Some words from Coach Wright

[SC in DC]

Here are four quotes from Wright that shed insight into his leadership beliefs.

“We have a saying that everyone’s role is different, but everyone’s status is the same. It’s a reminder that no matter how bright the spotlight gets, we are all part of something much larger than ourselves.”

Wright wanted players who would understand the difference between coaching and criticism, which then would allow his talents as a teacher to improve the skill set of the individual and the team as a whole. Everyone must accept coaching, regardless of the role. And like all great cultures, the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back.

“The most important characteristic any of us have is our attitude. It’s a concept that permeates everything you do. We all bring our attitude to every situation.”

Wright looked for good players with great attitudes who would then develop into great players. He wasn’t interested in de-recruiting a player, he wanted to teach the game of basketball. If a player didn’t have a great attitude, Wright would be worthless as a teacher.

“We’re not complex in what we do X-and-O-wise, but we do spend a lot of time on how we react mentally to every situation.”

What Wright was saying was that the Villanova basketball team wouldn’t beat itself. They would play smart, play hard, and be prepared for every situation on the court. Simple allows teams to play smart, which then allows more complexities from game to game.

“If you think about how good you are as opposed to what the next challenge is going to be, then you’ve already lost. We have to stay humble.”

Wright wanted players to focus on the moment, not become distracted by outside influences. He wanted players like himself, who always wanted to improve and never feel contentment.

Wright was authentic in the culture he created because the culture was based on his life beliefs. And those beliefs are relevant far beyond the basketball court. Source: The Daily Coach

[skyhops]

It will be interesting to see how he handles his players when he is coaching for the Sixers.

[xaviermuskie2003]

Good stuff SC. Thank you for posting.

The conference is going to miss Coach Wright.

I wish X would have hired a coach that was more aligned with Jay's beliefs.

[skyhops]

Like whom?

[xaviermuskie2003]

Like whom?

Jonas Hayes

[muskieman]

It will be interesting to see how he handles his players when he is coaching for the Sixers.

one has to wonder why Jay retired but maybe he sees the writing on the wall about how NILs will change everything about college ball. Maybe he said to himself, "hey, if there is going to be a pay for play in recruiting I might as well look into the pro game because Nova doesn't have that kind of money going forward"

[xaviermuskie2003]

It will be interesting to see how he handles his players when he is coaching for the Sixers.

one has to wonder why Jay retired but maybe he sees the writing on the wall about how NILs will change everything about college ball. Maybe he said to himself, "hey, if there is going to be a pay for play in recruiting I might as well look into the pro game because Nova doesn't have that kind of money going forward"

Good call Muskieman.

[skyhops]

Or he wants to take a year off and then coach the Sixers. I don’t remember anyone wanting Hayes to be the next Xavier coach. Miller was the correct choice.

[pdxmuskie]

Maybe he wants to enjoy life, travel and give the next person an opportunity to get paid big money. Why work until you die? I get that coaching is fun but some have other dreams.

His philosophy is easy to implement after having success. It is certainly more difficult prior to achieving that success. Basically, when talented players want to play for you, you can choose the ones that have the right attitude and consistently win. Harder to do when you are trying hard to get players to play for you. Hard to know if Jay stuck with these principles from the beginning and was able to make players better because they had the right attitude or if it evolved over time.

Generally, I'd say that attitude makes a huge difference in success. Slightly lesser talent with the right attitude is usually going to win. Many dynamics to attitude so Jay would need to have an understanding of psychology to consistently get this right or just know exactly what characteristics he is looking for.