March 10, 2009
New York, NY - Villanova head coach Jay Wright has been named 2009 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, it was announced tonight. Wright and his staff led the Wildcats to a school-record tying 25 regular season victories and a top four seed in this week's BIG EAST Conference Tournament.
"It's a tremendous honor to be a member of this great conference and it's even more meaningful to be recognized by the coaches in the BIG EAST," stated Wright. "I am grateful to our assistant coaches, staff and players for making this an incredibly memorable year."
The Wildcats began the BIG EAST portion of their slate by dropping two of their first three contests, including a 61-60 heartbreaker to Louisville on Jan. 10 at the Wachovia Center. But from that point forward VU captured 12 of 15 conference games to complete a 13-5 regular season and earn a double bye into Thursday's quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden. By completing a 25-6 regular season, the Wildcats matched the largest regular season win total in school history. Senior forward Dante Cunningham (Silver Spring, Md./Potomac High School) was named the BIG EAST's Most Improved Player and sophomore guard Corey Fisher (Bronx, N.Y./St. Patrick's (N.J.) High School) is the league's Sixth Man of the Year. Cunningham was also named second team All-BIG EAST and junior guard Scottie Reynolds was an honorable mention All-BIG EAST selection.
Villanova opens BIG EAST Tournament action in the second game of Thursday afternoon's doubleheader at Madison Square Garden (approximately 2:30 p.m.). The Wildcats will face the winner of Wednesday's contest between Marquette and St. Johns.
