Villanova's Jay Wright Should Not Entertain NBA Offers

No matter what happens in the NCAA championship game against North Carolina on Monday night, the phone will probably be ringing on Tuesday in the Villanova basketball offices of Jay Wright, and some of the calls will be from the NBA.

Wright, who received his second Naismith Award as college coach of the year on Sunday night, should say “thanks, but no thanks” to any pro inquiries. Better yet, he should not even answer the phone. Simply put, being a big-time head coach in college basketball pays as much or more than the NBA and the job security is better.

Wright makes $2.6 million per year at Villanova now, lives in a nice home in the Philadelphia suburbs, has all of his family in the area and does not need the headaches that come with the NBA. In that league, there are 41 road games, not the 15 or so that a college basketball coach has to deal with. Many of Wright’s road trips are short drives to places like Temple, St. Joseph’s and LaSalle in the Philadelphia Big Five.

In the NBA, Wright would have to coach the players he is given and not be able to recruit the guys he wants which is a huge factor. With his success at Villanova, players want to come and play for him, and that’s a self-perpetuating pipeline that leads to continued success.

Then there is the job security factor that comes with the success. The NBA is a revolving door compared to college basketball and Wright could find himself out of a job. Right now, he has a good one, probably for life, so any calls he gets from the NBA on Tuesday should not be returned.