Final Four Q&A with CBS Sports analyst Jay Wright: Former Villanova coach talks NCAA Tournament

Covering the Final Four in San Antonio will mark a ride down memory lane for Jay Wright, as the former Villanova coach returns to the city where he won his second national championship with the Wildcats in 2018. Though he’s wrapping up his third season away from coaching, Wright remains a visible presence and respected voice in the game through his role as a studio analyst with CBS Sports.

No one in the media realm knows better than Wright what it takes to succeed this time of year. In fact, it was just three years ago that he picked up his final NCAA Tournament victory in San Antonio against one of the programs in this year’s Final Four. Villanova’s 50-44 Elite Eight win over Houston in 2022 sent the Wildcats onto their fourth Final Four under Wright.

As Wright prepares to return to the city that is home to so many great coaching memories, he spent some time talking with CBS Sports reflecting on the good times and looking ahead to a blockbuster Final Four.

With all four No. 1 seeds still alive for just the second time since NCAA Tournament expansion in 1985, the matchups are tantalizing. But what does this chalky Big Dance mean for Cinderella? We asked Wright about that and many other things ahead of his return to San Antonio.

Q: What advice would you give to Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Florida’s Todd Golden, who are making their first Final Four appearances as head coaches?

A: I’ve been thinking about that. It’s really interesting for Todd Golden and Jon Scheyer. To be in their first Final Four as a head coach, it’s really daunting, and there are a lot of logistics that impact how your team plays that are very important. I think the one advantage Jon Scheyer has is that he did go as an assistant, so he watched Mike Krzyzewski handle a lot of the logistics, and he probably was involved in a lot of them. Whereas, Todd is going to rely on talking to former coaches or other coaches who have been there before. For instance, he could call a Tom Izzo or someone like that. Coaches are always willing to help each other. There are so many minor details and logistics, like where you practice and how long you practice the day before the game. 

You have the open practice for the fans, but you also need to have a separate practice for your team where you can actually go through some detailed strategy. How do you execute that? Those little things are really important. I remember the first time we went in ’09, I talked to Mike Krzyzewski, I talked to Bill Self, I talked to Tom Izzo. But I still made some mistakes. The next time we went in 2016, I learned from those mistakes and that really helped us.

Q: People know you as the national-title winning coach at Villanova and see you now in your role as a studio analyst. But you’re also a former Bucknell player and former Hofstra coach. As we head toward a Final Four with only No. 1 seeds, what are your feelings on this whole idea that the 2025 NCAA Tournament has killed Cinderella?

A: I definitely have mixed feelings on that. I remember my Hofstra days and getting into the tournament was such a thrill. The first year, we lost to Oklahoma State with Big Country (Bryant Reeves) and coach Eddie Sutton, and it seemed so overwhelming, almost like we didn’t belong. But the next year, we played UCLA and had a lead for most of the game. It started to make me think like ‘this Cinderella thing is real.’ We almost did it. 

So I really value that part of the tournament. Now, on the other side, I do think that with NIL and the transfer portal, it’s keeping older and more talented players in college basketball longer. A lot of the upsets we used to see were older, experienced mid-major teams playing against highly talented but young high-major teams. I think you’re not going to see that as much. You still could see an upset, but I just don’t think they’re going to be as frequent as they used to be. I think you’re going to see more Final Fours like this one.

Q: This must be a special week for you to be back at the Alamodome in San Antonio. What does it mean to you to be back in the building where you won it all in 2018 with Villanova?

A: When I was there with the team in 2018, we were so secluded and locked down. I remember the only thing I could do was come out of my hotel early in the morning to go for a little run on the Riverwalk. That’s the only time I would be outside. Other than that, I’d be in the hotel, in the meeting rooms, in the bus, in the arena. So I’m really looking forward to just going and experiencing the whole downtown San Antonio Riverwalk area and fans. We were really on lockdown when we were playing there. But obviously, it was really enjoyable. 

