WEBVTT - TOM's Talks | Jay Wright 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.640 This podcast is part of the seventy Sixers podcast network 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:08.520 search seventy sixers podcast wherever you get your pods. On 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:12.040 this week's edition of Tom's Talks, we hear from Villanova 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:16.040 University men's basketball head coach Jay Wright, a Bucks County, 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:19.640 PA native. Coachwright has led the Wildcats program since two 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:22.639 thousand and one, and in that near twenty year run, 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.439 the Wildcats have gone on to win the Big East 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:31.120 Conference Championships six times, fourteen NCUBA Tournament appearances, three Final 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:33.879 four trips, and of course the crowning jewel of college 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:37.879 hoops two nc Double A titles, the twenty sixteen and 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:42.960 twenty eighteen NCAA Championships. And through it all, all of 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:47.040 this success, he has remained humble and gracious. Here's my 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:52.280 conversation with Jay Right. Welcome to another edition of Tom's 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:55.160 Talk and a great surprise, great guest here this week, 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:58.160 Day Right, the head coach of Villanova. Coach, thank you 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.880 so much. I don't know what the interview your equivalent 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:04.720 of long time listener first time caller is, but for 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:07.680 me this is great. I've admired you so much from afar, 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:10.440 the way your teams play, how you handle yourself. So 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.440 thank you. And what's going on during this this month 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:17.759 about August and college basketball particularly with going over Oh 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.920 thanks Tons for the nice words. And it's good to 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.280 hear your voice. It seems like things are normal again 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:25.720 when I hear your voice, that's a good thing. Things 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.520 are normal in Philly. What about like college basketball, I 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.440 know you've had a good recruiting year. I don't know 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.720 if you get to go to AAU tournaments. I suspect 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.520 not kind of a dead period for the NC double 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:42.480 A tom it has been you know, for everybody, it's 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:47.600 it's been just incredible, right and the same with college athletics. 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.200 The thing for us is we you know, we don't 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.360 have anything to complain about. You know, there's so many 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.240 people that you know, by missing work are you know, 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:01.640 families are struggling in and there's so many difficult things 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.440 going on. So I don't I don't in any way 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:06.800 want to complain about us not being able to coach 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.840 our players, not being able to be with us, because 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:14.040 there's still our guys who are still home working out. 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:18.079 Because we just have so much respect for all the 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:20.880 first responders, what everybody's doing in this country. The doctors 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.639 and all the people that have suffered with this virus 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:28.040 M But you know, but given that, it's been bizarre 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:31.880 for us. We literally have not seen our players since 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:37.760 UM in person, since March twelfth. UM. You know, we 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:42.200 do zooms, we do face times, We were talking all 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.560 the time, group, we have group chats UM. And same 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:50.560 thing with recruiting time. We have not college coaches have 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.160 not been able to go out and see any players 0:02:54.919 --> 0:03:02.360 UM in person since you know, since early March. So 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:11.000 we've actually gotten four commitments verbal commitments from recruits that 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:16.120 we never got on campus. Well, you get to meet 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:18.040 with them and their families in person. We just did 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.320 everything through zoom And that's just been the reality of 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:25.480 college basketball right now. And that speaks to your reputation 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:27.800 in which you've built in terms of the program there 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.880 that they were able to make that decision without being 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:33.760 there and feeling that vibe which is so special on 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.000 your campus. Now, the players you have gotten to see, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.240 at least through television are your former players playing right 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:40.680 now in the NBA. And I know you're proud of 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:44.720 all your guys, but to watch you know, Dante and 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:48.280 Mcal and Josh and of course Kyle Lowry must be 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:50.720 really neat to watch them right now in August in 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:55.000 the NBA season in Florida. Yeah. Man, I'm sure it's 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:57.200 not easy for those guys being down in the bubble 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:02.120 in Orlando. But I gotta selfishly say, um, I never 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:06.560 get to watch regular season NBA basketball like I you know, 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:09.640 I'm able to watch these games. Usually by the time 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.360 the playoffs come, we're done, so I can really watch 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.960 playoff basketball, which I love. But um, I'm loving this, 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.039 you know. And I love watching our guys and be 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:22.760 able to follow them and watch a game in the afternoon, 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:27.599 and um, it's it's really cool. I feel bad for 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:31.839 for Jalen. Um. You know, Jalen Brunson has his shoulder injury. 