Jay Wright expects UConn to be ‘even better’ as Huskies shoot for NCAA Tournament | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Jay Wright expects UConn to be ‘even better’ as Huskies shoot for NCAA Tournament

QDOG5 said:
I believe I've mentioned this before, Alvin Lee is best known for playing with Ten Years After but he may have jammed with Lowry back in the day.
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He would have loved to change the world, but didn't know what to do. Sad that he became something of a fast hands freak show post Woodstock.
 
HuskyHawk said:
He would have loved to change the world, but didn't know what to do. Sad that he became something of a fast hands freak show post Woodstock.
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TYA very underrated band. Lee was solid!
 
Chuck said:
What a great job Villanova did getting Wright. Being from New Jersey and getting a grad degree from Rutgers, I've generally had a soft spot for the school when not playing UConn. I know, most on this board would consider that gross (both living in NJ and pulling for RU).

Wright was most likely on his way to RU. They got rid of Bannon and were laser focused on Wright. Villanova was always Wright's dream school because of his and his wife's history. Villanova forced out a mediocre, but not horrid, Steve Lappas to jump in front of RU. There's certainly a good chance Wright could've left RU after a couple years to go to Villanova, but you never know what could've been.
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G -TOWN is gross. PE- TOOWEY! I spit on them.
 
.-.
olehead said:
The backcourt that year had Mike Nardi, Allan Ray, Randy Foye and Lowry. You may be think of AlvinWilliam's, Nova guard from the mid-90's.
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Alvin Williams, that's the guy, excellent player. I looked him up, went pro in 1997-2007, second round pick, played for Portland and Toronto. 6:5 point guard, shooting guard.
 
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QDOG5 said:
I believe I've mentioned this before, Alvin Lee is best known for playing with Ten Years After but he may have jammed with Lowry back in the day.
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I knew some aging rocker was going to slide that in there, that was you last time too probably. I finally got the name right thanks to @olehead . That song was classic. For some reason when I think of that one (Love to Change the World), it takes me right to the Amboy Dukes with young Ted Nugent and Journey to the Center of the Mind, which, as you know, was kind of hard to find back then. :) Those songs are probably close in years.
 
CallMeBruce said:
That team was led by Randy Foye and Allan Ray. Lowry was good, but he was probably that team's third option.
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Foye was a monster.
They were playing today's NBA brand of basketball 15 years early
 
BGesus4 said:
Foye was a monster.
They were playing today's NBA brand of basketball 15 years early
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As a Timberwolves fan I still cry at night occasionally that we traded Brandon Roy for Randy Foye
 
RichCTBB said:
I remember Kerry Kittles at Gample as a student. Thrilling game with a disappointing result. To me it’s always been a rivalry
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I can only remember a very few who seemed as unstoppable as Kerry Kittles that night
I hated and admired him at the same time. I thought he was a shoe in for super success at the next level although he had two good years before knee injuries hurt his production. I root for success for most of the kids we play. Maybe not Iverson he was hard to support.
 
HooperScooper said:
I'd like to see a side by side comparison of records every season. Because I swear I remember a bunch of games when both teams were highly ranked.
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There was that stretch in the 90's when the BE was basically UConn and Nova.
 
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Yeah. Nova is our rival. To say different, you just don't know our history.
Plus, they have 3 championships. Kind of around our best years. But they count.
 
Waquoit said:
There was that stretch in the 90's when the BE was basically UConn and Nova.
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Was there? Literally the only season in the 90s they were the top two teams in the league was 94-95, and Nova lost in the first round that year (both Cuse and Georgetown got further in the tournament).
 
Chuck said:
What a great job Villanova did getting Wright. Being from New Jersey and getting a grad degree from Rutgers, I've generally had a soft spot for the school when not playing UConn. I know, most on this board would consider that gross (both living in NJ and pulling for RU).

Wright was most likely on his way to RU. They got rid of Bannon and were laser focused on Wright. Villanova was always Wright's dream school because of his and his wife's history. Villanova forced out a mediocre, but not horrid, Steve Lappas to jump in front of RU. There's certainly a good chance Wright could've left RU after a couple years to go to Villanova, but you never know what could've been.
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That’s not quite the history. Lappas was not forced out. He was worried he would not get the extension he wanted so he jumped to UMass. There was actually, reportedly, a bit of an effort to retain Lappas. With Lappas leaving the timing was perfect to consider Jay, who was already considering Rutgers.
It wasn’t as much a master plan move as you indicate.
Nova was lucky that Lappas felt insecure and proactively sought a new home.
Nova was lucky that its AD couldn’t persuade Lappas to stay.
Nova was lucky with the timing, that Jay had ties to Nova, and that Jay wanted Nova.
Jay was young and it wasn’t a high profile hire.
Nova was lucky that Jay proved out to be a great coach that developed from good to great over time.
Nova was lucky to get Jay and is lucky to have Jay.
Nova is fortunate that Jay is mature and sees what he has in career and family in the Main Line and has preferred that to going to the NBA or Kentucky or UCLA.
It’s good to be lucky.
 
