By Jay Sorgi • Posted October 17, 2025

His talk began with the Serenity Prayer. It wrapped up with a funny story about God teaching a lesson on humility through a baked potato.

Jay Wright could brag, but he doesn’t. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach of the Villanova Wildcats is one of only 16 two-time men’s Final Four championship coaches.

“The Serenity Prayer was my go-to my whole career. It still is,” said Wright at the start of a talk filled with humility and joy at Team Hope’s Friendship Celebration Oct. 8 at St. Norbert Parish in Paoli.

Wright spoke about God’s work within him, his family and his team’s lives, and in 700 people who gathered to hear him that evening along with a handful of other speakers.

“It was wild to hear me introduced as someone who always had it under control,” said Wright. “I can tell you honestly I was a mess. Every night, I would say the Lord’s Prayer and the Serenity Prayer a hundred times to get myself going to sleep.”

He described a conversation with a hedge fund president and Villanova alumnus where he shared that nighttime peace-filling ritual, and the president described it as “basically meditation.”

“I said, ‘No, man, that’s desperation,” he quipped with a humble laugh.

Wright then regaled the audience, one with more than 100 student-athletes from Archbishop Carroll and Msgr. Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast high schools, with stories of how he and his team were continually filled with moments of trust in God.

He especially cited the ministry of Augustinian Father Robert Hagan, the prior provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova and the Wildcats’ men’s basketball team chaplain, who “always kept us grounded, kept us faithful,” said Wright.

“Four hours before the game, Father Rob did a reading and then a homily. Seventy percent of the time, the reading that he would choose from the Bible would be exactly what I told the team about the night before. I really believe it’s the Holy Spirit working through all of us.”

Wright shared a story of how he came to understand that truth in preparation for an event with Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez. He confronted his sense of unworthiness with Father Rob in the room to reinject one of Wright’s other pillars of life into him, a positive attitude.

“‘I curse. I get out of control sometimes. How am I worthy to speak with the Archbishop and do this?’ I told Father Rob,” said Wright.

“He said to me, ‘All of us can’t be priests or nuns or clergy. All of us have to do God’s work in our own lives and in our own jobs. What you do with these young men is the Holy Spirit working through you.’ It gave me great confidence.”

During his talk Wright wore wristbands saying “Attitude” and “Hungry and Humble.”. His final reminder of humility involved the story of a speaking engagement at a CYO event in Brooklyn.

The server in line gave Wright a portion of roast beef, a baked potato with one pat of butter, and a reaffirmation that the call to humility doesn’t change when you become Villanova’s basketball coach.

“I said, ‘Can I get another pat?’ He said, ‘One pat per person,’” said Wright.

“I said, ‘Do you know who I am? I’m the new head coach of Villanova. I’m the guest speaker tonight.’ He said, ‘Do you know who I am? I’m the guy with the pats of butter.’ That’s hungry and humble.”

Wright’s talk was a seed-planter, part of the theme of the night.

Ed Morris, the Archbishop Carroll graduate and founder of Team Hope and the Friendship Celebrations, talked about how his late son-in-law Johnny Gaudreau, who planted a seed for ministry in Morris’ mind to distribute rosary rings, blessed by Pope Francis, with every NHL team.

“He took off for Calgary for his ninth season. He sent me a photo of a rosary on his bag. He had faith. He planted a seed in my mind,” said Morris, who grew that seed to greater life since Johnny’s death from a vehicle crash in August 2024.

Nine teams now have rosary rings in Johnny’s memory.

“John planted that seed. I’m watering it. My goal is all 32 teams. Can you imagine?”

God also planted a seed in Jacqueline Barr, a young mother enduring drug addiction in 2018 when Morris and other Team Hope members tried to help her journey to recovery.

She is now 14 months sober.

“I choose to pray rather than complain, compliment instead of criticize, have patience and always smile. I can honestly say that I love myself today,” said Barr.

“You have no idea how a little kindness can truly impact. It saved my life.”

It was a night of witnessing how with God’s help we can all plant a seed and make a positive impact by opening ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit.

“We’re going to choose a positive attitude and we’re going to choose to serve God the best we can,” said Wright.

“We don’t have to be perfect. We just have to give our best effort, we have to have a positive attitude, and we’ve got to be humble.

“Trust God’s got us. Our life’s in His hands.”