VILLANOVA, Pa. – The brand new block of cement, untouched by time or the weather, proudly proclaims in all capital letters the area between the Finneran Pavilion and the Davis Heart as Wright Means. It’s an homage to Jay Wright, the person who took Villanova to 2 nationwide titles and 4 Remaining Fours and spearheaded the fundraising for each the sector renovations and building of the follow facility.
Drop the “W,’’ and you’ve got a special which means. The Wright Means turned synonymous with the Proper Means, not simply on the leafy Predominant Line campus however the world over of school basketball. “Villanova basketball,’’ initially a vacuous empty menace of a catchphrase for gamers schooled within the artwork of being unquotable, finally morphed into one thing with actual which means. Villanova basketball turned recognizable, and above all else, profitable. Robust protection, guards who butted their method into the low publish, sharp shooters, a workforce that not often beat itself and a roster constructed methodically and systematically, sustained by gamers who firmly planted two sneakers within the faculty sport. Whereas the remainder of the game chronically reinvented itself, at first chasing one-and-done payoff earlier than flipping for four-year stability, Wright remained dedicated to a system that originally labored for him and Villanova, however in the end simply labored.
In 21 years with the Wildcats, he received 520 video games and misplaced simply 197 earlier than stunningly saying his retirement in April 2022. On the identical day Wright mentioned goodbye, Villanova launched his alternative, the varsity’s capability to maintain the entire thing quiet solely barely much less surprising than Wright’s precise retirement. Kyle Neptune had much less head teaching expertise than his predecessor (one yr to Wright’s seven) however, like Wright, had lower his tooth on the Nova bench. Neptune started his teaching profession in 2008 as Wright’s video coordinator. He was born into the household.
Although they took over the identical job, they didn’t inherit the identical place. Wright arrived to a workforce that hadn’t made it past the second spherical of the NCAA Event in a decade and was 0 for its final two Marches. He had room to develop.
Wright’s Proper Means already paved for him, Neptune was launched 20 days after the Wildcats misplaced within the nationwide semifinal. He solely had room to fail.
Let’s begin by taking off the rose-colored glasses. Wright’s tenure at Villanova was not a superb, seamless plan executed to close perfection. It was bumpy. Bought on a scorching recruiting class in yr one which did not ship something greater than three NIT bids, the fan base wished him fired in yr 4; fell in love with him after a 2009 Remaining 4 run; questioned his dedication when that devolved right into a 13-19 end in 2012; second-guessed his legitimacy when bloated regular-season data light into three consecutive first-week NCAA Event exoduses; rejoiced after Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer beater in 2016; and eventually, in 2018, held Wright up because the modern-era Dr. Naismith when the Wildcats buzz-sawed the competitors en path to their second title in three seasons.
That is offered as proof to the gentleman on the Wells Fargo Heart who, as Villanova trailed UCLA 29-24 with 16 seconds left within the first half of a sport it in the end would win, screamed “FIRE NEPTUNE!’’ It additionally serves his compatriots who’ve caterwauled on social media, threatened to revoke donations or stop attending video games till Villanova provides Neptune, 45 video games into his profession, a pink slip.
To be truthful, the outcomes haven’t been as much as the Villanova normal: 17-17 in an injury-plagued first season and a confounding 7-4 mark thus far in yr two, a report that features wins over North Carolina, UCLA and a title on the Battle 4 Atlantis, but losses to Penn, St. Joe’s and Drexel. “We’ve had each single emotion and each single doable expertise you’ll be able to have as a workforce thus far,’’ Neptune says. “Actually all the things and something. However no season has ever been like, ‘Oh effectively, you’ve received each sport by 30 factors and walked off and received the championship.’ No less than to not my data.
“As a coach, you anticipate the surprising and I’m not stunned by something. You can have a leprechaun stroll by way of right here proper now, and I’be like, ‘Alright.’’
