VILLANOVA, Pa. – The new block of cement, untouched by time or the components, proudly proclaims in all capital letters the house between the Finneran Pavilion and the Davis Center as Wright Way. It is an homage to Jay Wright, the man who took Villanova to 2 nationwide titles and 4 Final Fours and spearheaded the fundraising for each the enviornment renovations and building of the apply facility.
Drop the “W,’’ and you’ve got a distinct which means. The Wright Way turned synonymous with the Right Way, not simply on the leafy Main Line campus however throughout the world of faculty basketball. “Villanova basketball,’’ initially a vacuous empty menace of a catchphrase for gamers schooled in the artwork of being unquotable, ultimately morphed into one thing with actual which means. Villanova basketball turned recognizable, and above all else, profitable. Tough protection, guards who butted their means into the low put up, sharp shooters, a group that hardly ever beat itself and a roster constructed methodically and systematically, sustained by gamers who firmly planted two sneakers in the faculty recreation. While the remainder of the sport 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 gained 520 video games and misplaced simply 197 earlier than stunningly asserting his retirement in April 2022. On the identical day Wright stated goodbye, Villanova launched his substitute, the college’s capacity to maintain the complete factor quiet solely barely much less stunning 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 minimize his tooth on the Nova bench. Neptune started his teaching profession in 2008 as Wright’s video coordinator. He was born into the household.
Though they took over the identical job, they didn’t inherit the identical place. Wright arrived to a group that hadn’t made it past the second spherical of the NCAA Tournament in a decade and was 0 for its final two Marches. He had room to develop.
Wright’s Right Way already paved for him, Neptune was launched 20 days after the Wildcats misplaced in 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. Sold on a scorching recruiting class in yr one which didn’t ship something greater than three NIT bids, the fan base wished him fired in yr 4; fell in love with him after a 2009 Final Four run; questioned his dedication when that devolved right into a 13-19 end in 2012; second-guessed his legitimacy when bloated regular-season data pale into three consecutive first-week NCAA Tournament exoduses; rejoiced after Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer beater in 2016; and eventually, in 2018, held Wright up as the modern-era Dr. Naismith when the Wildcats buzz-sawed the competitors en path to their second title in three seasons.
This is offered as proof to the gentleman at the Wells Fargo Center who, as Villanova trailed UCLA 29-24 with 16 seconds left in the first half of a recreation 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 honest, 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 to this point in yr two, a file that features wins over North Carolina, UCLA and a title at the Battle 4 Atlantis, but losses to Penn, St. Joe’s and Drexel. “We’ve had each single emotion and each single attainable expertise you’ll be able to have as a group to this point,’’ Neptune says. “Literally every thing and something. But no season has ever been like, ‘Oh well, you’ve gained each recreation by 30 factors and walked off and gained the championship.’ At least to not my information.
“As a coach, you anticipate the sudden and I’m not stunned by something. You might have a leprechaun stroll by right here proper now, and I’be like, ‘Alright.’’
There is, nevertheless, barring a cataclysmic cultural implosion, scandal or leprechaun invasion, completely zero likelihood Villanova fires Neptune. Less than zero. The Athletic has spoken to individuals in and round faculty basketball, Philadelphia and Villanova, all of whom requested anonymity in an effort to converse freely. They all agree on one factor: Neptune isn’t going anyplace. Nor do they imagine he ought to.
Just as then-athletic director Vince Nicastro by no means even toyed with firing Wright by the early bumps and the late March struggles, the sources verify what ought to appear apparent: Firing Neptune will not be even on the radar of present AD Mark Jackson. This will not be Texas A&M soccer. This is, as soon as once more, Villanova basketball, and the time period extends past the court docket itself; it’s how the college 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. Among coaches of the college’s most profitable sports activities (males’s and girls’s monitor and discipline, 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 at the Wells Fargo Center, took over the identical job — however discovered themselves in very totally different conditions. (Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
Have there been golden parachutes, or mutually agreed upon exoduses? Yes, however they’ve been dealt with graciously, generally to a fault. Consider: Even as the shine pale 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. Nine years later, the chair warmed below Steve Lappas whereas Wright, then the head coach at Hofstra, was wooed by Rutgers. Even although Villanova wished desperately to deliver their former assistant house, the college waited, giving Lappas the grace of discovering his personal exit technique. Only as soon as Lappas went to UMass did Villanova name Wright.