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:35.159 He's going well with his rehab, but they decided, you know, 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:37.520 not to risk it having him play down. I know 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:43.360 he's he's really suffering not not being with his team. Um. Uh, 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:46.000 he's he's he's got a spot out in Ocean City 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.000 though he's doing right, but he's working out every day. Um. 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.240 And and Ryan Arch same thing. You know, I know 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:56.400 he's he's dying not not being down in Eric Paschal. Um, 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.800 those guys, I feel bad for him because the beast 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.920 all part of the bubble. It looks so cool man, 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:08.520 Like you if anybody ever questioned whether these guys are 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:10.880 playing for the love of the game or not, right 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:15.200 it is so clear right now. The passion and the 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:19.000 energy these guys are playing with is really impressive. And 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:21.680 you know, I know I'm gonna sound like an old 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:25.919 fart saying this, but there's like there's no bs with 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.960 the crowd, Like these guys are just bawling and getting 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:32.200 getting after each other and not mess around the crowd 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:36.320 and everything. As a basketball purist, I am loving this. 0:05:36.560 --> 0:05:39.880 And kudos to the NBA and these coaches and players 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:43.719 are pulling this offense. It's really impressive. What do you 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.200 think of the Sixers? They play again here this afternoon 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.760 as we speak, and beat has been dominant. What do 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:54.080 you think of your hometown team? You know, I've said 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:55.640 this so many times. I know I sound like a 0:05:55.640 --> 0:06:01.599 broken record, but Brett Brett Brown has dealt with so 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:06.160 so much adversity as a coach. Things that are adversity 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:10.479 to coaches are different than players. But when you get 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:16.279 lineup changes and injuries and COVID nineteen and bubbles and 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.760 for a coach, that stuff is really difficult, and he 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:26.840 just and youthful players right and changing rosters. I think 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.760 he's done the best job of anybody in the NBA. 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:34.680 I felt so bad for him the night the night 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:39.880 they played Indiana and the Sixers battle to get a 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:44.039 chance there at the end and Ben Simmons leaves Warren 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:47.480 at the end to give up a three to a 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:50.279 guy that's got fifty. You know, you know as a 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.440 coach you're saying, don't leave that guy. You know, just 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:58.120 being a young, aggressive player. But in the same vein 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:02.840 to pull off that game against San Antonio win. You know, 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:07.839 you had the game san Antonio played great, and Shake 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:12.840 Milton to keep his composure and and hit that shot 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:15.880 after struggling a little bit early. Ben not having a 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:19.600 great game but finding a way to win. I know 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:24.480 that doesn't when you analyze teams, that doesn't look good. 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:28.960 But as a coach, you know, if we we're gonna 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:33.520 have nights when Ben's hot, Shake's hot, we're gonna win 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:35.320 those games. But if we could have those nights where 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.440 we struggle a little bit and find ways to win, 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.360 it's a good sign for that team. Coach one of 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.960 the things Coach Brown has done has built culture, and 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:47.360 it's taken time and obviously winning, you know, is maybe 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:51.240 the best culture. But you've taken a proud Villanova tradition 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:54.160 and you know, Duke has the brotherhood. But with your 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.800 former players, the alumni, what you've built there, that's a 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.080 huge thing and you should be awful proud of that. 