Jay Wright Retiring?

[freescooter]

The point was that UConn can do it.

I’m a UConn fan. Have been for more years than most people who post here have been alive. Went to my first game, UConn-BC in the NCAA tournament when Cousy coached BC and Balesuknia played at UConn. Game was at URI, if you can believe it. BC won but if they had the 3 in those days, UConn would have won in a blow out. But I don’t really think UConn can or will do it. For several reasons. First and foremost, I don’t think the athletic department has the willingness to do what it takes to get there. For example, if we lose another first rounder to a lower seed, they won’t dump Hurley. They’ll say he is a fine fellow and has made us a tournament team again. And most of the fan base will say the same thing. And they’ll make these inane comparisons to Jim Calhoun. And I truly don’t think Hurley is a coach who is capable of getting us to that elite level. Good coach, sure. NCAA title level? Highly questionable. Finally as I’ve said many iMessage before playing in the New Big East isn’t conducive to building a championship program. Not enough great teams. Villanova was already a national power and to Jay’s credit he was able to keep them there. But building one is very difficult. Especially in a league without any.

 

[willie99]

I'm bummed, wanted to beat this guy

Bye bye Nova

 

[Ratso]

I’m still in shock

 

[EnochRoot]

I’m still in shock

Jay Wright sold me out
46 days til the coal ran out

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He’s something.

 

[Umami Zen]

He’s something.

Else

 

[HooperScooper]

He’s something.

We just don't know what that something is.

 

[HooperScooper]

I’m a UConn fan. Have been for more years than most people who post here have been alive. Went to my first game, UConn-BC in the NCAA tournament when Cousy coached BC and Balesuknia played at UConn. Game was at URI, if you can believe it.

Ah, so now I finally get what the issue with you is. You're really freaking old!

 

[Ratso]

Jay Wright sold me out
46 days til the coal ran out

going to MSG?

 

[runner11]

going to MSG?

Went last night.

As others have posted, the consensus in the Nova board is that stepping down is largely due to NIL. Seth Greenberg apparently claimed Jay told him that, but would never say that publicly. The guy wants to build his program in a specific, family oriented way and the new rules are going to make that extremely difficult.

We haven't seen anything yet with NIL. It is starting to develop in CFB with boosters putting together 30-40 million dollar pools for NIL yearly. Tennessee landed a top 5 kid at QB by paying him 2 mill and it's entirely legal. Obviously less money overall in hoops but the direction is clear.

 

[TerryBoyz]

Put $50M aside in the bank and go out when you want to on your terms. Enjoy life.

This reminded me of a story of a guy who sold his business he built for a long time
“Yesterday i had a million dollars and a million problems. Today I have a million dollars.”

 

[JeepCSC]

You can't replace Hall of Fame coaches easily. No one has ever done it in college.

We'll see about Duke.

UNC, UConn, Indiana, UCLA, Kentucky, none of them managed to do it. I'm not going to bring up Kansas and their crookedness.

UNC replaced Frank McGuire with Dean Smith. And went to the FF in the year following Coach Smith and Roy. It was turbulent when Gut left however, as it should have been Roy next up.

 

[UconnU]

Compare and contrast Wright’s exit to that of Coach K…

 

[TyroneShoo]

Much different. Wright only announced when he did because word was starting to get around. He said his plan was not to announce before the basketball Banquet last night. That was for the players and staff and for those being recognized. There was very Little reference to Wright‘s departure .
Interestingly, Whitmore, Armstrong and their fathers were in attendance and acknowledged by Jay.. so Who knows if they try to get out of their NLI. But, that was an encouraging sign.

 

[upstater]

UNC replaced Frank McGuire with Dean Smith. And went to the FF in the year following Coach Smith and Roy. It was turbulent when Gut left however, as it should have been Roy next up.

If the second is what counts, then UConn also should be considered to have successfully replaced Calhoun with Kevin Ollie.

 

[CL82]

Good article on why Wright left plus a funny Calhoun/Wright story

 

[EnochRoot]

going to MSG?

No. I’ve scaled back my travel around the band the past few years. Going to the MPP shows this summer though (I’m living in Maryland).

 

[upstater]

Good article on why Wright left plus a funny Calhoun/Wright story

If more attention is paid to recruitment than development (what Calhoun is predicting) then the sport will suffer.

 

[JeepCSC]

If the second is what counts, then UConn also should be considered to have successfully replaced Calhoun with Kevin Ollie.

Kevin Ollie didn’t leave on his terms. Gut did, Hubert remains to be seen.

Though again, UNC replaced one HOF coach for another with McGuire and Dean Smith. Probably the most successful handover in history. The Smith-Gut-Roy transition would have been a close second if it had gone as planned. But that’s life.

 

[UCSouth]

Ah, so now I finally get what the issue with you is. You're really freaking old!

I'm really freaking old as well, but I don't go on those types of rants. He's just a crotchety old ba$terd...nothing more, nothing less. LOL

 

[CL82]

If more attention is paid to recruitment than development (what Calhoun is predicting) then the sport will suffer.

Yeah, I’m a little worried that the Calipari model becomes the optimized approach to the sport. Bring on the best guys you can and hope for the best.

 

[upstater]

Kevin Ollie didn’t leave on his terms. Gut did, Hubert remains to be seen.

Though again, UNC replaced one HOF coach for another with McGuire and Dean Smith. Probably the most successful handover in history. The Smith-Gut-Roy transition would have been a close second if it had gone as planned. But that’s life.

There was also Doherty and 7 years past Dean Smith.

But Carolina is Carolina. I mean, Louisville eventually rebounded, as did Kentucky. I'm talking about picking up from where these guys leave off. There was a drop off in many of these schools.

Even when UConn won the national championship, everyone here was thinking there was a dropoff.

 

[HooperScooper]

Good article on why Wright left plus a funny Calhoun/Wright story

Interesting quotes from Calhoun. I wonder how he would have dealt with this changing landscape. I'm sure he would have adapted and thrived. He never shied away from a challenge.

Is Calhoun shocked by Wright’s decision?

“In this time and era, I’m not,” the fellow Hall-of-Famer said. “With the way Jay says he wants to build a program, and in a way Danny (Hurley) says he wants to build a program, by developing kids — Jay’s done it, I think Danny’s trying to do it, but good luck with that.”

The NCAA’s one-time transfer rule, which allows players to transfer once without having to sit out a season, coupled with the extra year of eligibility afforded all student-athletes a couple of years ago, has made recruiting and maintaining a roster all the more difficult. In fact, Villanova and UConn were the only two Big East programs that didn’t bring in a single transfer last season.

Add in things like Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation and other factors, and it may be no coincidence that Wright, Williams, and Coach K all retired within a 13-month span.

“Pretty soon, I don’t care if you’re 60 or 70 or 40, it’s got to weigh you down somewhat,” Calhoun said. “And now, a little bit more of what he’s done so well for so many years, bringing kids in who are real good players and develop them into great players ... the grind of that. You can’t go a day away from the phone anymore. All that builds up.”

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just realized that UConn gave Jay his final regular season loss, and Kansas his final postseason loss. I'm his kryptonite.