by Jeff Goodman

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Just a few years ago, there were those who weren't even sure if the charismatic local guy would still be on the Main Line heading into the 2009-10 campaign.

Sure, the Villanova head coach was able to recruit — but he wasn't even able to get the Wildcats to the Big Dance in any of his first three seasons at the school.

His coaching résumé at 'Nova began like so:

NIT, NIT, NIT.

Fast-forward to five years later, and Wright first spurns one of the elite jobs in college basketball and then turns down an NBA gig in his hometown within a matter of months.

It's true.

Wright was approached by the Kentucky Wildcats back in March, according to multiple sources, and he respectfully declined. It was actually the second time he said "thanks but no thanks" to Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart — as Wright had no interest a couple of years ago before Barnhart went with the train wreck that was Billy Gillispie.

But that one made sense.

Wright is a Philly guy, a city guy who grew up around Big 5 hoops. He'd be completely out of his element in Bluegrass country, where every step he'd take would be not only followed, but scrutinized.

But the Philadelphia 76ers?

That's the one that even those close to Wright thought might get him to pull the trigger.

"It was a dream job for me," Wright admitted of the 76ers job. "But I love it here so much that I don't want to leave."

What's that, a job offer? Just hold it right there pal -- Jay Wright's not interested. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

Even though Wright graduated from Bucknell, he bleeds Villanova. His wife graduated from the school, and he grew up working Rollie Massimino's camps.

"I grew up in Philly, and my whole family is here," Wright said.

His parents and siblings. Even his wife's family.

Wright, 47, started out at the University of Rochester, spending one year as an assistant at Drexel before putting in five years under Massimino — who he calls his "idol and mentor" — at Villanova.

Then he went to UNLV for a couple of years before getting his first head-coaching gig at Hofstra, which helped him get back to the Main Line.

"This place is the greatest college basketball job in the country to me," Wright said. "This is what I grew up with. I love it and wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

That's such a line. And usually, just as soon as someone utters it, he is gone — off to bigger and better things.

John Calipari loved it in Memphis, but the Kentucky job was too perfect for him to turn down. Villanova has won a national title and Wright even got the Wildcats to the Final Four a year ago, but Kentucky is ... well, Kentucky.

It's among the elite jobs in America.

But Wright and those close to him knew he wasn't heading to the fishbowl that is Lexington, Ky. It just wouldn't have worked.

Even though Wright is one of the best coaches in the industry at connecting with the fan base, he also enjoys his privacy and family time — and he understands achieving that privacy would be difficult with the avid, insane fan base at UK.

Still, when his friend Philadelphia 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski called in mid-May, that had to be it for Wright's college career.

Wright and Stefanski are basically neighbors. They live in the same town and have held a long-standing relationship over the years. Wright even went over to Stefanski's house to talk about the opening.

"I went over to talk to Ed out of respect for him and the fact that the 76ers are my hometown team," Wright said. "But I went over there knowing I wasn't going to do it."

"It was the perfect time to leave Villanova if I was ever going to leave, because we were really close last year, going to the Final Four, and I'd be leaving the program in a good place — with a new practice facility and everything," Wright added. "But at the end, it wasn't that I didn't want the 76ers. It was that I didn't want to leave Villanova."

Give Wright credit. In this day and age, most coaches would have bolted.

He would have been paid far more at either Kentucky or with the 76ers, and he also would have been put on a similar pedestal to the one Calipari now sits on with the UK faithful.

Wright has quieted the critics who have questioned his coaching ability over the last couple of years. He's taken the Wildcats to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances — including getting to the Sweet 16 four times and making a Final Four appearance this past April.

Don't be shocked if 'Nova is back in the Final Four hunt again.

Despite losing three key seniors — Dante Cunningham, Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark — Villanova returns a strong corps of guards led by Scottie Reynolds, and also brings in a recruiting class ranked in the top five in the nation by many analysts.

Although the expectations are high and the Wildcats should be a fixture fairly high in the preseason top 25 (FOXSports.com has them at No. 6), Wright isn't quite sure his team is ready for that.

"Those three seniors were beasts," Wright said. "This team coming back has a lot to prove."

That may be true, but Wright has it rolling now, and the Wildcats should challenge for Big East supremacy — and that's something that may not change anytime soon with Wright at the helm.

"Villanova's a unique place," Wright said. "I'm not saying it's perfect, but it fits me."

Now that sounds sane.