There’s, nevertheless, barring a cataclysmic cultural implosion, scandal or leprechaun invasion, completely zero likelihood Villanova fires Neptune. Lower than zero. The Athletic has spoken to individuals in and round faculty basketball, Philadelphia and Villanova, all of whom requested anonymity to be able to communicate freely. All of them agree on one factor: Neptune isn’t going anyplace. Nor do they consider he ought to.
Simply as then-athletic director Vince Nicastro by no means even toyed with firing Wright by way of the early bumps and the late March struggles, the sources affirm what ought to appear apparent: Firing Neptune shouldn’t be even on the radar of present AD Mark Jackson. This isn’t Texas A&M soccer. That is, as soon as once more, Villanova basketball, and the time period extends past the court docket itself; it’s how the varsity and the athletic division does enterprise. The final time Villaova fired a coach — not only a basketball coach, any coach — was in 2016, when it quietly opted to not renew the contract of baseball coach Joe Godri. Amongst coaches of the varsity’s most profitable sports activities (males’s and girls’s observe and subject, males’s and girls’s basketball, and soccer),Wright, 21 years in upon his retirement, was nonetheless the beginner.
Jay Wright (left) and Kyle Neptune, reuniting this month on the Wells Fargo Heart, took over the identical job — however discovered themselves in very totally different conditions. (Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Photos)
Have there been golden parachutes, or mutually agreed upon exoduses? Sure, however they’ve been dealt with graciously, typically to a fault. Contemplate: Even because the shine light on Rollie Massimino’s 1985 glory and devolved right into a flamable heap of distress, Massimino wrote his ticket out — to UNLV. Villanova didn’t shove him. 9 years later, the chair warmed underneath Steve Lappas whereas Wright, then the pinnacle coach at Hofstra, was wooed by Rutgers. Regardless that Villanova wished desperately to carry their former assistant residence, the varsity waited, giving Lappas the grace of discovering his personal exit technique. Solely as soon as Lappas went to UMass did Villanova name Wright.
Whacking Neptune is extra anathema to Villanova than not taking part in arduous, good and collectively. If something, insiders are extra nervous about him beating himself up than the athletic division studying him the riot act. There is no such thing as a escaping the usual he’s meant to attain. All the foyer of the Finn is a museum to the Wildcats’ success, a lot of it earned underneath Wright. His employees is crammed with Villanova grads or former assistants who’ve received at exceptionally excessive ranges. Neptune shouldn’t be married. He isn’t, those that know him say, a person with a ton of out of doors hobbies. “All he does is basketball,’’ says one individual near Neptune, who requested anonymity to be able to communicate freely. “You are concerned he’s not too consumed by it.’’
He doesn’t appear to be, at the very least not publicly. He comes off as calm and pretty unflappable, if perhaps slightly bristly when questions come up about his workforce’s failures.
Requested if beating UCLA was a “should win,’’ Neptune mentioned, “No. We have a look at each sport as the largest sport of the yr. No matter meaning to you guys, nice. We play our subsequent sport, that’s our largest sport of the yr.’’ On a scale of 1 to Jim Boeheim, it hardly registers, however undoubtedly pointed.
Neptune parrots loads of Wright’s truisms: About counting on protection and rebounding and dwelling with missed photographs; about not getting caught up in a report however reasonably worrying about progressing. He isn’t, nevertheless, the identical individual, which — unfairly — works in opposition to him. Wright entered a room like Elvis, however acted extra like a Walmart greeter. Everybody wished to fulfill Wright, and Wright made everybody really feel like he’d recognized them his entire life. It was his persona, but in addition a part of his job description. Wright wanted to reinvigorate a fan base, have interaction the bigger Philadelphia neighborhood and join a disjointed basketball household, so he stumped, charmed, joked and glad handed.
Neptune has the fan base. They don’t need to be charmed; they need outcomes.