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:06.480 Speak to that a little bit, well, Tom, you know 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:10.560 you you said it. Um we we just we kind 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.960 of built on what was there. You know, you can 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:16.320 go back to the to the fifties. You know, um, 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.840 George Raveling played for Villanova in the fifties, and you 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:24.680 know Jimmy Huggard and Paul Arison and um, you know, 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:29.480 um all Joe Ryan. You know, then you go through 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:34.000 the sixties Wally Jones and and George Leftwich and uh 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:38.160 Johnny Jones and Bill Melchi. Only like these guys have 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:46.000 all these stay Villanova and kept the tradition proud and 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.080 supported the guys that come after them, have given back 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.800 financially to the program, have gone on, you know, to 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:55.720 the NBA as executives and coaches, Chris Ford, you know, players, 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:59.040 and so that was all in place when we got there, 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.400 we just you know, we just kind of accentuated it 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.800 and and just brought it to light to everybody and 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.920 said everybody in the program in the university, like, hey, 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.160 this has been going on for a long time here. 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.240 This isn't normal. Like you all think this is normal. 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.480 This isn't normal. This is something that we've we've really 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:23.560 got to celebrate. And you know, personally, I feel so 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:27.000 blessed to be a part of it, and we make 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:30.360 sure that our players aren't feel the same way. Coach. 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:34.000 Part of it is the Augustinian tradition. I myself went 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.560 to a high school run by Benedictan monks, and same 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.760 thing in college. Believe it or not played basketball a 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:42.400 couple of years. But and you incorporate that in like 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:46.319 with father Rob and you know, like you're dining buddy, 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.640 you're coaching the summer. Greg Popovich talks about NBA players 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.720 he likes guys that are over themselves. Well, your guys 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.560 aren't quite over themselves. They're eighteen to twenty two years old. 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.079 They're they're feeling big man on campus and understand what 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:01.040 we saw. They're high schooled all Americans. But you, guys, 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:04.760 you want players that sacrifice that understand what teams all about. 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.240 Talk about that a little bit because that isn't that 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.040 a big part of the fabric of your organization of 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.520 your program. Yeah, that's a great it's a great point 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:17.160 in time, and it really is. You know, it's kind 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.959 of our secret sauce that you know, if people want 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:21.720 to hear about it, I'll talk about it. Sometimes people 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:24.520 don't want to hear about it. So but you know, 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.760 Father Rob and the Augustinian Values are a big, big 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:33.320 part of our program. You know. In sixteen when we 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:38.600 won the championship, Yeah, I was urged to write a 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:40.200 book by a number of people. I didn't want to. 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:46.000 I wanted to. I wanted I wanted to list um. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.840 I wanted that season. I took notes on every sermon 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.360 that Father Rob gave before every game because it impacted 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.920 us every game. But they told me that religion doesn't sell. 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.840 You can't do that. But you know, as you read 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:01.840 the book. The books titled Attitude, which is important to us, 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.640 but it's it's a lot Father Rob's big in that 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.480 and it really speaks to the fact that, you know, 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:14.000 the Augustinian values are about community and about um improving 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.840 yourself as an individual through being a part of a 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:22.160 community and and and really understanding that you become your 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:26.839 best self individually when you actually serve others and think 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:31.200 about others. And it's really true and it works, and um, 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.760 it's it's something that's always been in place at Villanova 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:38.880 because of the Augustinians, and you know, we just incorp 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.600 it's easy. It's there every day. So when the players 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.560 are with us, they're hearing about that and learning about it. 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.120 And when they leave us and go on campus with 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:51.520 the fellow students and alumni, they hear about it. So 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:55.959 it's a big part of our our program. And you know, 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:58.960 it's about you know, you, you become us. You know, 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.559 we don't become you, and you're actually going to be 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:05.959 your best self by being a part of this community. 