'Nova's Wright: Dunleavy a wise choice as head coach
Jay Wright knew that Baker Dunleavy was ready to be the head coach of a Division I college program, and it wasn't just because Dunleavy's father coached in the NBA for 17 seasons and won more than 600 games, but also because he was willing to learn.
Jay Wright knew that Baker Dunleavy was ready to be the head coach of a Division I college program, and it wasn't just because Dunleavy's father coached in the NBA for 17 seasons and won more than 600 games, but also because he was willing to learn.
"He was always wise beyond his years, even when he came in as a player, because he grew up in the NBA with his dad," the Villanova coach said Tuesday, the same day that Dunleavy, 34, was officially introduced in Hamden, Conn., as the new boss of the basketball program at Quinnipiac, his first head coaching job.
"Baker has seen it all but he's also very humble. He's a great listener and learner. He came in here with a lot of great basketball knowledge but he was a great student of the game and of our program. So I think he's going into his first head coaching job much more experienced and much wiser than most guys do in their first job."
Dunleavy's father, current Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., was an NBA head coach in Milwaukee, Los Angeles (Lakers and Clippers), and Portland, winning 613 regular-season games and another 38 in the playoffs. His brother, Mike Jr., starred at Duke and is playing in his 15th NBA season.
Baker Dunleavy played for Villanova from 2002-06 on a team that included Randy Foye, Allen Ray, Curtis Sumpter, and Jason Fraser. He worked on Wall Street after his graduation from Villanova but returned to the Main Line to become a member of Wright's staff in 2010.
He was the Wildcats' associate head coach from 2013-17, a four-year period in which the Cats went 129-17 and won the 2016 national championship.
During his introductory news conference at the Bobcats' campus arena, the TD Bank Sports Center, Dunleavy said he would not wear his championship ring because "I don't want it to be the focal point of what I do as a coach."
"I'm a head coach now," he said. "I want them to know that I'm starting with them. I'm betting on them to start my career. The national championship will be an experience I treasure forever, and my family will as well. But this is a new experience and we want to create new memories."
Wright said Dunleavy could have departed Villanova before his hiring at Quinnipiac.
"Baker's been ready for maybe the last two or three years to run his own program, which has been a benefit to us because it's been like having another head coach on the staff," Wright said. "It's a big loss for us. Any time you lose a person that's such a crucial part of the program, it's a loss. But it's a great opportunity for our younger assistants to step up."
Wright said every member of his staff will move up one spot in the program. That means Ashley Howard and Kyle Neptune will be his top two assistants and George Halcovage will step up from director of basketball operations to assistant coach. Mike Nardi, a Wildcats teammate of Dunleavy's who was video coordinator this past season, will become the new director of basketball operations.
Hart honored again
Villanova's Josh Hart was honored again as a first-team All-American, this time by the Associated Press. The Big East player of the year joined Frank Mason III of Kansas, Caleb Swanigan of Purdue, Lonzo Ball of UCLA, and Justin Jackson of North Carolina on the first team.
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