In the 25 years since he left the program, Villanova has been successful at the highest levels of the college game — the Wildcats have won two of the last five national championships — and produced a steady stream of N.B.A. prospects, but no one-and-done players. As the Wildcats head into this weekend’s Final Four, Coach Jay Wright’s approach stands in stark contrast to those of the other three programs here. Duke, North Carolina and Kansas have all had their share of one-and-done talent over the years. Under Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will retire following this tournament, Duke’s current roster has three freshmen projected to be first-round draft picks this summer.
“One of the things that we really try to focus on at Villanova is authenticity,” Wright, who has been Villanova’s head coach since 2001 and who is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, said this week. “We don’t try to out-Kentucky Kentucky, or out-Duke Duke. We have great respect for those programs. We have always tried to be the best Villanova we can be.”
Wright has instilled several ideals: emphasizing program players over individual stars, running an offensive system that features guards who can post up and shoot, placing team defense, rebounding and culture over personal branding. It is common for Villanova’s best players to be juniors, seniors or, as is the case this year with point guard Collin Gillespie and forward Jermaine Samuels, graduate students. In an interview with ESPN Tuesday night, Gillespie described Villanova’s culture: “We have a saying, ‘Everybody’s status is the same but their role is different,’ and we live by that. We treat everybody the same. And I think that’s why part of the reason why coach has built something really special here.”
“Everyone should applaud what they’ve built there,” said Kansas Coach Bill Self, whose teams lost to the eventual champion Wildcats in both the 2016 and 2018 N.C.A.A. tournaments. Kansas will meet them again on Saturday in a national semifinal. “And of course, Jay’s the ringmaster of that. You got to beat them, they don’t beat themselves.”