.-.
Zissou said:
That’s not quite the history. Lappas was not forced out. He was worried he would not get the extension he wanted so he jumped to UMass. There was actually, reportedly, a bit of an effort to retain Lappas. With Lappas leaving the timing was perfect to consider Jay, who was already considering Rutgers.
It wasn’t as much a master plan move as you indicate.
Nova was lucky that Lappas felt insecure and proactively sought a new home.
Nova was lucky that its AD couldn’t persuade Lappas to stay.
Nova was lucky with the timing, that Jay had ties to Nova, and that Jay wanted Nova.
Jay was young and it wasn’t a high profile hire.
Nova was lucky that Jay proved out to be a great coach that developed from good to great over time.
Nova was lucky to get Jay and is lucky to have Jay.
Nova is fortunate that Jay is mature and sees what he has in career and family in the Main Line and has preferred that to going to the NBA or Kentucky or UCLA.
It’s good to be lucky.
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It just always seemed too convenient, and it didn’t seem plausible that Lappas would leave Villanova to go to UMass. I assumed Lappas was either secretly bought out or at a minimum told he would be let go at the end of his contract. I guess it was just Villanova luck with a dash of typical Rutgers luck (the RU Screw as they call it)!
 
Zissou said:
That’s not quite the history. Lappas was not forced out. He was worried he would not get the extension he wanted so he jumped to UMass. There was actually, reportedly, a bit of an effort to retain Lappas. With Lappas leaving the timing was perfect to consider Jay, who was already considering Rutgers.
It wasn’t as much a master plan move as you indicate.
Nova was lucky that Lappas felt insecure and proactively sought a new home.
Nova was lucky that its AD couldn’t persuade Lappas to stay.
Nova was lucky with the timing, that Jay had ties to Nova, and that Jay wanted Nova.
Jay was young and it wasn’t a high profile hire.
Nova was lucky that Jay proved out to be a great coach that developed from good to great over time.
Nova was lucky to get Jay and is lucky to have Jay.
Nova is fortunate that Jay is mature and sees what he has in career and family in the Main Line and has preferred that to going to the NBA or Kentucky or UCLA.
It’s good to be lucky.
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Jay Wright just fits in at Villanova. The main line is definitely his thing. I can't imagine him going to Kentucky after living on the main line this long. Culture shock.
 
Chuck said:
It just always seemed too convenient, and it didn’t seem plausible that Lappas would leave Villanova to go to UMass. I assumed Lappas was either secretly bought out or at a minimum told he would be let go at the end of his contract. I guess it was just Villanova luck with a dash of typical Rutgers luck (the RU Screw as they call it)!
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Lappas wanted an extension (you can't recruit with a one-year deal) and the school said no. It was clear they had no long-term plans around him, but he hadn't been quite lousy enough to fire. They knew that not offering him an extension was going to lead to him potentially leaving, so I don't think it's a stretch to say they pushed him out.
 
Greedo said:
Jay Wright just fits in at Villanova. The main line is definitely his thing. I can't imagine him going to Kentucky after living on the main line this long. Culture shock.
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A friend of mine knows Jay Wright and Jay Wright calls my friend's dad (recently turned 97) every once in a while to check in on him...Jay is just a great guy. He's told me the door is open for Jay coaching in the NBA but it's a real longshot, he'll never leave Nova for another college job.
 
CallMeBruce said:
They knew that not offering him an extension was going to lead to him potentially leaving, so I don't think it's a stretch to say they pushed him out.
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A good nudge at least. Seemed clear that the partnership had run it's course.
 
Zissou said:
That’s not quite the history. Lappas was not forced out. He was worried he would not get the extension he wanted so he jumped to UMass. There was actually, reportedly, a bit of an effort to retain Lappas. With Lappas leaving the timing was perfect to consider Jay, who was already considering Rutgers.
It wasn’t as much a master plan move as you indicate.
Nova was lucky that Lappas felt insecure and proactively sought a new home.
Nova was lucky that its AD couldn’t persuade Lappas to stay.
Nova was lucky with the timing, that Jay had ties to Nova, and that Jay wanted Nova.
Jay was young and it wasn’t a high profile hire.
Nova was lucky that Jay proved out to be a great coach that developed from good to great over time.
Nova was lucky to get Jay and is lucky to have Jay.
Nova is fortunate that Jay is mature and sees what he has in career and family in the Main Line and has preferred that to going to the NBA or Kentucky or UCLA.
It’s good to be lucky.
Expand ...
It better to lucky than good
 
.-.
Chuck said:
It just always seemed too convenient, and it didn’t seem plausible that Lappas would leave Villanova to go to UMass. I assumed Lappas was either secretly bought out or at a minimum told he would be let go at the end of his contract. I guess it was just Villanova luck with a dash of typical Rutgers luck (the RU Screw as they call it)!
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I think Lappas would have had his contract extended, but the process was uncertain and he didn’t get the warm feelings of an extension in advance on his terms.
He wasn’t secretly bought out.
There was some effort to keep him, reportedly.
I think he was looking for some more security than a year by year extension with some pressure. Pressure was weak by other programs’ standards, but still some pressure to succeed.
More than a strategic move and Nova pulling all the right levers, Nova was lucky in how the transition unfolded and how Wright grew into a top coach.
 
superjohn said:
A friend of mine knows Jay Wright and Jay Wright calls my friend's dad (recently turned 97) every once in a while to check in on him...Jay is just a great guy. He's told me the door is open for Jay coaching in the NBA but it's a real longshot, he'll never leave Nova for another college job.
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Jay Wright is one of those guys I've heard nothing but good things about. Then again so was KO
 
They were talking to Wright while Pappas still had the job.
 
NJHoops said:
Big East coaches, in general, go out of their way to talk up the teams in their conference. They go hard selling the conference... it’s annoying when you’re on the outside looking in but suddenly much more tolerable when you’re in (funny how that works...).

Dan does well with the current scenario... “yeah, people are saying you’re good, but what have we actually done? Nothing!“ It suits him.
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Big East coaches talk up competitors and the league. Willard said that Nova is the number 1 team in the country.
 
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