There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Jay Wright’s tenure as the head coach at Villanova. He took over a program that had been to the NCAA Tournament just once in the previous four seasons and built a national powerhouse. In his 21 seasons, Wright took the Wildcats to eight Sweet 16s and four Final Fours, winning the national championship twice while utterly dominating the new Big East. Of course, he had some great players helping him achieve all that, so let’s take a look back at the five best players to suit up for the Wildcats during Wright’s tenure.
5. Scottie Reynolds
There aren’t many college players who start at point guard for four years, which is part of what made Reynolds special. He was never a big-time scorer, but he was always the heartbeat of his Villanova teams, averaging 11.3 points and 3.5 assists per game during his career.
Reynolds earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman and kept working his way up to First-Team All-American honors as a senior, becoming just the fourth player in Villanova history to be a First-Team All-American.
4. Josh Hart
Hart is the embodiment of a four-year college player. He came off the bench in his first two seasons, winning Big East Sixth Man of the Year and Big East Tournament MOP as a sophomore. He then became a more prominent part of the Wildcats, averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game when they won the 2016 national title.
Hart was then Big East Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American as a senior, averaging 13.2 points per game over his four years at Villanova.
3. Collin Gillespie
It’s a little easier for Gillespie to elevate himself over the other great Villanova players of Wright’s tenure because he played five seasons. But he made good use of those five seasons, winning Big East Player of the Year honors twice.
He was also a Third-Team All-American twice and won the Cousy Award in his final season. He became a key figure coming off the bench when the Wildcats won the 2018 national title and then carried Villanova during his final three seasons, helping Wright end his career with another Final Four appearance.
2. Randy Foye
Foye was the leader of the group that helped put Villanova on the map in the 2000s. He was the leader of Wright’s famous four-guard lineup, helping carry the Cats to the Elite Eight during his senior season.
That season, Foye was a First-Team All-American and Big East Player of the Year after averaging 20.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, which was one of the great individual seasons in Villanova history.
1. Jalen Brunson
As a starter on two different Villanova teams that won the national championship, it’s hard to argue against Brunson being the best player during Wright’s tenure. Over his three seasons with the Wildcats, Brunson averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 assists per game. He went from role player on the title team his freshman season to absolute stud during his junior season.
In what would end up being his final season, Brunson was Big East Player of the Year, won the Cousy Award, and was the consensus National Player of the Year, all while leading Villanova to a second national championship in three years.