Jay Wright understands ‘the hatred Philly people have for Villanova’

Jay Wright is a Philly guy through and through. He grew up in the area, stayed in Pennsylvania to play at Bucknell, and coached Villanova for 21 years.

So he understands that Philly natives reserve a special venom for Villanova, something that has come bubbling back up after a trio of former Wildcats (now with the Knicks) helped eliminate the Sixers from the first round of the NBA playoffs.

In a recent interview with CBS Sports’ John Gonzalez, who is also a Philly native, Wright said that resentment is somewhat deserved.

“Like you, I’m from Philly, so I get it,” Wright said. “The other schools are inner-city. Villanova is out in the suburbs. Villanova gets a lot of students from all over the country, not all Philly kids. Other guys come in from outside the area, they don’t know the hatred Philly people have for Villanova.”

Wright continued to explain why Villanova is different from other Big 5 schools like Temple, La Salle, and St. Joseph’s and Drexel, and, to a lesser extent, Penn. As a coach, Wright felt that it was his responsibility to explain the local dynamic and to make sure that players understood the history of the Big 5 programs.

“But some of it’s deserved,” Wright added. “We’re out on the Main Line, the ritzy, wealthy area. You get all these wealthy kids coming from all over the country to come to school there. I would explain to them, ‘If you grew up in Northeast Philly and you see that, you’re not going to like that, either.’ And I would also explain to them, we have to earn their respect.”

» READ MORE: ‘Nova Knicks: The numbers and themes driving New York’s Villanova-flavored resurgence

During Wright’s tenure, Villanova became a powerhouse that lured much of the area’s top talent — as well as players from outside this area. And while fans of others local schools may have resented that, so did players who likely harbored dreams of playing at ‘Nova. This presented a special challenge that Wright prepared players to face.

“This is a great Philly basketball town, they’re not just going to give it to you because you’re highly recruited,” Wright said. “They think they’re better than you and tougher than you. And you know what? They might be right unless we prove it.”

Currently, the ‘Nova Knicks — Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo — are knotted at two games apiece in their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers. And even Wright has been surprised by Brunson’s emergence this season in New York.

» READ MORE: What makes Knicks star Jalen Brunson so special? ‘The magic is in the work.’

“I didn’t think he’d be this good,” Wright said of his former player. “I thought he would be a point guard on an NBA championship team because he was such a winner. I thought he would get with a Luka Dončić [in Dallas] — I thought that was such a good situation for him.

“I thought he would get with a Luka Dončić and lead a team to the NBA playoffs, maybe a more talented player might be their leading scorer, but he would be their leader. … That’s what I thought his career would be.”

With the Knicks, Brunson has proved he can be both.