Villanova's Jay Wright Believes Saddiq Bey is a Solid Fit for Sixers

Villanova Men's Basketball Head Coach Jay Wright isn't very shy about his Philadelphia 76ers fandom. The Churchville, Pennsylvania-born coach has made his rounds in Pennsylvania as an assistant throughout the 80s and 90s before landing the ultimate job as the Villanova Wild Cat's head coach back in 2001.

While many have called for Wright to take over the Sixers' head coaching position many times over the years, Wright has always made it clear that he's happy where he's at. Despite not wanting to join the Sixers' staff, Wright tends to openly express how much he would enjoy seeing some of his players continue their careers in Philly, though.

And as Villanova star Saddiq Bey joins the 2020 NBA Draft pool, Wright recently stated he's rooting for the 76ers to scoop his guy up. "I would love to see him with the 76ers," the Wildcats head coach said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I would love any of our guys to be with the 76ers because I'm a fan of our guys and a fan of the 76ers."

Currently, the 76ers hold the 22nd overall pick in the NBA Draft courtesy of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Depending on what happens with the Thunder next month in Orlando, the Sixers could lose that pick. Even if they hold onto it, however, there's a legitimate chance Bey could get selected before making it down to the Sixers.

But if Philly still has the first-rounder from OKC, and Bey is available, then Jay Wright makes a case for the Sixers to snag him.

"You look at a guy like Ben Simmons who is a great point guard but he can play off the ball, too," Wright said. "Saddiq can actually guard a point guard, handle the ball and he can shoot it. So you'd have a guy with Ben Simmons who could guard smaller players but also could shoot the ball. Those characteristics could help any team, and I think it could definitely help the 76ers."

Bey, who just wrapped up his second season at Nova, was contemplating returning to school for another season since he failed to win a National Championship this year due to the cancellation of March Madness. On Tuesday, though, the Villanova forward confirmed he was going to enter the draft pool.

He will leave Villanova with 67 games played. During his two seasons with the Wildcats, Bey averaged 11.9 points-per-game, while shooting 46-percent from the field, and 41-percent from deep. As expected, Nova saw a substantial jump from their Sophomore forward in year two as he put up 16 PPG, and knocked down 45-percent of his threes.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_