Villanova's Wright enjoyed his brush with UT

He loved, as he put it, the "Grand Ol' Opry" hotel, where his Villanova basketball team is ensconced for the NCAA men's tournament.

If Tennessee had hired Wright as its coach four years ago, he'd know it's the Opryland Hotel.

Wright is but one of many coaches over the past 16 years who has had a brush with the UT job, one that's open again at the moment.

"I was a college football fan and I was so excited when Doug Dickey called me,'' Wright recalled Thursday.

Former UT star Ernie Grunfeld had recommended Wright to Dickey, then UT's athletic director. The Vols needed a replacement for Jerry Green, who was fired, and Wright had just taken Hofstra to a second consecutive NCAA tournament.

Before UT got involved, Wright, a Pennsylvania native, was in talks with Rutgers. But he was very interested in what Dickey had to say about Tennessee.

"At that time the Villanova job hadn't opened up yet,'' Wright said.

Some basketball coaches over the years might have been put off by Dickey's football background. Not Wright.

"I loved that guy,'' Wright said. "He was just a really classy gentleman.

"He was very positive about the importance of basketball there. He was charming, a very engaging guy.''

"I was a college football fan. My kids liked Tennessee football.''

The courtship never got to the point of an offer. The Villanova job opened when Steve Lappas bolted for Massachusetts and Wright, a former Villanova assistant in the Rollie Massimino days, latched on to it.

An offer from UT "would have put me in a tough spot,'' Wright said. "But this is home.''

Villanova athletic director Vince Nicastro knew he had to move fast.

"Fortunately, our knowledge and relationship with Jay helped us move down the path a little faster,'' Nicastro said

After three NIT trips, Wright and the Wildcats got over the hump this year. Their 22-7 record earned a No. 5 seed.

Wright knows UT would have been a tough job, as it proved to be for Buzz Peterson, who was fired last Sunday.

"I know Buzz,'' Wright said. "I know what a great coach he is.

"Timing is big. He came in (the SEC) at a time when Florida is good, Kentucky's good. Mississippi State's good, and it's not like they've been there all the time.

"Even Georgia was good with (Jim) Harrick. Buzz came in when a lot of programs were rolling. It wasn't like there were any openings.''

There's an opening at Tennessee, though.