Mike Nardi wants Villanova to ‘go out the right way’ in the College Basketball Crown tournament

Mike Nardi stood by the bench as an assistant coach when Villanova lost to UConn in the Big East quarterfinals. Just two days later, he found himself courtside in place of Kyle Neptune as interim head coach.

The sudden nature of Neptune’s dismissal by the university sent Nardi back to the last time Villanova made a head coaching change: Hall of Famer Jay Wright’s unexpected retirement three years ago.

“From 2022 to now, I’ve had the opportunity to grow as a coach,” Nardi said. “You’re never fully prepared for something like this when you get thrown into it. But I learned a lot from the coach transition [from Wright to Neptune], and that put me in a better spot to handle all of this going on.”

The Wildcats are in Nardi’s hands as they head to Las Vegas for the inaugural College Basketball Crown. Villanova faces Colorado in its first tournament game on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., FS1).

Nardi played for Wright from 2003 to 2007. After a professional career in Italy, Nardi returned to the staff in 2015 and contributed to two national championships and five Big East titles in various roles.

While uncertainty obscures the program’s future, Nardi faces the task of keeping the team focused on the Crown and ending the season on a high note.

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“This program has been built on attitude,” Nardi said. “Going out the right way and finishing this [season], paying our respects to all the former players and coaches that have put on this jersey, is my responsibility now as the leader. Our guys are buying into that.”

Nardi ensured he had that buy-in and held individual meetings with players to check in with them immediately after Neptune’s departure.

“Our assistant coaches, they all care about this place, and they all have helped during this transition,” Nardi said. “We all discussed being there for the players.”

Nardi, 40, will manage the last run of college basketball for starters Eric Dixon and Jordan Longino, who have played at Villanova since their freshman years. It also will be the final college appearance for 2024 transfers Jhamir Brickus, Enoch Boakye, and Wooga Poplar.

“I think all of us seniors created a bond in the summer to the fall and up until now,” Longino said after Villanova’s loss to UConn. “It’s been a long season, and it’s been a long year. Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but that bond will last forever.”

For Nardi and the players, the trip to Las Vegas serves as an opportunity to move past the disappointment of the Big East tournament.

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One source of excitement for the program’s future — and Villanova’s only class of 2025 commitment — was four-star guard Dante Allen. But Allen, the son of former Villanova forward and Miami Heat assistant Malik Allen, withdrew his commitment on March 21, keeping his recruiting options open after Neptune’s departure and before the naming of a new head coach.

Nardi still hopes Allen will return to Villanova once coaching decisions are made.

“The connection and the relationship is still there,” Nardi said. “[Allen and his family] just want to see who the next coach is, and they’re still open to coming to Villanova. All of our assistant coaches still have our networking and recruiting relationships, and we’re still in contact with a lot of people.”

The instability of the program, given the head coaching opening and the opening of the transfer portal last Monday, sparks further concern about Villanova’s trajectory.

Nardi refers to the insights he gained from working for both Wright and Neptune over the last decade.

“I take a lot of pride in Villanova, so it’s really given me an opportunity to give back to a lot of the people who have supported me throughout my career,” Nardi said. “My goal in the Crown is to step on the floor and represent Villanova basketball the way we all know it to be, playing hard and playing together.”

While few are more familiar with “the Villanova Way” than Nardi, he’s also witnessed sweeping change across college basketball that forces the program’s signature style to adapt.

The only current Villanova player to have entered the portal is redshirt junior forward Nnanna Njoku, who missed most of the season because of injuries.

In the meantime, Nardi and the team’s eyes are on the Crown.

“From everybody who’s involved and supporting the program, those guys feel the love and enjoy being here,” Nardi said. “We all are in this together and have to see what the next step is.”

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