THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
According to Atlanta Hawks guard Speedy Claxton, Villanova coach Jay Wright is pretty much the same guy he was when he coached Claxton and Hofstra to the America East Conference Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2000.
With one notable exception.
"Jay was always a sharp dresser," Claxton, the 76ers' first-round draft choice in 2000, said of Wright, who has the Wildcats back in the Final Four for the first time since the 1984-85 team won it all. "He dressed nice when he was at Hofstra. But he might have stepped it up a little because he's got a higher salary now. He's probably wearing Armani."
It doesn't surprise Claxton, who has been on the inactive list all of this season and last season with left knee chondromalacia, that Wright is one of the hottest coaches in the college ranks. It also doesn't surprise him that Wright expressed no interest in the high-visibility, megabucks University of Kentucky job, which reportedly has gone to Memphis' John Calipari, though Wright was rumored to be a prime candidate.
"I have great memories of playing for Jay," said Claxton before the Hawks played the Sixers last night at the Wachovia Center. "When I was with him, he was more of an up-and-coming guy. Now he's older and more established.
"I'm very happy for him and what he's accomplished at Villanova. You know, my little brother [Michael] played for him at 'Nova. My brother was in Atlanta last week and we watched the Villanova-Pitt game, cheering for Jay and his team like crazy.
"I really can't see Jay leaving Villanova any time soon. He's at home. That was his dream job, and he got it. I'm not sure he would be as satisfied coaching anywhere else."
Like most basketball fans, NBA players fill out their NCAA Tournament brackets and follow March Madness from the opening round through the championship contest.
But second-year Hawks center Al Horford has a deeper appreciation than most for the college game's premier event. He was a key member of the University of Florida teams that won back-to-back titles in 2006 and '07, and knows the thrill of mounting that ladder to take his turn snipping down the net.
"It's an indescribable feeling," Horford said. "I don't think the guys on whatever team wins it all this year will even realize what they did until later. I thought I did when we won it the first time, but I didn't. It really doesn't sink in until some time goes by and you're sort of on the outside, looking back."
So who does Horford see as the last team standing from a Final Four consisting of North Carolina, Michigan State, Connecticut and Villanova?
"Man, the way things are going, I don't know anymore," Horford said. "I had Pittsburgh winning it all. But they lost to Villanova, so I'm going to stick with the underdog. Why not Villanova?"
Sixers rookie Marreese Speights was a reserve on Florida's 2007 championship team. Horford said he and Speights have stayed close, and that Sixers fans will come to understand how good Speights can be once he gains some experience.
"When Mo went to Florida, me and some of the other older players took him in," Horford said. "We keep in touch. We talk maybe once, twice a month.
"You can see the potential he has. I think people here in Philadelphia are going to eventually realize what kind of player he is, when he finally gets his chance to play a lot." *
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