Coaches Nights Announced
The Villanova Alumni Association has announced 4 dates for the annual Coaches Night with Jay Wright and Harry Peretta. Follow the links for prices and registration information.
- September 24th- Washington DC, Phoenix Park Hotel. 1130a-130p
- October 8th- New York City, New York Athletic Club. 630-930p
- October 16th- South Jersey, The Mill Bistro Bar & Grill. 630-930p
- October 22nd- Philadelphia, The Pavilion. 6-830p
Jay Wright Featured at Jimmy V Dinner
Villanova head coach Jay Wright will be one of the 4 special guests at the 2008 Jimmy V Basketball Classic New York Dinner Auction.
The event will take place on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at PIER SIXTY at New York City’s Chelsea Piers and will be hosted by ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from this event will fund cancer research projects through The V Foundation. Sponsorship opportunities as well as tickets for the event are available. For information about the 2008 Jimmy V Basketball Classic New York Dinner Auction, please contact The V Foundation for Cancer Research at 1-800-4JimmyV or log onto www.jimmyv.org.
Jay Wright Coaching Tree Updated
We’ve updated Jay Wright’s Coaching Tree.
A quick look…
- Tom Pecora- Head Coach at Hofstra
- Joe Jones- Head Coach at Columbia
- Billy Lange- Head Coach at Navy
- Fred Hill- Head Coach at Rutgers
- Ed Pinckney- Assistant Coach with Minnesota Timberwolves
- Brett Gunning- Director of Player Development with Houston Rockets
- Jason Crafton- Assistant Coach at Navy
- Andrew Francis- Assistant Coach at Siena
Brett Gunning is Headed to the Houston Rockets
It’s official, assistant coach Brett Gunning has inked a 3-year deal with the NBA’s Houston Rockets to become director of player development there. The position used to be held by Kenny Atkinson who is now an Assistant Coach with the New York Knicks.
Gunning has been an assistant coach for Jay Wright since 1994 at Hofstra. Earlier this year, he was rated the 13th best Assistant Coach in the NCAA by Jeff Goodman.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to coach in the NBA and this was an exciting opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Villanova but I will always be grateful for the time spent here and the many great people I got to know.”
Villanova will miss Gunning and his knowledge & expertise on the basketball court, but we wish him well in the NBA.
The general consensus is that Jay Wright will promote Jason Donnelly from his current position of Coordinator of Basketball Operations to the coaching staff.
Jay Wright’s Coaching Record by Venue
You know we love stats here at VUhoops.com… we’ve compiled Jay Wright’s 148-83 Career Record at Villanova into a Win-Loss record by Venue.
What do you think? Read more
Rumors, Rumors, Rumors. Early August Rumors…
Did we mention these are rumors???
It seems that the begining of August is finding lots of speculation flying around the Main Line. After the number of emails we’ve received today, we thought we’d share them with you.
- Assistant Coach, Brett Gunning, is in the process of interviewing with the Houston Rockets for their open “Assistant Director of Player Personnel” position. This comes to no surprise to us. Brett is routinely ranked one of the top assistant coaches in the country. And has been offered the Head Coaching position at Marist and as an assistant with Larry Brown with the Charlotte Bobcats.
- Initial rumors had a number of recruits visiting this week. The initial number was 4 split between ‘09 and ‘10 recruits. With today’s announcement of Tony Chenault committing to Wake Forest, odds are that three will be visiting (Dom Cheek is not one of them). To bump up the rumor, Jay Wright himself is “hoping to add 2 recruits by the end of the month.”
As always, feel free to send us your comments or insider tips. Thanks Steve, Bill.
So who do you think Jay is hoping to land? Mouphtaou Yarou? Aaric Murray? Talib Zanna? JayVaugh Pinkston? Josh Hairston? Markus Kennedy? Post a comment with your thoughts…
8/8 Update- Markus Kennedy was on campus on Tuesday. Aaric Murray was on campus on Wednesday.
Articles on James Bell’s Commitment
Following yesterday’s James Bell commitment here are some articles about his decision to play for Jay Wright at Villanova….
For Villanova, a commitment from Bell an investment in Future (Daily News)
“A ridiculous body, a ridiculous athlete,” the observer said.
Fla. Junior chooses ‘Nova for Basketball (Inquirer)
Villanova Lands James Bell (ESPN)
Bell Pops to Big East (Scout subscription required)
Bell Makes the Call (Rivals subscription required)
Jay Confirms Jimmy V. Classic
In yesterday’s SR950 interview, Head Coach Jay Wright noted a small fact that is worthy of its own topic. He confirmed that Villanova will be playing in one of the games in the Jimmy V. Classic. The double header will be televised on ESPN on December 9th from Madison Square Garden with the tipoff of the first game being at 7p.
No other teams have been confirmed, but there is high speculation that West Virginia and Davidson is a likely match-up. Top opponents for Villanova have been rumored to be Texas or Gonzaga.
Jay on SR950 Today
Here is the interview with Michael Bradley (mp3).
Quick Notes
- Jay just got back from the Peach Jam and West Virginia
- Currently in a “dead period” for the next 4 days. Next stop is in Vegas
- Discusses the posturing of coaches at the AAU tournaments
- Jay doesn’t know who ‘Nova will be playing at the Wachovia Center
- He doesn’t want the players to get caught up in the expectations of a full team returning
- Pimp the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Tourny in September
- Villanova’s participation in the Jimmy V Classic in December is confirmed
Jay Wright to Play in Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Tournament
Villanova Head Basketball Coach, Jay Wright, will be participating in the 2008 Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Invitational at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, OH. The June 1-2 event will showcase 24 Coaching Pairs.
