“The beauty of it is when society as a whole rewards them with the luxury of being able to do what they want to do” - Stephen A. Smith says Jay Wright’s retirement is a beautiful day for the sport

The basketball world was sent into a frenzy this week when Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright announced he would be retiring from coaching duties. Wright has built a reputation as one of the top coaches to roam the sidelines in the collegiate ranks. The news sent shockwaves throughout the NCAA, as many expected that Wright was going to be back with Villanova for the upcoming season.

Throughout his career as a college basketball coach, Wright has been one of the top personalities in the game. He's been a storybook example of the type of coach that programs want, as his character and talent for the game of basketball have been reasons why he will go down as one of the all-time greats.

Numerous sports personalities went out of their way to congratulate Wright on his retirement, and those same people continued to rave about the type of person that the Villnova legend was. Speaking recently on ESPN's "First Take," analyst Stephen A. Smith praised the news, saying that it was a great day because Wright got to retire on his own terms.

"You know, Jay Wright, it's impossible not to love to man. He's a great, great man. He truly is. And a phenomenal coach, and he's walking away on his terms...I think it's a beautiful thing for the sport. When guys like that walk away on their terms."

"Nobody pushed them out.... They sat up and said, "Hey, we did, our thing, it's okay. Life is beautiful..." The beauty of it is when society as a whole rewards them with the luxury of being able to do what they want to do. and that's what this is about that I'm not sad for Jay Wright at all."

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Villanova Wildcats legend Jay Wright calls it a career

Villanova head coach Jay Wright calls it a career after retiring from the program

The Villanova Wildcats were never known for being a program that would recruit some of the top "one-and-done" prospects in the NCAA. Instead, head coach Jay Wright made it a point to recruit and develop his players for numerous years. While Villanova never had the "star power" that some other programs had, they continued to be one of the toughest teams to deal with year after year.

That's one of the reasons why Wright had the Wildcats always contending for a spot in the NCAA tournament. Villanova became a team known for team play and toughness, and it just went to show how talented of a leader their head coach was. Wright stepped down as a coach who went on to win two national championships while also making the Final Four a total of four times in his career. He ended his coaching career with an overall record of 642-282.