Day after: Villanova's Wright calls seniors warriors
RADNOR TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- A day after Villanova was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, head coach Jay Wright returned home thinking about the seniors who led the Wildcats to a 33-3 regular season record.
Moments after exiting the bus on Villanova's campus, Wright described Darruen Hilliard and JayVaugh Pinkston as warriors and commended them on the leaders they've become.
"I'm really proud of those guys. Those guys led our team to the winningest season in Villanova basketball. They're warriors. They're going to be always respected and revered within our program," Wright said.
Though, N.C. State defeated the Wildcats Saturday night in Pittsburgh 71-68, Wright said the team was battling to the last seconds.
"It still comes down to in one game N.C. State played to their strengths better than we played to our strengths and that was the key to the game...we almost beat them playing their game," Wright said.
Though Villanova did not make it to see the Sweet 16, their accomplishments in the season did not go unnoticed by their supporters.
"When we came back to the hotel last night there were hundreds and hundreds of Villanova people in there just cheering for the guys, thanking them. It was really nice," Wright said.
And even as the bus pulled up on campus Sunday morning, one of the team's youngest followers waited anxiously, basketball in hand, to cheer them on.
"I'm a huge fan of Villanova. It's such a bummer that they lost," 10-year-old Jack Reidenbach said.
Jack, the son of Villanova graduates, says even with the heartbreaking loss, he remains a Wildcat fan.
"I was really upset last night when they lost, but I shook it off. They'll do better next year," Jack said.
A similar message was echoed by the head coach.
"We don't fear failure. We failed in one game. They're not failures. They had a great season. We've got to accept our fate here and we got to own it. We'll come back and start building again," Wright said.
