“How are we going to replace Jay Wright in terms of leadership with the future of college basketball?” - Seth Greenberg says Jay Wright’s retirement is a sad day for college basketball

One of the legendary basketball coaches, Villanova's Jay Wright, will be missed.

Jay Wright's retirement from the Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday came as a surprise to many. ESPN's Seth Greenberg believes college basketball will miss the legendary coach.

With the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski a few weeks ago, the college basketball world was already going to change drastically. Wright's abrupt retirement came as a bigger shock and could lead to a seismic shift.

While the impact of Wright's retirement will not be seen for years to come, Greenberg believes that the Hall of Famer will be missed:

"Sad day for college basketball. Happy for Jay, but a sad day for college basketball. I mean, look, think about what he's done: two national championships and (an) Olympic gold medal (as an assistant coach in Tokyo). Ran a model program. The culture of Villanova basketball is the best in the country.

"He survived one-and-done by doing it his way, with attitude, and, basically, getting guys to buy into playing for those who played before them, which is their model. With NIL and the transfer portal, I'm not sure Jay felt that he was capable of continuing to do it that way."

Greenberg believes that, with the transfer portal and NIL impacting college sports across the board, the way coaches view the game is changing.

Jay Wright turned 60 in December and wanted to spend more time with his family. Job has turned into all-year deal. He also wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of having to build and re-build via the transfer portal. Only had one transfer on roster last season: Caleb Daniels.

Many coaches tell me they feel “stuck” in their job right now. Life lessons in the Covid year, NIL, and Transfer Portal have 💯changed how they view their profession, and they are correct….
Good for Jay Wright for wanting to live life on his terms

If Wright is retiring because he does not want to have the job year-round and wants to spend more time with his family, it is hard to hold that against him.

Still, he will be missed in the basketball world.

According to Seth Greenberg, Jay Wright is irreplaceable to college basketball and Villanova

Jay Wright has been able to impact his players in a way vital to college basketball.

After a legendary college basketball career, Jay Wright's retirement will leave the sport without one of its biggest names and ambassadors. That's what ESPN's Seth Greenberg believes will be missed the most.

"If you think about the great ambassadors of our game, you think about the guys that other people want to emulate and be like, it's Jay Wright," Greenberg said.

"He's going to be missed in our game, because I got 10 phone calls last night from all head coaches, and they all said the same thing: How are we going to replace Jay Wright in terms of leadership with the future of college basketball? That's how good he is."

Greenberg is not the only person to hold Wright in such high regard. Other legendary coaches view him this way as well.

Former @UNC_Basketball coach Roy Williams told me tonight: "I love @NovaMBB Jay Wright. Admired him a great deal. One of the true giants in our game. I do believe Jay did everything with first class and integrity. He was a great ambassador for his university and our profession.''

Coach Roy Williams is one of the most decorated and successful coaches in college basketball history. His admiration of Wright, a fellow Hall of Famer, shows that his fellow coaches view him the same way analysts do.