truth is, it’s impossible to know. We’re going to have to see how it plays out. But obviously, as always, some guys will get and some won’t.

• Villanova’s Jay Wright has enough and has done enough as he gracefully retires from college hoops stage
• Who is Kyle Neptune? Villanova hires Fordham coach as Jay Wright’s successor
• Why is Jay Wright retiring? Villanova coach to call it a career, has no plans to take NBA job
• Villanova coach Wright retires after 21 seasons
• Villanova men’s basketball coach Jay Wright announces retirement
• Villanova’s Jay Wright retiring as head coach; Fordham’s Kyle Neptune taking over
• Villanova’s Jay Wright to step down as men’s basketball coach after illustrious career
• What to make of Jay Wright’s shocking retirement and what’s next for Villanova