Check out Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Jay Hernandez’s April 2018 chat with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson via Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen!
Villanova University’s head men’s basketball coach, Jay Wright is living his best life in 2018.
With an overall coaching record of 544–250, Wright is a winner of a his second NCAA National Championship within the last two years and was recently named an assistant coach of Team USA Basketball under head coach Gregg Popovich.
Popovich is respected for not just winning multiple championships as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, but also preparing coaches and executives in major roles with other teams across the NBA.
Think Steve Kerr, Mike Budenholzer, Mike Brown and Brett Brown.
Quietly, Jay Wright has cultivated something similar and it began at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. Wright coached at Hofstra from 1994-2001 and guided the team to two NCAA tournament appearances.
While at Hofstra, Wright coached Speedy Claxton and ironically, Claxton won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich.
Claxton is currently an assistant men’s basketball coach at Hofstra.
Wright also coached, Jay Hernandez. Remember that name!
This summer, Hernandez coached the Hornets’ summer league team in Las Vegas. Hernandez is an assistant coach with the Hornets under head coach, James Borrego.
Hernandez thinks the world of Jay Wright. “I learned a lot about leadership skills and how to control a team being a point guard for him and playing alongside Speedy Claxton,” Jay Hernandez tells NBA scribe, Landon Buford.
“He did a great job getting us to play our roles and creating a culture that had not been there before at Hofstra.”
Before Charlotte, Hernandez was an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic where he was instrumental in player development. He sang Jay Wright’s praises. “You can see what he did at Villanova winning two national championships,” he said.
“So the fact that he is an assistant coach with Team USA Basketball doesn’t surprise me. I was extremely happy for him he has been with Team USA for a very long time running the younger teams. For him to be selected with other great professional coaches that shows the level of respect that everyone has for him.”
Before the NBA, Hernandez, a Long Island, NY native ran a successful basketball training company called Pro Hoops, which included clients such as Los Angeles Clippers forward, Tobias Harris and Charlotte Hornets All-Star Kemba Walker.
Hernandez credits Wright for setting the example in his life as a player. That example has now resonated with him as an assistant coach in the NBA. “Regardless of level, everyone knows that he is one of the best in the game,” Hernandez told Buford.
“So, having a guy like him, who knows how to work with players and build relationships he is the perfect guy be in that position.”
