PHILADELPHIA — Jay Wright, who won two national championships at Villanova and guided the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances is retiring from coaching, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Wright, 60, held a team meeting at 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to one source, to inform his players of the decision. The source added that Wright’s decision had been several weeks in the making. The Athletic was the first to report that Wright was likely to retire.

Over his 21 seasons at Villanova, Wright compiled a 520-197 record, winning eight Big East regular-season championships and five conference tournament championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last September.

His decision shocked the college basketball community and came just 18 days after his team’s 81-65 loss to Kansas at the Superdome in New Orleans in the semifinals of this year’s NCAA tournament. That Final Four berth was Villanova’s first since 2018, when the Wildcats won the second of their two national titles during Wright’s tenure. The first was in 2016.

KENTUCKY: Forward Oscar Tshiebwe says he will return for his senior season with the Wildcats after a breakout season in which he swept national player of the year awards.

IOWA STATE:  Temple point guard Jeremiah Williams is transferring to Iowa State.

Cyclones Coach T.J. Otzelberger announced the move one day after Big 12 freshman of the year Tyrese Hunter said he would enter the transfer portal.

Williams started 21 of 22 games last season and averaged 9.5 points, and his 4.3 assists per game ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference. He started 37 of 38 games over two seasons with the Owls. He will have three seasons of eligibility.

UCLA: Johnny Juzang, one of the stars of the 2021 NCAA tournament during the Bruins’ run to the Final Four, is entering the NBA draft.

Juzang averaged 15.6 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, when the Bruins lost to North Carolina in the Sweet 16.

In 2020-21, he helped the Bruins to a 22-10 record and their first Final Four appearance since 2008. He averaged 22.8 points in six tournament games and was named to the All-Tournament team. His 137 total points were the second most by a UCLA player in tournament history.

DUKE: Paolo Banchero is leaping to the NBA after one season as a candidate to be the No. 1 overall draft pick.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound freshman announced his decision in a social media video, with the school saying he planned to hire an agent.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

TOWSON: Towson has hired Coppin State’s Laura Harper as its new women’s basketball coach.

Harper coached Coppin State for two years. The Eagles went 15-13 last season for their first winning season since 2013-14.

Harper replaces Diane Richardson, who led Towson to a school-record 24 wins last season before taking over the program at Temple.

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