Villanova Basketball: Jay Wright shows commitment to team by turning down UCLA

A recent report claims Jay Wright turned down a hefty offer from UCLA to remain with the Villanova basketball team.

Since taking over the duties as head coach in 2001, Jay Wright has helped the Villanova basketball team emerge as one of the best programs in the entire country.

Between winning two NCAA titles in three seasons (2016 and 2018) to only missing out on the tournament twice since 2001, one can only imagine where this Wildcats program would be without Wright, and the school can only hope this success continues.

Year after year, rumors always swirl over the possibility of Wright ending up elsewhere as a result of his success at Villanova, whether it happens to be another college program or even a team in the NBA.

Despite all of the rumors, Wright continues to make it clear that he loves being in the Philadelphia area, and wants to continue his legacy with the Wildcats for many more years.

Just how much is Wright committed to Villanova? Well, when hearing the recent reports that Wright turned down a job from UCLA that would have doubled his salary, this sums up perfectly the commitment he has to the Wildcats.

First off, it wouldn’t come as a surprise one bit if Wright received some sort of pay raise as a result of this since there are plenty of other head coaches across college basketball that would have easily followed the money.

Historically, UCLA has one of the greatest programs of all-time in college basketball, and most head coaches would take that job in a heartbeat since one can only imagine the honor that comes with it.

But once again, the fact that Wright was willing to turn that honor down along with the hefty pay raise shows how much he has it made as head coach with Villanova, and there’s nowhere else he would rather be.

Plus, after the Wildcats came up way short of repeating as champions during this year’s tournament, one can only imagine the kind of motivation Wright is feeling at the moment to put the Wildcats in much better position during the 2019-20 season.

After coming up short in the Sweet 16 following an embarrassing 87-61 loss to Purdue, Wright hopes the results will be much different for Villanova next year, as they will be looking for their third title in five seasons.