Jay Wright achieved legendary status as an NCAA coach, winning two NCAA championships at Villanova. But as a broadcaster, he’s still essentially the new guy as he learns the profession.
Wright joined CBS and TNT Sports as a college basketball analyst after retiring as a coach in 2022. In an appearance Wednesday on John Ourand’s The Varsity podcast, Wright admitted he’s had some surprising moments as a new broadcaster.
“I’m viewing it as an eye-opening learning experience right now,” Wright said. “I learned to respect the play-by-play guys, the hosts … the producers.”
Wright said he’s told his producers, “You know when I would come in to practice and see these gruff guys walking around on the court the day of the game, and I’d say, ‘Get these people out, we’ve got to practice.’
“I’d realize those guys are the producers and the directors that I’m working with now. Those people are amazing. They’re so talented. And they work so hard, and they’re so committed and passionate about what they’re doing.”
The legendary coach, who won 642 games, also got a surprise working with the late Greg Gumbel. The longtime host of the NCAA Tournament Selection Show passed away in December at age 78.
“Having done the Selection Show, the first show I did with Greg Gumbel, and I’m prepping, I’ve got all these teams in my mind,” Wright said. “I’m getting in the car with him to come from the hotel in the morning; he’s got a novel in his hand.
“I’m like, ‘You’re reading a book!'”
Wright then rattled off a list of his current co-workers, praising them.
“Like all of these people that you see when you’re coaching, and you think, ‘OK, they do their job … they’re good,'” Wright said. “And then, when you work with them, you realize how difficult it is and how much time they spend and how talented they are.”
But when Ourand asked if Wright has a mentor, a broadcasting idol he tries to emulate, he said he’s been told to be himself.
“I’ve thought about that, and other people have told me, ‘Don’t do that,'” Wright said. “Just be yourself; that’s what they hired you for. But working with guys like Raft (Bill Raftery), you’re never going to be Raft. But there are things that he has taught me, simple things, like, you’re doing an open on the court, tuck your tie in your pants.”
Ourand asked Wright if he could see himself continuing as a broadcaster “for a while.”
“I think so,” Wright said. “You’ve got to make sure you’re good at it. You have to work at this, and you have to keep improving. I watch everybody that’s doing it, and I remember when they were younger and where they are now, and I’ve got to make sure I keep getting better at this.”
