Consensus has Jay Wright among the top coaches in NCAA Men's college basketball. His book, Attitude shares the Wright stuff.
Charles Barkley pens the foreward. "If you go to Villanova, you aren't going to a place where basketball is the most important thing. You are going there for an education. Jay is a great caretaker of the Villanova culture."
Wright emphasizes, "our attitude sustains us and is the foundation for all that we do - off and on the court."
"Everyone's role is different but their status is the same." At their basketball awards ceremony each year, each player and a representative of the student managers speaks.
"Shoot 'em up, sleep in the streets." That's the 'Nova message for take the shot and live with the consequences. We used to say "fire and forget."
The 2015 NCAA Tournament shot didn't drop and East Region one seed Villanova was left with the crying piccolo player meme. Wright instructed, "Never fear failure. Think of it as an opportunity to learn."
Wright discusses his father's approach coaching Little League, "it wasn't just about winning games, it was about teaching us the importance of being a team." The coach's job meant improving every player.
"We all have a role to play" his father told him.
During his first job as a Rochester assistant, he coached JV against Bill Van Gundy, father of SVG and JVG. During a scrimmage, Coach Van Gundy held the ball out. Wright learned, "A coach is going to take every opportunity to get his team a win." Even in a scrimmage.
Later, Wright wrangled a job at the Villanova summer basketball camp, which led him to an assistant job at Nova. That introduced him to the Villanova culture of love, respect, service, and compassion...values associated with St. Augustine.
Chaplain Lazor "made it clear that working at Villanova was a privilege, so maybe we ought to stop complaining." Wright adopted Father Lazor's acronym TOP - Talent, Opportunity, Perseverance.
He moved back east to Hofstra with his first D1 head job. "I wasn't focused as much on winning championships as much as building a culture." Wright's "Pride" won a pair of America East titles and propelled him to the Villanova job in March 2001.
Lagniappe 1: Wright guard rip and drive.
Toughness, ball protection, and quick to the basket with a two-footed finish.
Lagniappe 2: David Brooks' Road to Character challenges us to be transformative. It's a tough read...harder to pick up than to put down.
Brooks argues that we should distinguish between resume' virtues and eulogy virtues. “Adam II wants to have a serene inner character, a quiet but solid sense of right and wrong—not only to do good, but to be good.”