Nardi joins the Huskies after a decade with Villanova.
UConn men’s basketball has bolstered its already-strong coaching staff with the addition of former Villanova coach Mike Nardi, the school announced Tuesday. Nardi, who spent 10 years on staff at his alma mater and most recently served as Nova’s interim head coach after Kyle Neptune was fired in March, joins what is already regarded as one of the best coaching staffs in college basketball.
“I’m thrilled to add a bright and talented coach like Mike Nardi to our staff here at UConn,” head coach Dan Hurley said in a statement. “Mike has been a part of winning under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages as both a player and as a coach. He will bring a unique perspective to help us pursue our championship goals and I can’t wait for him to start working with our players and coaches.”
Nardi led Villanova to a 2-1 record in the inaugural College Basketball Crown during his time as interim. Prior to that, he served as the video coordinator and director of basketball Operations before joining the bench as an assistant for the past sevens seasons during both the Jay Wright and Neptune era. As an assistant coach, Nardi helped Nova to three Final Fours, two national championships and five Big East tournament titles.
Prior to coaching, he was important piece of some Villanova’s best teams in the early 2000s. He was a four-year starter at Nova under Wright, scoring over 1,300 points and racking 423 assists, currently the 12th most in program history.
Nardi joins associate head coach Kimani Young and fellow assistants Tom Moore and Luke Murray on Dan Hurley’s staff. The NCAA allows three standard assistant coaches and two more who can’t recruit off-campus. With the addition of Nardi, the Huskies will have to reorganize that group, though they have not revealed any further details.