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.200 The thing I liked that one of the anecdotes was 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:11.560 Holy Thursday and you guys were en route to the 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.720 final four. Father Rob was doing the Washington the feet 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:17.160 and hoops. He washed your feet first with a picture 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:21.720 of ice tea. You know, we're all supposed to be 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.760 such professionals, so good at what we do. He's one 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.160 of the best preachers I've ever seen and he's always 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:32.560 so prepared. And on that Holy Thursday before we played 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.440 in the Sweet sixteen, he had that all prepared, but 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.520 he didn't tell me he was going to do it. 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.439 And right before he said, okay, we're gonna wash each 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:45.319 other's feet, you know, like like Christ did with his disciples. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:50.679 Like WHOA, I really didn't, but I always trust him. 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:52.840 I was like, all right, And he had a picture 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.600 of water ready every day, and he just grabbed the 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:58.760 wrong picture. He started with me and I'm looking at him, 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:00.800 poor iced tea on my feet. We looked at each other, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.120 just laughed and switched the picture and then I took 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:07.800 the water and washed washed arches. Speak well, you have 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:11.000 the chapel in your virtual background. And when I first 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.800 started some twenty five years ago, and I was a 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.960 little phenom as a young baseball player. But by this 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.600 time we're playing softball, dammy bat and ninth, I was 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:20.880 in right field by the cemetery under a tree. But 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.559 I used to go in the chapel with my baseball 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.760 glob in the pew and have a little visit before 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:28.840 I went to play summer soft all those years ago. 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:31.520 I know that you're talking about right there. I know 0:13:31.640 --> 0:13:34.360 ye right talking about you talk about off the wall. 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:38.640 I had to play under the tree sixteen the win 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:42.120 over Carolina and eighteen was incredible and Dante has an 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:44.320 awesome game, but you kind of sent you we're going 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:46.680 to beat Michigan the way that thing was was going. 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.959 But the Carolina game, I mean, I would imagine at 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.960 golf outings and cherry functions and when you're out and about, 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:57.040 people probably approach you and tell you how it went 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.040 for them. I mean, our family has a story with 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:01.640 blankets and thrown in the air. I mean, that was 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:05.080 such a remarkable, incredible game. Talk a little bit about 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.680 that and winning the championship. First, you know, for you 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.679 the first time you know you're you're you're you're right 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.760 on time when you're we learned this in O nine, 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.440 the first time we went to the final four, and 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:22.520 and so you're kind of thinking about it in sixteen 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:26.320 and that when you're in that run, you're never home. 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:31.040 You know, you you're at the sight of all these tournaments. 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:33.880 And then you know, let's say you went on Sunday, 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.800 you get back late Sunday night, you're there Monday, and 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.200 then Tuesday you leave for the next sight so you 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.840 hear all these stories about like what's going on back 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.960 at home, but you really you don't know. And in 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.760 sixteen it was so funny and just as you said, 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.360 I still run into people these days that showed me. 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.240 Now everybody has videos, and they showed me that look, 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.480 look this is this is my family watching it. And 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.720 it's funny to think, like at that time, because there 0:15:03.760 --> 0:15:05.560 was a time out with four point seven seconds, I 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.640 guess everyone said, you know what, I'm all right, this 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:11.360 is it. It's for I'm videotaping this. Because everybody's got 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:13.560 a video of their you know, wherever they were, in 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.400 a bar, their family room. It's and a lot of 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:20.000 times it's families, you know, and you you see you 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:25.960 see everybody families going crazy and crying and hugging, and 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.600 it's it's a joy for me to relive it. It's 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:34.880 it's emotional every time you see someone's family enjoy that. 