Sports Illustrated's Kevin Armstrong profiles Villanova coach Jay Wright as the kind of guy who could sell you Rita's water ice on a twelve degree December morning on the Main Line. The piece takes a look at the path Wright took to get to where he is today and is full of great quotes like this one from former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, "Jay looks better in Kmart than I do in Armani."
The term snake oil salesman seems to get thrown around with ease when talking about Wright.
"Jay can sell sand to an Arab or red, white and blue to Bin Laden," said Rochester's Mike Neer, the first coach to hire Wright. "You can't say no."
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But at the heart of his always-on sales pitch there is the common thread among people who have dealt with Wright and find him to be a solid guy.
"[Jay] builds relationships," said St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli,
Wright's Big Five rival. "He's engaging and interested in knowing you,
whether you're a writer or a truck driver. We all should have that
ability but we don't."
I've flip-flopped quite a bit with Villanova. They were always my team college hoops team as a kid growing up in Delaware County and having attended more than one Rollie Massimino basketball camp. But once I attended Boston College, who was at the time a rival in the Big East, I grew a strong distaste for the Nova kids. Now, I'm fairly indifferent, perhaps leaning towards the "I'll pull for the Philly team" attitude. Wright seems like a genuine enough guy you can admire.
>>Villanova coach Jay Wright proves he has the Wright stuff [Sports Illustrated]