Whacking Neptune is extra anathema to Villanova than not taking part in laborious, sensible and collectively. If something, insiders are extra fearful about him beating himself up than the athletic division studying him the riot act. There is not any escaping the normal he’s meant to attain. The complete foyer of the Finn is a museum to the Wildcats’ success, a lot of it earned below Wright. His employees is full of Villanova grads or former assistants who’ve gained at exceptionally excessive ranges. Neptune will not be married. He will not be, those that know him say, a person with a ton of outdoor hobbies. “All he does is basketball,’’ says one person close to Neptune, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. “You worry he’s not too consumed by it.’’
He does not seem to be, at least not publicly. He comes off as calm and fairly unflappable, if maybe a little bristly when questions arise about his team’s failures.
Asked if beating UCLA was a “must win,’’ Neptune said, “No. We look at every game as the biggest game of the year. Whatever that means to you guys, great. We play our next game, that’s our biggest game of the year.’’ On a scale of one to Jim Boeheim, it hardly registers, but definitely pointed.
Neptune parrots a lot of Wright’s truisms: About relying on defense and rebounding and living with missed shots; about not getting caught up in a record but rather worrying about progressing. He is not, however, the same person, which — unfairly — works against him. Wright entered a room like Elvis, but acted more like a Walmart greeter. Everyone wanted to meet Wright, and Wright made everyone feel like he’d known them his whole life. It was his personality, but also part of his job description. Wright needed to reinvigorate a fan base, engage the larger Philadelphia community and connect a disjointed basketball family, so he stumped, charmed, joked and glad handed.
Neptune has the fan base. They don’t want to be charmed; they want results.
To be clear, there is cause for complaint. Villanova has lost games it does not — and frankly, should not — lose. The last time the Wildcats lost to Penn, St. Joe’s and Drexel in one season is exactly never. In the first year of a reborn Big 5 tripleheader, Villanova finished dead last. This may not resonate outside of the city limits, but it clatters louder than a ringing Liberty Bell here. Villanova is not accustomed to being the Big 5 hoi polloi. Once blamed for ruining the City Series under Massimio’s tutelage, the Cats nearly dismantled it by dominating it; from 2013 to 2018, Villanova did not lose a single game to its Brotherly Love brethren.
Though a single-alarm-fire loss to Penn was erased with the Battle 4 Atlantis romp, the thumping at the hands of rival St. Joe’s on Villanova’s court reignited the blaze. And when Drexel scored the upset, there weren’t enough hoses to extinguish it. Especially after last year’s season ended with an NIT first-round loss to Liberty.
The reality is the Wildcats are probably not as good as the team that snipped Memphis and Carolina on back-to-back nights in Atlantis, nor as bad as the one that lost three in a row right after.
They remain very much a work in progress, which elsewhere is a permissible sin. But not when the Right Way is so clearly designed. Just where the Cats stand on the path to Wrightful salvation was evident nearly possession by possession against the Bruins. For every well-executed play — Eric Dixon, doubled in the post, passed out to Hakim Hart in the corner, who made the wise extra pass to Jordan Longino for an open three — there was a head scratcher. Given a chance to back down the comparatively diminutive Dylan Andrews, Dixon instead passed out and eventually jacked a 3. He missed, allowing for an Adem Bona run out and bucket.
In general, the offense feels more like a collection of parts than a well-oiled machine. Which it sort of is, and frankly may have to be for the foreseeable future. Wright bolted for a reason. “I look down at the roster, and I mean, how many of these guys committed to Villanova right out of high school?” UCLA coach Mick Cronin says. “It’s a different world. That’s probably why Jay is on TV now.’’ Wright grew players. Jalen Brunson would become the national player of the year by his junior season; as a freshman, he watched from the bench as senior Ryan Arcidiacono ran the offense in the final minutes of the 2016 championship game. Mikal Bridges, currently the 22nd best scorer in the NBA, redshirted.
Such stability will be rare with the transfer portal and NIL. The lure of opportunity elsewhere has never been stronger, and keeping players on campus also means keeping them happy. Neptune is currently running a 10-man rotation, which is sort of like running a two-quarterback system. It means you don’t really have a rotation. “There’s no continuity yet with the substitution pattern,’’ says one basketball expert, who has watched the Cats play several times.
