Villanova head coach Jay Wright hosted an end of season conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, discussing a wide range of topics. We’re going to break down the call into a few different posts so we can give each topic the space and time it deserves.

As we continue to work our way through Jay Wright’s comments at his end of season press conference, we’re now moving into what he had to say about the present and future of the program. Currently, they are focusing on academics and rest, with the latter being something that Wright returned to several times Wednesday afternoon.

“The next step is, this time right now, we don’t know how long this will go, is actually an important rest time for us. We really, we spend a lot of time talking to our guys about rest because the time we spend together is so intense, we tell them that if you’re intense in the time we spend together than the rest is really valuable and productive,” Wright said. “This is an important rest time for us. We had a really crazy summer that was really intense because we knew that I was going to the World Cup so we really worked hard June and July, and then our staff worked hard with the guys when they came back in September and then the way our schedule was, we didn’t have a bye week, so these guys need a rest. That part’s good. We’re trying to find positives in this,” Wright continued.

While Wright is stressing the importance of rest to his players, he’s also making sure they are still taking care of the academic side of things. With the students off campus and learning remotely, the program is doing its best to support its student-athletes and helping them navigate the trying circumstances.

“The next thing is we’re working online, taking classes online. So far, our guys are doing a great job, we have a Group Me text and we communicate with them all the time. Our academic people are communicating with them on a daily basis, and everybody seems to be doing a good job right now,” Wright said of the academic side of things.

Turning back to basketball, Wright again emphasized his insistence on the players getting rest.

“I’m fighting with our guys to do nothing right now because I think this rest is important. We’re at that time where they’re starting to get antsy, I’m still trying to get them through this week and rest, and then coach Shackleton will get on Zoom with them and start giving them some workouts to start next week even though I know some of them are probably doing it this week.”

Despite addressing the rest issues twice at this point, Wright still had more to say on the subject.

“I’m really trying to force them and convince them to not do anything maybe one more week, I can sense this week, I know some of them are working out but I don’t want them to and I don’t want Shack talking to them, we’ll zoom a meeting with Shack next week to at least give them some strength and conditioning workouts to do, but the rest is really important. It’s something we battle with them when they’re here, we literally lock them out of the gym during this time because we really physically and mentally need that rest.”

Wright’s concern over the rest issue is understandable. The schedules of student-athletes is grueling and it’s important to rest both physically and mentally to prevent burnout and to also allow your body to recover and reduce the risk of injury.

The issue is complicated by the fact that these are 18-22-year-old kids full of energy who also happen to be ultra-competitive. Wright certainly has his hands full trying to stress the importance of rest, especially with the players being home and on their own, but it is clear he is making every effort to get the point across.

As far as any updates on the next moves, and decisions on things like summer school and summer camps, they won’t come until after Easter.

“We just had a staff meeting, Mark Jackson our AD has been doing an incredible job with our staff through this, as has father Peter our president, communicating with all of us. As far as Villanova is concerned, the next decision-making time for summer school or camps this summer will be after Easter, so up until then we don’t have any decisions about anything.”