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Will Jay Wright leave Villanova for an NBA job?

By Brad Berreman

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats reacts against the Michigan Wolverines in the first half during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Jay Wright is instantly a hot candidate to take an NBA job off another national title at Villanova, but will he make the jump?

The Villanova Wildcats won their second national title in the last three years with a 79-62 win over Michigan Monday night. They’ve posted a least 30 wins in four straight seasons (136 total), and Jay Wright has become one of the most successful head coaches of his era.

Wright got interest from the Phoenix Suns after Villanova’s 2016 national title. But the New York Knicks, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks are also in line to be looking for a new or permanent head coach, with the Charlotte Hornets toward the top of a list of other teams who may make a change.

On ESPN’s new morning show “Get Up”, they take a look at topics that may provide “hot takes” for the day. One regarding Wright making the jump to the NBA was offered up, with a specific team mentioned to spur the conversation.

Wright staying in the Philadelphia area to take over the 76ers is an interesting idea. But Brett Brown has seen “The Process” through to a playoff spot this year, and seeing the future fruits of it should happen until further notice.

The track record of college coaches making the jump to the pros in any sport is sketchy. Larry Brown is the only coach to win championships in college and the NBA, with John Calipari and Rick Pitino standing out as the epic failures in making the jump from college to the NBA.

If we’re talking money as a possible lure to the NBA, Wright was the 24th-highest paid coach in college basketball this year ($2.585 million). Villanova is sure to try to boost his salary now, and an increase of essentially $1.1 million per year would make Wright one of the five highest-paid college coaches based on 2017-18 base salaries.

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Wright has remained committed to Villanova through previous interest from the NBA. Those overtures will ramp up now, from multiple teams in a way that has not happened before. But Wright has job security that is unrivaled this side of Coach K, Jim Boeheim, Tom Izzo and the like, with the possibility of further elevating into legendary status as a still relatively young man (56 years old). The NBA promises nothing like that, but time will tell if Wright has any aspirations to make the jump to brighter lights.