There can be no more questions, as there were about John Chaney all those years at Temple, questions as to whether Wright is drilling the proper level of success from his program. But now that Wright has coached the Wildcats to a trim-the-nets moment in a NCAA regional final, he has a career tattoo.Įverything changes. “Well,” Massimino said, “to me, he always was at another level.” ![]() He will be a Final Four coach, and that is another level. He will not just be the coach who restored Villanova to prominence, the one usually good for a Sweet 16 run or better. That Massimino was there, 24 years later, still connected to Villanova and its coach, still so delighted with his former assistant’s success, was an indication of what Wright will be years and years from now. “A great, great moment for Villanova basketball. After a clock readjustment gave Pitt another half-second of life and then a final Panthers’ shot failed, Massimino seemingly had to bottle his tears. Then there was Reynolds, going the distance, almost from one end of the court to another, and connecting one era to the other, too.įrom his seat just behind press row, Massimino leaped and pumped his fist. There was a four-point Villanova lead with 20 seconds left, but two swished free throws by Pitt’s Levance Fields with 5.5 seconds showing. In it, there were 10 ties, 15 lead changes, a 10-point Pitt lead, and no more than a five-point Villanova advantage. And while the Wildcats and Panthers may not have buried that moment, their night-long rumble Saturday will forever be right there, keeping it warm company. Not only was everything proper for Villanova in the moment, but with some help from Pitt, the 2009 Wildcats had marked their permanent spot in NCAA Tournament history.īefore the end of the year, the Spectrum will be imploded, and it was the site of what was considered the greatest NCAA Tournament game of them all, the Duke victory over Kentucky that still yields Christian Laettner and Rick Pitino residuals. When Scottie Reynolds blasted into traffic and lofted a short shot through the hoop and into the lead scene in next week’s “One Shining Moment” CBS video, Jay Wright had no more reason to look over his shoulder at Villanova’s gold-plated basketball past. Because now, at Villanova and with Wright, everything changes, history included. He was, is, and will be Villanova’s Daddy Mass.īut Coach has company now. ![]() He was one of Wright’s earliest bosses, back when he was a Villanova assistant. Massimino was “Coach,” the man who designed the perfect plan to defeat Georgetown in 1985. Wright was searching for Rollie Massimino, and until that moment that was the proper designation around Villanova basketball. “Where is he?” he said, racing in front of the press table, looking desperate for the first time all night, just seconds removed from Villanova’s 78-76 victory over Pitt, winner of a spot in the Final Four, his still sweat-free head seemingly on a swivel. BOSTON - He hugged his wife, high-fived his kids, and then checked the scoreboard one last time just to make sure no one had recalculated the final totals.
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