Villanova Basketball coaching staff changes: Jay Wright promotes George Halcovage, Mike Nardi

When he accepted his first head coaching job at Quinnipiac University, Baker Dunleavy didn’t take anyone with him from Villanova. Instead, he connected with another former Jay Wright deputy in Tom Pecora — who took over at Hofstra when Wright left and was last seen coaching the Fordham Rams — to serve as his top assistant.

That left Jay Wright with a single spot on his coaching staff to fill, and it seems that there won’t be any outside recruiting necessary. Wright confirmed today that he will promote from within, shifting current Director of Basketball Operations, George Halcovage to an assistant coach position, and moving Wildcat-alum Mike Nardi into Halcovage’s former role.

The move leaves open the video coordinator spot that Nardi will vacate. That slot has been a starting point for young coaching hopefuls at Villanova.

Wright will likely promote either Ashley Howard or Kyle Neptune to Associate Head Coach as well, though that decision has not yet been announced.

Halcovage graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts (who were the 2017 D3 basketball champions) in 2008 and joined the Villanova staff that Fall as a graduate assistant. He later served at Villanova’s video coordinator, helping to break down game tapes, and eventually took over the DBO role two seasons ago. The Pottsville, PA native earned his MBA from VU while serving as a graduate assistant. His brother Chris played wide receiver for the Villanova football team from 2009-12.

Nardi was a standout guard during the 2000’s, helping the Wildcats program reach national prominence through his contributions from 2003-07. He is 12th all-time at ‘Nova with 423 career assists, and he scored 1,306 points in his college career. After graduation he moved to Europe, playing professionally in Italy and the Netherlands for eight seasons before retiring to join Wright’s staff in 2015.