The irony is, the portal theoretically should be right up Villanova’s alley. It makes a team instantaneously older. Villanova ranks 10th per KenPom with an average of 3.01 years of college hoops on the roster. But aside from Dixon and Justin Moore, only two players — Chris Arcidiacono and Jordan Longino — have seen any measurable playing time in each of the last three seasons. And Longino missed five weeks last year with a leg injury. “You’re trying to get quality kids and then fit them into your system,’’ one person familiar with the program says. “The kids they have, they’re all wonderful people, but Kyle has to figure out how to make them fit. That takes time.’’
Villanova brought in T.J. Bamba from Washington State, who was an effective scorer for the Cougars. Of the 12.6 shots he averaged there last season just 4.8 came from the arc; this season, he’s launching nearly as many 3s (4.0) and 2s (4.5). They, too, are not going in — 31 percent. He’s also not the prototypical Villanova guard, comfortable with his rear end in someone’s belly, backing down a defender in the low post.
Tyler Burton, a designated scorer from Richmond, has been more cold than hot (never sinking more than two from the arc in a game). Lance Ware, allegedly paid well to come from Kentucky, missed the summer with injury and can barely get on the floor. He’s averaging 11 minutes per game. Hakim Hart, who arrived from Maryland, has been shooting comparatively well (38 percent from the arc) but isn’t getting a whole lot of touches. He’s taking only 4.5 shots per game, compared to eight-plus for the Terps. “They took good players,’’ one longtime observer says. “But you do wonder if they thought about how they were going to use them.’’
It’s a fair criticism. Under Wright, the Wildcats’ offense ranked 21st or better in KenPom every year since 2012. Under Neptune, they were 39th and now, 35th. They rank near the bottom in Division I (second percentile) in 2-pointers attempted per game, which is not unusual. Wright lived by the “shoot ’em up and sleep in the streets” mentality, and Neptune appears equally dedicated to the inexperienced gentle. “We’re going to take our pictures and dwell with it,’’ he says. Except Wright’s final three groups, per CBB Analytics, ranked in the sixty fifth, 87th and 84th percentiles in 3-point capturing. This yr’s group is in the fortieth, sinking at solely 32 % a recreation.
The one factor Villanova does nonetheless do, a number of opposing coaches say, is play laborious. “One factor that doesn’t change with Villanova is their aggressive fireplace, their toughness and their spirit,’’ says Cronin, who as the head coach at Cincinnati coached reverse Wright for seven seasons in the Big East. “They train you classes,’’ Cronin says. “You higher come to play.’’
The nice false impression about Villanova all the time has been that the Cats are an offense-first group, largely as a result of they have been so good at it. But Wright way back made a commerce along with his gamers: Give me good protection and I’ll provide you with, if not a inexperienced gentle, at the least a yellow, on offense. In his most profitable seasons, the protection was almost pretty much as good as the offense. From 2014 to 2018, the Wildcats gained 29 or video games or extra in every season; the protection ranked twelfth or higher, per KenPom.
So when Neptune says he’s looking for a group that may win when it doesn’t shoot properly, he’s not attempting to deflect from the unhealthy offense; he’s being trustworthy. Which, in the seek for one thing to construct on, is what occurred in opposition to UCLA. The avert-your-eyes first half capturing (8 of 31 from the flooring, 4 of 19 from the arc) improved exponentially in the second, however nonetheless solely landed on a group 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 stated. “Any good group, they’re not going to have each night time after they shoot the ball nice. In reality, there are going to be so much the place they shoot the ball terribly. But I by no means need to be a group that claims, ‘Oh well. We just didn’t make pictures.’ That’s by no means been us. We need to say, ‘Alright, we didn’t make pictures, however we nonetheless bought stops and located a means.’’’
Two days after his group misplaced to Drexel, Neptune was scheduled to fulfill with the media at 2 p.m. Practice didn’t finish till shut to three.
If there was something to learn into the delay, Neptune wasn’t letting on. Asked what his apply goal was for the day, he shrugged. “Just get higher. Sports are a fantastic mirror in life,’’ he stated. “So a lot you’ll be able to’t management, so no matter occurs, the query is: What is your subsequent finest 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 immediately?’’
Outside, as Neptune met with the media, a bus idled ready to take the Wildcats to the airport, the place they’d depart that night for Manhattan, Kansas and a recreation in opposition to Kansas State. The bus hugged the curb as finest because it might, however the highway is slender, and passing automobiles needed to navigate round to exit or enter.
Wright Way curves like an ess. It doesn’t comply with a straight line.
Neither, it seems, does the Right Way.
(Top picture: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Photos: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images; Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
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