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Jay Wright Leaves Door Open To Coming Out Of Retirement While Addressing NBA Rumors

Villanova coach Jay Wright yells to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Longtime Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright shocked the sports world when he abruptly announced  he was retiring from the university following the season.

No retirement tour, no nothing. But luckily, Wright was able to give the school enough notice to make sure that his former assistant, Kyle Neptune, was able to get the gig.

But after such a sudden retirement for Jay Wright many questions have arose: will he look to make the leap to the NBA? Does he have another gig in mind?

The answer to both of those questions remains: no. But during a podcast appearance on Tuesday, Wright left the door open to potentially coming out of retirement in the future.

“Not right now,” he said when asked about a potential NBA jump on ESPN’s Keyshawn, J-Will & Max radio show. “That was something I always thought about. My experience with the Olympics kind of scratched that itch. It gave me so much experience with those guys last summer with Coach [Gregg Popovich] and Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka and all those guys and Kevin Durant. We were together, we did that some years before that with the World Cup. That was so awesome. I kind of feel like I did it a little bit and I loved coaching those guys.

“Right now, I definitely need a break. Right now, I’m looking forward to this position at Villanova. But honestly, down the road, I don’t know what I’m going to feel like. I know I made the right decision because I don’t think going into next year, I’d be able to do the things I’d need to do to keep this program at a high level. But I’m going to take this year and really throw myself into this position at Villanova and see what’s out there.”

It appears as though Jay Wright is content spending time away from the vigorous schedule that comes along with being a head coach.

But after hearing these comments, you’d have to think that schools and NBA teams would at least gauge his general interest in their openings in the coming years.

Jay Wright turned Villanova basketball into an utter powerhouse during his time at the helm, and perhaps we still haven’t seen the last of his coaching prowess.


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