Published Mar 9, 2021
Jay Wright One of 14 Finalists For Naismith Hall of Fame
Josh Naso  •  NovaIllustrated
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On Tuesday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced 14 finalists for election in the class of 2021. Among those finalists was Villanova head coach Jay Wright.

Wright has led the Wildcats to two national championships and three Final Fours in his 20 seasons on the Main Line. He's also compiled seven Big East regular season championships and four Big East tournament titles. Along the way, he's twice been named Naismith Coach of the Year (2006, 2016) and garnered six Big East Coach of the Year honors. As of 3/9/21, he's compiled a record of 610-272. In 2018, he received the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.

Wright also became the first coach to lead a program to four consecutive 30-win seasons, which he accomplished with the Wildcats from 2014-15 to 2017-18.

In addition to his work at Hofstra and Villanova, Wright has also been involved with USA Basketball. He served as head coach at the 2005 World University Games, winning a gold medal. He won a silver medal at the 2000 World Championship for Young Men as an assistant coach. Wright also coached at the 2007 Pan American Games, was co-head coach of the 2010 USA Select Team and assistant coach with the 2016 USA Select Team, and is an assistant with the current USA Men's Basketball National Team.

Wright has certainly put together a Hall of Fame resume, and it's a matter of when, not if, he gets elected. The entire class of 2021 will be announced on May 16, and the class will be enshrined in September.

(USA Basketball info courtesy of usab.com)