DETROIT — Jay Wright is about to lead Villanova into its first Final Four since the Cinderella Wildcats won it all under Rollie Massimino in 1985.
But if things had unfolded differently a few years back, Wright could have ended up as the head coach at Big East rival Rutgers.
It was the spring of 2001 and Wright had earned back-to-back America East Coach of the Year honors at Hofstra University on Long Island. Rutgers was looking for a coach to replace the fired Kevin Bannon and athletic director Bob Mulcahy invited Wright to interview for the job.