The Best Villanova Basketball Coaches of All Time
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The Nova Nation is spoiled with great Basketball Coaches Jay Wright currently leads the way, but he’s had some impressive predecessors. Here are the best Villanova Basketball coaches of all time.
Introduction
In Villanova Basketball History there have been a number of great coaches. Jay Wright is the current Head Coach and he has led the team to two National Championships Before Wright, there was Steve Lappas, who led the team to four NCAA tournament appearances in his five seasons as head coach Rollie Massimino is the most successful Villanova basketball coach of all time. He coached the team for 19 seasons and led them to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including a National Championship in 1985.
Jay Wright
Jay Wright is the current Head Coach of the Villanova Wildcats a position he has held since 2001. Under Wright, the Wildcats have won two NCAA Division I Men’s basketball championships in 2016 and 2018. In addition to his two national titles, Wright has also led Villanova to thirteen Big East regular season titles and six Big East Tournament championships. He is the winningest coach in Villanova history, and his teams have earned a number of other accolades, including four number one seeds in the NCAA tournament and a overall record of 500-173 (.742).
Rollie Massimino
Rollie Massimino is widely considered to be one of the best Villanova Basketball coaches of all time. He led the team to an NCAA championship in 1985, and his overall record with the team was an impressive 422-161. He also coached the team to five Big East regular season titles and three Big East Tournament titles. After leaving Villanova, he went on to coach at UNLV and then at Cleveland State where he had a brief but successful tenure.
Steve Lappas
Steve Lappas is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the head men’s basketball coach at the University Of Pennsylvania from 1992 to 2001 and at Villanova University from 2001 to 2005. Lappas led the Wildcats to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including two Sweet Sixteen appearances. He was named Big East Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004.
Harry Perretta
Harry Perretta is the winningest coach in Villanova history, with 816 wins. He has been the Head coach of the Wildcats since 1976, and has led them to twelve Big East Regular Season titles and four Big East Tournament titles. Perretta has also been named the Big East Coach of the Year five times.
Fran Dunphy
Fran Dunphy is the head men’s basketball coach at Temple University He previously held the same position at the University of Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2018. Prior to his coaching career, Dunphy played point guard at La Salle University from 1961 to 1964.
Dunphy has led Temple to nine NCAA tournament appearances, including two Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Elite Eight appearance. He has also won six conference championships five with the Atlantic 10 Conference and one with the Big East Conference
Dunphy is a three-time winner of the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award (1989, 2008, 2016) and a five-time recipient of the Hugh Durham Award (given to the nation’s top mid-major coach; 1999, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2011). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
John Calipari
John Calipari is one of the all-time great Villanova Basketball coaches. He led the team to a National Championship in 2016 and has a career record of 300-102. He is also a two-time Smith College Coach of the Year and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Bill Foster
Bill Foster is widely considered one of the best Villanova Basketball coaches of all time. He coached the team from 1972 to 1981, leading them to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and four Sweet Sixteen appearances. He also coached the team to their first ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll in 1979. In his ten years at Villanova, Foster compiled a record of 213-89, making him the winningest coach in school history at the time.
Jay Wright (again)
In his 17 seasons at Villanova, head coach Jay Wright has cemented himself as one of the best Basketball coaches in the history of the program. He has led the Wildcats to two National Championships, five Big East regular season titles, four Big East Tournament titles, and six NCAA Tournament appearances. In addition, he has been named the Big East Coach of the Year three times and the Naismith College Coach of the Year once.
Conclusion
After taking a look at the greatest Villanova coaches of all time, it’s safe to say that Jay Wright is the best of the best. He has led the Wildcats to two National Championships and has produced some of the best players in the country. There is no doubt that Wright is one of the best college basketball coaches of all time.
