As expected, 'Nova's Wright to coach U.S. team in Pan Am Games

While the rest of his coaching brethren are enjoying the minibreak that the dead recruiting period in July offers, Jay Wright still will be on the court.

As previously reported in the Daily News, the Villanova coach will serve as head coach for the U.S. men's basketball team at this year's Pan Am Games. In midJuly, the time he usually heads to the Shore for a little R & R, Wright will be at Haverford College, selecting his team.

Not that he's complaining.

"I love doing this," said Wright, who will be assisted by Alabama coach Mark Gottfried and Yale coach James Jones. "When you go to a foreign country and you are the USA team, as soon as you come in you feel the respect . . . and the hatred. You see all the guys from the other countries looking at you and you see how they want to meet our players but at the same time, they want to beat our team."

The players vying for the coveted spots will convene here on July 12 and once assembled, the team will head to Brazil for the games on July 21.

The men's eight-nation tournament will be held in Rio de Janiero from July 25 to 29.

Though the list of invitees has yet to be announced, a source said that Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds and Saint Joseph's forward Ahmad Nivins have been asked to try out.

This will be Wright's third stint as a USA Basketball coach. Two years ago he, along with former Wildcat Randy Foye, led the World University Games team to a gold medal and in 2000, he assisted Jim Boeheim on the USA Basketball world championship qualifying team.

"Randy came back a changed player and a changed person and so did I," Wright said of his previous experience. "There's something about being in a foreign country for that long, competing at that level. You learn so much." *