Villanova Hires Xavier Assistant Ashley Howard

UPDATE [5/23/13 11:18a] Xavier head coach Chris Mack told Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer that, "It is disappointing to lose a young and talented coach like Ashley Howard, especially to another Big East program."

Mack further went on to add that Ashley "recently selected to participate in the prestigious Nike Villa 7 Consortium, an invitation-only event that targets the top assistant coaches in college basketball."

Russell has heard that Villanova will be paying $40k more than Xavier. She also noted that after being hired by Xavier in May 2012, Jay Wright tried to lure Howard to the Main Line when there was an open spot on the bench last summer.

UPDATE [5/23/13 10:00 am]: Jeff Goodman of CBSSports thinks that Ashley Howard to Villanova is a done deal, citing a source.

Villanova has added Xavier assistant Ashley Howard, sources told CBSSports. Howard is Philly guy returning back home.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) May 23, 2013

Original Story [5/22/13 11:23 pm]:

Rivals.com Temple branch, OwlScoop, sent out a tweet tonight citing a possible replacement to Ralphael Chillious on the Villanova coaching staff.

Source: Villanova's Jay Wright is set to add Xavier assistant Ashley Howard to his staff. Howard is a former La Salle, Drexel assistant.

— OwlScoop.com (@OwlScoop_com) May 22, 2013

Howard has strong Philadelphia ties. He played at Drexel from 1999- 2002 and graduated in 2004. He then spent four years under Dr. John Giannini as an assistant at La Salle before taking the same position at Drexel for four seasons under Bruiser Flint.

He spent a single year in Cincinnati with the Xavier Musketeers and Chris Mack.