To be clear, there may be trigger for criticism. Villanova has misplaced video games it doesn’t — and admittedly, mustn’t — lose. The final time the Wildcats misplaced to Penn, St. Joe’s and Drexel in a single season is strictly by no means. Within the first yr of a reborn Large 5 tripleheader, Villanova completed lifeless final. This will likely not resonate exterior of the town limits, nevertheless it clatters louder than a ringing Liberty Bell right here. Villanova shouldn’t be accustomed to being the Large 5 hoi polloi. As soon as blamed for ruining the Metropolis Sequence underneath Massimio’s tutelage, the Cats almost dismantled it by dominating it; from 2013 to 2018, Villanova didn’t lose a single sport to its Brotherly Love brethren.
Although a single-alarm-fire loss to Penn was erased with the Battle 4 Atlantis romp, the thumping by the hands of rival St. Joe’s on Villanova’s court docket reignited the blaze. And when Drexel scored the upset, there weren’t sufficient hoses to extinguish it. Particularly after final yr’s season ended with an NIT first-round loss to Liberty.
The truth is the Wildcats are most likely not so good as the workforce that snipped Memphis and Carolina on back-to-back nights in Atlantis, nor as dangerous because the one which misplaced three in a row proper after.
They continue to be very a lot a piece in progress, which elsewhere is a permissible sin. However not when the Proper Means is so clearly designed. Simply the place the Cats stand on the trail to Wrightful salvation was evident almost possession by possession in opposition to the Bruins. For each well-executed play — Eric Dixon, doubled within the publish, handed out to Hakim Hart within the nook, who made the smart further go to Jordan Longino for an open three — there was a head scratcher. Given an opportunity to again down the comparatively diminutive Dylan Andrews, Dixon as an alternative handed out and finally jacked a 3. He missed, permitting for an Adem Bona run out and bucket.
On the whole, the offense feels extra like a set of elements than a well-oiled machine. Which it form of is, and admittedly could need to be for the foreseeable future. Wright bolted for a motive. “I look down on the roster, and I imply, what number of of those guys dedicated to Villanova proper out of highschool?” UCLA coach Mick Cronin says. “It’s a special world. That’s most likely why Jay is on TV now.’’ Wright grew gamers. Jalen Brunson would turn into the nationwide participant of the yr by his junior season; as a freshman, he watched from the bench as senior Ryan Arcidiacono ran the offense within the ultimate minutes of the 2016 championship sport. Mikal Bridges, presently the twenty second greatest scorer within the NBA, redshirted.
Such stability can be uncommon with the switch portal and NIL. The lure of alternative elsewhere has by no means been stronger, and protecting gamers on campus additionally means protecting them blissful. Neptune is presently working a 10-man rotation, which is form of like working a two-quarterback system. It means you don’t actually have a rotation. “There’s no continuity but with the substitution sample,’’ says one basketball professional, who has watched the Cats play a number of occasions.
The irony is, the portal theoretically needs to be proper up Villanova’s alley. It makes a workforce instantaneously older. Villanova ranks tenth per KenPom with a mean of three.01 years of school hoops on the roster. However other than Dixon and Justin Moore, solely two gamers — Chris Arcidiacono and Jordan Longino — have seen any measurable taking part in time in every of the final three seasons. And Longino missed 5 weeks final yr with a leg harm. “You’re making an attempt to get high quality children after which match them into your system,’’ one individual acquainted with this system says. “The children they’ve, they’re all fantastic individuals, however Kyle has to determine tips on how to make them match. That takes time.’’
Villanova introduced in T.J. Bamba from Washington State, who was an efficient scorer for the Cougars. Of the 12.6 photographs he averaged there final season simply 4.8 got here from the arc; this season, he’s launching almost as many 3s (4.0) and 2s (4.5). They, too, aren’t moving into — 31 %. He’s additionally not the prototypical Villanova guard, snug along with his rear finish in somebody’s stomach, backing down a defender within the low publish.
