PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jay Wright had a game to coach on Saturday, but his thoughts were also with a Philadelphia legend.
The college basketball world is still mourning the death of John Chaney. The legendary Temple coach died on Friday, and tributes have been pouring in from across the country. Many Big Five coaches who matched wits against Chaney have shared their stories about the man who became a Philadelphia icon. Jay Wright took time before his team's game on Saturday to read many of the tributes to Chaney.
"I spent the morning between pregame meal and before we left for the game just reading articles," said Wright. "It was very emotional. Our coaching staff talked about him. We told stories about him."
There are so many stories about John Chaney that a novel the size of "War and Peace" could not hold all of them. Wright had plenty of his own stories to share after going against Chaney as both an assistant and as a head coach. Wright said there was a different side to Chaney off the court from the fierce competitor on the sidelines.
"We had some battles when I first got here that weren’t pretty," Wright said. "But we’d have our Big Five dinners with the Big Five coaches and our wives, and we’d leave there and my wife, Patty, would say ‘he’s so sweet’."
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Chaney was also supportive of Wright when Villanova would make its deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Chaney had several deep runs of his own during his coaching tenure which included five trips to Elite Eight, but the former Owls' coach was always supportive of his Big Five rivals when they were representing the city.
"He was as fierce a competitor as you’ve ever seen," said Wright. "But off the court, he would call me during the Final Four runs and always have a kind word to say and let you know he was following you and he was proud of you for Philadelphia."
The Wildcats won their game against Seton Hall Saturday and are now 11-1 on the season. Villanova is ranked third in the country and could be ready for another run at an NCAA championship. Chaney won't be there for that phone call to Wright, but the hall of famer will be on everybody's mind through the rest of the season.
"I know nationally all of the coaches in the country and basketball fans are mourning Coach Chaney's loss," Wright said. "But I don't know if anybody can really understand the impact he had on the city of Philadelphia."