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:37.800 It's it's really, you know, it's it's a it's a 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.560 blessing to have been a part of that. One of 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.080 the things I like so much as your humility and 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:46.280 like I said, how you've handled yourself. And after that, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.880 when your guys came back to campus, and there were 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.600 so many appearances and everything, and at one point you 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:54.760 gathered the group and you said, look, you haven't changed. 0:15:55.160 --> 0:16:01.320 People's perception of you has changed, right, exactly exactly. You know. 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:05.480 We it's um, you know, we're we you know, we 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.640 tell our guys all the time we're we're basketball players. 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:13.160 Were just the same as everybody else. You know. We 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.760 get a lot of attention, you know, and and there's 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.080 a responsibility that comes with this. But we've got to 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:24.360 remain humble for ourselves or we're you know, because this 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:28.000 stuff is short lived, you know. And and if if 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.840 you you know, you really want to keep living that out, 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:33.600 it's it's you're not gonna have a happy life. It's 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:35.680 really you know, what kind of husband are you, what 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:37.480 kind of father are you? What kind of brother are you? 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:41.520 A kind of classmate friend? It's really for your own 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:46.640 good to stay humble and um And you know, and 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:49.000 as you know, Tom, being in pro sports, like when 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:54.000 you if you don't work at that and address it, 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.560 it's it can be overwhelming, you know, and especially for 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.320 you know, if you're eighteen, nineteen twenty and you win 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.600 a national championship, imagine Chris Jenkins. I was always so 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:08.480 proud of how he handled and still does handles that shot. 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.320 You know, he's not really living off it. You know, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:13.920 he's trying to move on with his life. Like he'll 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:17.080 talk about it, and you know it doesn't hide from it. 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.320 But it can't define you. You know, it's just got 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.120 to be something that you did that you're a part 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:25.960 of and what kind of person you are that's and 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.040 how you treat people, that's what's got to define you. 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.800 We'll have more from my conversation with Jay Wright after 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:36.040 you hear this. In this time of social distancing, Novacare 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.120 Rehabilitation is offering physical therapy from the comfort and safety 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.760 of your home. Through their new tell a Rehab program, 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:48.280 Novacare will virtually bring their services to you so you 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.560 may heal, build strength, and get back to the things 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.840 you love. Tell A Rehab let you easily connect with 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.840 one of Novacare's licensed therapists through web based technology that 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:03.760 is Hippo compliant. For more information, visit novacare dot com. 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:07.359 And now back to my conversation with Jay Wright. I 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.600 want to get into one more thing about your coaching, 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:11.280 which I could go on forever, and I'll let you 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:13.399 get out here. I want to talk about USA basketball also. 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:17.400 But one of your mantras to your players is next play. 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.480 And that is if you make a mistake or even 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:21.159 if you you know you're dunk it and you're all that, 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.840 get back and get on to the next play. And that, 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.040 like I was saying, that could carry over to in life. 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.480 You know, we all make mistakes. Like the baby almost 0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:32.960 hit the table, but she didn't. She's gonna be fine. 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:35.240 Let's go on to the next play. Talk about that 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:39.560 and how you've instilled that in your players. Well, that's 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:43.560 the beauty of coaching college kids, right They're still learning 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:47.240 and so we can we can incorporate and they expect 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.920 you to in their parents expect you to incorporate life 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:56.960 lessons with basketball. So one of the most important characteristics 0:18:56.960 --> 0:18:59.760 we try to instill in them and teach them is 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.520 that of having a positive attitude and that we don't 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:05.639 have control of what happens to us in life. You 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.600 can look at this pandemic right now, but we do 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:12.880 have control of how we respond to it, and that's 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.920 our attitude. Our attitude is how we respond to things 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:19.520 that happen to us in life. And we start with 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:23.080 bad because that's what they're thinking about when they commit him. 