Tyler Burton, a delegated scorer from Richmond, has been extra chilly than scorching (by no means sinking greater than two from the arc in a sport). Lance Ware, allegedly paid effectively to come back from Kentucky, missed the summer season with harm and may barely get on the ground. He’s averaging 11 minutes per sport. Hakim Hart, who arrived from Maryland, has been taking pictures comparatively effectively (38 % from the arc) however isn’t getting a complete lot of touches. He’s taking solely 4.5 photographs per sport, in comparison with eight-plus for the Terps. “They took good gamers,’’ one longtime observer says. “However you do marvel in the event that they considered how they have been going to make use of them.’’
It’s a good criticism. Below Wright, the Wildcats’ offense ranked twenty first or higher in KenPom yearly since 2012. Below Neptune, they have been thirty ninth and now, thirty fifth. They rank close to the underside in Division I (second percentile) in 2-pointers tried per sport, which isn’t uncommon. Wright lived by the “shoot ’em up and sleep within the streets” mentality, and Neptune appears equally dedicated to the inexperienced gentle. “We’re going to take our photographs and stay with it,’’ he says. Besides Wright’s final three groups, per CBB Analytics, ranked within the sixty fifth, 87th and 84th percentiles in 3-point taking pictures. This yr’s workforce is within the fortieth, sinking at solely 32 % a sport.
The one factor Villanova does nonetheless do, a number of opposing coaches say, is play arduous. “One factor that doesn’t change with Villanova is their aggressive hearth, their toughness and their spirit,’’ says Cronin, who as the pinnacle coach at Cincinnati coached reverse Wright for seven seasons within the Large East. “They train you classes,’’ Cronin says. “You higher come to play.’’
The nice false impression about Villanova at all times has been that the Cats are an offense-first workforce, largely as a result of they have been so good at it. However Wright way back made a commerce along with his gamers: Give me good protection and I’ll offer you, if not a inexperienced gentle, at the very least a yellow, on offense. In his most profitable seasons, the protection was almost nearly as good because the offense. From 2014 to 2018, the Wildcats received 29 or video games or extra in every season; the protection ranked twelfth or higher, per KenPom.
So when Neptune says he’s trying to find a workforce that may win when it doesn’t shoot effectively, he’s not making an attempt to deflect from the dangerous offense; he’s being sincere. Which, within the seek for one thing to construct on, is what occurred in opposition to UCLA. The avert-your-eyes first half taking pictures (8 of 31 from the ground, 4 of 19 from the arc) improved exponentially within the second, however nonetheless solely landed on a workforce that shot 32 % total and 31 % from the arc. The distinction: The Wildcats outworked the Bruins on the glass, and transformed 10 turnovers into 17 factors. It was removed from a murals. It was, nevertheless, a factor of magnificence to Neptune.
“That’s Villanova basketball,’’ he mentioned. “Any good workforce, they’re not going to have each night time after they shoot the ball nice. In truth, there are going to be loads the place they shoot the ball terribly. However I by no means need to be a workforce that claims, ‘Oh effectively. We simply didn’t make photographs.’ That’s by no means been us. We need to say, ‘Alright, we didn’t make photographs, however we nonetheless acquired stops and located a method.’’’
Two days after his workforce misplaced to Drexel, Neptune was scheduled to fulfill with the media at 2 p.m. Apply didn’t finish till shut to three.
If there was something to learn into the delay, Neptune wasn’t letting on. Requested what his follow function was for the day, he shrugged. “Simply get higher. Sports activities are an incredible mirror in life,’’ he mentioned. “A lot you’ll be able to’t management, so no matter occurs, the query is: What’s your subsequent greatest motion? We had a troublesome go of it the final couple of video games, so what’s our subsequent best choice? How can we get higher in the present day?’’
Outdoors, as Neptune met with the media, a bus idled ready to take the Wildcats to the airport, the place they’d go away that night for Manhattan, Kansas and a sport in opposition to Kansas State. The bus hugged the curb as greatest because it may, however the street is slender, and passing vehicles needed to navigate round to exit or enter.
Wright Means curves like an ess. It doesn’t comply with a straight line.
Neither, it seems, does the Proper Means.
(High picture: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Images: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Photos; Patrick McDermott / Getty Photos)
