Jay Wright talks Tourney in radio spot

On Tuesday, Villanova coach Jay Wright gave his first radio interview since losing in the NCAA Tournament's first round against Kentucky this weekend. Wright appeared as a guest of the the 700 Level Sports Fanatics program on Philadelphia SportsTalk 950 AM.

The entire 16-minute interview is available for download as an MP3.

Wright discussed his experience in the NCAA Tournament on the show, including why he feels Kentucky defeated Villanova on Friday. Wright also gave his Final Four picks (Kansas, Florida, OSU, and Georgetown), and admitted that he can't really relax and move on until after the entire tournament ends.

Wright revealed that his ideal end-of-game strategy when leading by three and defending with fewer than 10 seconds left is to foul, but he admitted that he doesn't always have the "guts" to follow through with that tactic in a real game situation. Ohio State's win in overtime in the second round of the tournament over Xavier after trailing by three with the ball at the end of regulation added fresh fuel to the fire of that ever-controverisal issue earlier this week.

Coach Wright also responded to the rumors regarding the freshman star Scottie Reynolds and his NBA prospects this spring. As previously reported, Wright said that he had not talked to Reynolds at all about his pro prospects, but that he will meet with Scottie individually later this week.

When asked about who will be the team's leaders next year, Wright said that rising juniors Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham, along with Reynolds, will provide leadership to the very young team in 2007-08. Villanova adds five new players next season, three true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen, and will have no seniors on an inexperienced albeit talented roster.