Roy Williams comments on Jay Wright retiring
Roy Williams made the decision to retire in 2021 after 48 years of coaching, including 18 at North Carolina. Shortly after his announcement, Coach K decided that this past 2021-22 season would be his last.
And now another really good coach is deciding to step away from the game.
Villanova’s Jay Wright shocked the college basketball world on Wednesday night when it was announced he would be stepping down as head coach and will be replaced by Fordham’s Kyle Neptune. Following the announcement, college basketball writer Adam Zagoria talked to Williams about the news and the legendary coach was shocked.
Here’s what he told Zagoria in the New York Times’ article:
“I’m definitely surprised,” Williams, whose Tar Heels lost to Villanova in the 2016 N.C.A.A. championship game on a last-second 3-pointer by Kris Jenkins, said in a telephone interview.
He added: “Jay is just 60, he’s got so much more time for the game, but I love it because he made the decision for what was right for him and his family and I can live with that. Jay’s one of the giants of our game, he’s a great friend.”
The two do have a history and are close. Most recently, Wright and Villanova knocked off UNC in the 2016 title game backed by Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater following a great shot by Marcus Paige. UNC would get redemption a year later beating Gonzaga to capture the title.
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