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:28.399 And in practice we give we give attitude points to 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:32.679 the opponent. If if you turn the ball over and 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.880 you drop your head or don't sprint back or complain, 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:40.600 the other team gets an attitude point. And everything we 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:44.160 do is competitive. If if you go down and get 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:47.119 fouled and that REP practice doesn't call it and you 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:49.600 complain to rep, that's an attitude point for the other team. 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:54.080 So you know, we we we try to repeat that 0:19:54.240 --> 0:20:00.520 in teaching guys that Okay, something negative just happened. You 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.920 control how you respond on the next play. And so 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.720 in basketball it's next play. In life, it's next day. 0:20:10.200 --> 0:20:13.720 You are all you guys are so competitive, and I, 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.840 like I said, I tell high school coaches ce Yo 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:21.240 coaches watch Villanova play defense. So and I don't know 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:23.679 how much you want to reveal, but I know, like 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:27.600 if Kyle Lowry he's a dog, I know how I 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:30.440 can tell how you run your practices and you are 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:33.560 very you have to be fiery, like dump I went 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:38.000 to France practices. I know exactly what goes on at 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:40.359 the David Center, and that's how you get ready for 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:44.600 game day. Touch on that however you feel appropriate. Yeah, 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:48.160 you know, we we have. It's on the wall before 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.280 you walk out onto the court of practice. It's something 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:54.159 we talk about all the time that we practice to 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.520 create habits, just like we talked about attitude. We practice 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:01.040 to create habits. They're gonna make us success in the 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:06.000 most difficult situations. So we're not practicing for you know, 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:11.160 a game against you know, a low level Division one 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:13.320 team at home that everything's going to work out great. 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:19.080 We're practicing for the difficult situations at Kansas, sold out crowd, 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:23.560 referees making bad calls, Kansas is playing great. What are 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:27.960 the habits that we have to create every play, every 0:21:28.040 --> 0:21:31.160 day so that when we're in that situation we don't 0:21:31.240 --> 0:21:34.640 think about it. It's just ingrained in us. And that's 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:38.480 really hard to do, and it takes discipline from the 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:44.960 coaching staff to not miss anything and not let anything go. Don't. 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:47.520 You don't have to yell about it or be nasty 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:49.720 about it, but you just you have to be demanding 0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:53.320 and discipline as a coach and the coaching staff on 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:55.240 everything you do. The way you walk on the court, 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:57.600 the way you stretch, the way you move from one 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:01.040 drill to another. It all matters that you're either creating 0:22:01.119 --> 0:22:03.600 good habits or bad habits. And it's something that we 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:06.120 work hard on every day and it takes a lot 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:07.919 of it takes a lot of energy. I'm proud of 0:22:07.920 --> 0:22:11.600 our assistants do a great job of that. You're one 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:14.920 of the best coaches in college basketball. You've got arguably 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:17.960 the best job in college basketball. You're at a special place. 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:21.240 But there have been over the year's overtures. But tell 0:22:21.280 --> 0:22:24.240 the story that Jimmy Balbano, the late Jim Valvano shared 0:22:24.280 --> 0:22:26.160 with you. You spoke to Bill Raftree in an interview 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:29.280 a few years back, and Valvano told you over at dinner, 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.840 I presume that don't mess what's happened. He told you 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:36.280 his best experience, his most happy time was at Little 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:40.040 Iona College. And this is a former NC State NCAA champion. 0:22:40.280 --> 0:22:43.840 What did he tell you? Yeah, man, your research, Tim, 0:22:44.080 --> 0:22:46.520 that is one of my favorites. We were actually in 0:22:46.560 --> 0:22:53.800 Atlantic City, Rollie Massimino, Steve Pinone, Jimmy Valvano, myself, they 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:56.160 had just the two of them had just on Jay 0:22:56.320 --> 0:23:01.520 Johnstone's Wacky World of Sports TV show. Was credible. It's 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:04.920 like two in the morning. They got some some guy 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:08.280 Hope as a Talian restaurant and we're drinking wine and 0:23:08.920 --> 0:23:12.240 Jimmy Babanda said to me, you want to be a 0:23:12.240 --> 0:23:14.840 head coach, right kid? And I said yeah. He said, 0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:16.800 let me tell you something. You're gonna get a job 0:23:16.840 --> 0:23:18.720 working for coach masks. You're gonna get a head coaching 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:21.760 job in when you find a good one. Don't don't 0:23:21.800 --> 0:23:24.280 worry about how big time it is. You just make 0:23:24.320 --> 0:23:26.640 sure if you find a place you like, you stay there. 0:23:26.720 --> 0:23:29.480 Don't mess with happy. If you're happy in coaching, you 0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:32.439