One of my great memories of all time is, after you win the championship, when you come back to your hotel, they put you on a boat and you come down the Riverwalk with your championship trophy, and everybody’s hanging out of trees, hanging out of hotels, hanging out at the bars and restaurants and everyone’s cheering for you, music is playing. It was one of the great thrills of our basketball careers, and we all remember that trip down the Riverwalk after we won it. That was really cool.

Q: Does that 2018 Villanova team get enough credit for how dominant it was? That group went through the NCAA Tournament with six double-digit victories. What was special about that team?

A: I’m not sure if they do get enough credit for that. I leave that to the media, even though now I am in the media. What was amazing about that group was that a lot of the top guys were on the 2016 team. They handled all of the distractions and all of the outside challenges better than any group I’ve ever seen. Because those guys had been through it and won it, they were just so professional in their approach to staying focused and keeping their concentration on the details of game preparation and not being distracted by any of the hype around them. They were able to go out and play at the highest level.”

Q: If you had to issue a national player of the year vote, would you go with Duke’s Cooper Flagg or Auburn’s Johni Broome?

A: I could go either way. But if I had to pick, I’d probably pick Johni Broome, because I feel like he’s been slightly more valuable to his team’s success than Cooper Flagg. But both of them have been elite in their ability to lead their teams.

Q: As a coach, how do you describe the significance of having someone like Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. this time of year, with his ability and willingness to make those big shots?

A: Each time we were fortunate enough to go to a Final Four, we had a guy like that. In ’09 it was Scottie Reynolds. In ’16 it was Ryan Arcidiacono. In ’18 it was Jalen Brunson. And in ’22 it was Collin Gillespie. We all knew that we were going to play together as a team. We were going to execute as a team. But it was unspoken and always understood in crunch time that each one of those guys was going to make a play for us. We didn’t have to say it. We didn’t talk about it. We just knew it, and I think that’s what made it so effective. We never came out of a huddle and said, ‘OK, Jalen, you’ve got to go make a play.’ We all kind of had a feel that, within that play, Jalen was going to do something. That’s what Walter Clayton Jr. looks like to me.

In the end of that Texas Tech game, he was in semi-transition twice and drove the ball to the basket, kept his dribble and dribbled it out to shoot a 3. It’s really clear that’s not the play. But everyone’s understanding on the team what he’s going to do…I think it’s imperative for a national champion to have a guy like that.”

Q: You guys beat Houston in the Elite Eight during your last season. What is the blueprint for dealing with such a tough team like the Cougars?

A: First of all, when we prepared to play Houston in that Elite Eight game, it was in San Antonio, which was insane, because when I walked out of the court, the whole place was red, and I just thought, ‘oh my God.’ it’s ironic that’s where that game was. 

We knew execution of our offense was not going to be the key to the game. There’s never been a team we’ve played that we emphasized more how strong we were with the ball, how tough and physical we were defending their guards and their drives, and how tough and physical we had to be rebounding the basketball. We talked very little about execution on offense, because we felt like whatever offense we ran, they were so well-coached and so disciplined defensively that they were going to take us out of it. It was going to come down to us making plays, being strong with the ball, being physical and then not allowing them to beat us up on the glass. That’s all we talked about during the game.

Everybody that’s in this Final Four, their team plays very hard and very physically. Kelvin (Sampson) gets his teams to take it to one notch above everybody else. That’s what makes them unique.”

Q: It looks like you’re having a blast on the studio desk. What’s this experience as an analyst been like for you?

A: It’s been a lot of fun. I compare it to a rookie joining a great team that has Hall of Famers. They’re all Hall of Famers, you look at Ernie (Johnson), Clark (Kellog), Charles (Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and what they do, there’s no one like them. They’re all unique. And the fact that they include me and make the transition comfortable, I really appreciate it, and it makes it a lot of fun. If you had as much success as those guys have had in the broadcasting business, then you throw a new person in there, you could look at that like, ‘come on we got something good going here. Why are we messing with it?’ 

But those guys have been so welcoming to me and so helpful to me. I’m really grateful to them for making it a lot of fun.