Tuesday was loaded with news for the UConn men’s basketball program. One of those breaking news stories was the hiring of Mike Nardi as an assistant coach.
Nardi has long been a rival for UConn.
From 2003 to 2007, he played for Villanova, where he was a sharpshooter for the Wildcats and named to the Big East All-Rookie Team during the 2003-04 season. During the 2005-06 season, Villanova shared the Big East regular season title with Connecticut and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the country, without leaving the top 10 of the AP Poll.
“We were smaller,” recalled Nardi, citing the four-guard lineup of him, Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry and Allan Ray. “We had to be tenacious. We had to be connected. We had to play harder than the other teams. And then we were going up against Connecticut. I mean, their front line and their size was just at times overpowering.”
“We had some battles,” said Nardi on the UConn-Villanova rivalry as a player. “The game at Wells Fargo Center, I think they were ranked No. 1. We were ranked No. 4. One of my biggest moments was hitting a three on the right wing when we took the lead. And I think it was the second half, and we kind of just separated ourselves from there. And then we came back onto campus here in Storrs and we lost a tough one against them.”
Before he even committed to play at Villanova, he was recruited by the Huskies and even by then-Rutgers assistant coach Dan Hurley. He faced against Hurley when the two-time national champion head coach was leading St. Benedict’s in Newark, N.J.
“We go way back when Coach Hurley was an assistant at Rutgers,” said Nardi. “He was recruiting me early in high school when I was a freshman, sophomore, so I got a chance to really get to know him then and then battling each other in high school.”
He and Hurley have similar ties, both hailing from New Jersey. Nardi even played against Hurley’s father, Bob Sr., at St. Anthony’s.
“We battled St. Anthony’s every year for the Parochial B,” said Nardi on the Hurley family. “The relationship from back then has helped where I am right now.”
Originally from Linden, N.J., Nardi was a star player at St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, N.J. It was there where he was named the 2003 Newark Star-Ledger Prep Player of the Year, which played a role in his recruitment from premier programs in the Northeast.
“I’m thrilled to add a bright and talented coach like Mike Nardi to our staff here at UConn,” said Hurley. “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.”
After spending his post-college years playing basketball overseas, Nardi returned to the Main Line suburb of Philadelphia as part of the Wildcats’ coaching staff under Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright.
“Coach Wright, to me, is like a father figure, a mentor,” said Nardi, talking about the belief Wright had in him as a player. “When I came back on staff in ‘15-16, he was the same guy he was when I was a player.”
“He really introduced me to the coaching profession,” he added.
While on the bench for Villanova, Nardi served in different roles. For the 2015-16 season, he was the director of student-athlete development. In the following two seasons, he was the video Coordinator (2016-17) and then director of basketball operations (2017-18). From 2018 to 2025, Nardi had been an assistant coach for the Wildcats.
The last 10 seasons at Villanova have been great for Nardi. He has been part of two national championships (2016 and 2018), an additional Final Four appearance (2022), four Big East Tournament titles (2017-2019, 2022) and five Big East regular season titles (2016, 2017, 2019-2021).
Nardi played an essential role in helping recruit and develop some of the best players in the NBA, including Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Saddiq Bey, Collin Gillespie, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Cam Whitmore.
When Wright retired in 2022, then-Fordham head coach Kyle Neptune came in as the successor and kept Nardi on his coaching staff. When Neptune’s days as Villanova’s head coach ended, Nardi became the interim head coach for the Wildcats’ run in the College Basketball Crown, where they went 2-1.
“I really looked at it as a chance to gain experience as a head coach,” said Nardi. “I did learn a lot, and it was a valued experience that I think will help me hopefully here, knowing Coach Hurley and what he has to go through every day.”
I’ve only been here for one day, but you can just tell everybody’s connected. Everybody has that same goal in mind.
UConn assistant coach Mike Nardi
When former Maryland head coach Kevin Willard took the job at Villanova, Nardi was not retained, which did not surprise the 40-year-old.
“I didn’t really expect to be kept,” said Nardi. “When this opportunity came about, it was just like [a] no-brainer.”
Nardi could already tell the feeling was different at UConn, even on his first day.
“I’ve only been here for one day, but you can just tell everybody’s connected,” said Nardi. “Everybody has that same goal in mind.”
Tom Moore, a four-time national championship assistant coach, will become the program’s general manager after the most decorated career an assistant coach has had in Storrs for the men’s basketball team. Nardi looks to take up recruiting, especially in the Northeast, along with helping the guards with shooting and defensive play.
“I think I’m kind of a jack of all trades,” said Nardi. “I’m just trying to fill whatever role they need me to do here. I’m just excited to help out.”