Joseph Kaczmarek / AP

Villanova coach Jay Wright greets supporters outside the Pavilion in Villanova, Pa., on Wednesday.

Wright didn’t get here overnight. The first three seasons at Villanova ended in appearances in the NIT. In 2003, he watched the ACC and Big East conferences battle over membership and the resulting realignment sent a message. Wright knew it was important for Villanova to amp up everything in an attempt to position the program in the upper half of the Big East — before the conference expanded to 16 teams. The value of that effort has become very apparent, as other schools without big-time football (Seton Hall, St. John’s and Providence) have struggled to rise from the bottom half.

Villanova heads the Final Four with an 11-4 record over the last five NCAA tournaments. Three of those losses were to the eventual national champions — North Carolina (2005), Florida (2006) and Kansas (2008). After experiencing the crushing emotion of losing in the Elite Eight in 2006, Wright described himself as numb after reaching the Final Four.

“Every year is a new year and it’s a different team,” Wright said. “This team, we had everybody back. But it’s a different team. This team wasn’t physically and mentally ready to win that Sweet 16 game last year against Kansas. They were a year older and more mature this season.”

The loss to Kansas gave Wright a motivational tool, one that every successful coach has used from time to time. When the Wildcats returned to school this year, Wright made sure they saw the tape of that loss over and over as a reminder of what separated Villanova from the national champions. Earlier this week, several players said they were able to draw on that off-season reminder of a lost opportunity.

College basketball fans wonder why Wright rejects the overtures of big-time schools such as Kentucky. But they don’t seem to understand the simple pleasure he draws from Philadelphia basketball and the Villanova family.

Villanova held a reunion for the national championship team in 2005, bringing Massimino and his players together on campus to relive all the memories. At one point, Veltra Dawson asked his former teammates what would have happened if they had lost to Georgetown in the title game.

“How different would our lives be?” Ed Pinckney asked.

Everyone in the room stopped laughing and partying.

Wright, who attended Massimino’s camps and watched the Wildcats win it all as a fan in the stands in Lexington, soaked in every second of that reunion in 2005. And after the victory over Pittsburgh last Saturday, he said he was just happy he could deliver another Final Four to all the people who have a passion for Villanova basketball.

Wright also said he wants to make sure that reaching the Final Four doesn’t change the coach — or the person — he always has been during the journey to this point.

“It’s not a goal for me, personally,” Wright said of the Final Four. “But for our program and all the players that came before us and still stay in touch and support these guys, it feels great to do it for them – and especially these players on this team. What you can do for other people is the greatest. And that’s what I feel great about. They’re happier than me.”

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