Villanova University benefitted greatly by keeping Jay Wright on the payroll, but they almost lost him a decade ago to the Sixers, writes Gabriela Carroll for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

It happened when Ed Stefanski was general manager of the 76ers between 2005 and 2011.

At one point (best guess is 2009 after Villanova came off a Final Four trip), Wright went over to Stefanski’s house in Wayne, about five minutes away, for an interview as head coach while they ate cut-up hoagies.

“It was classic Philly,” Wright said on the 94 WIP Morning Show last week.  “Only in Philly is that your interview for a head coaching job.”

At the time, Wright thought if he was ever going to make the leap to the NBA, this was the time to do it. Then he thought more about it.

NBA coaches tend to get fired after three to five years.. If that happened, he’d want to get back into college ball.

“Well, I’m here,” he said. “There’s no guarantee you can get another good college job after you get fired, so why would I do that?”

Wright stayed put until his retirement after the 2021-22 season

Find out more about Jay Wright’s one-time step into the NBA in The Philadelphia Inquirer.