Sources: Billy Lange is stepping down as St. Joes’s head coach and has accepted a role with the New York Knicks.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 10, 2025
The New York Knicks will reportedly make a change to their coaching staff for next season, again continuing their ties to Villanova Men’s Basketball.
It is no secret that the Knicks clearly have a connection to Villanova with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart all on the roster. Especially after two-time NCAA champion head coach Jay Wright retired from Villanova in 2022, there were long rumors that he could eventually coach in New York.
That job instead went to two-time NBA Coach of the Year winner Mike Brown earlier this summer. But some fans may have raised their eyebrows when Wright suddenly announced he would leave broadcasting at CBS and TNT.
Wright will focus on his job as a special assistant to the president of Villanova University next season.
But one of his former assistant coaches, Billy Lange, is reportedly joining New York’s staff.
Lange is stepping down as head coach at Saint Joseph’s University unexpectedly close to the start of the upcoming NCAA men’s basketball season.
He will reportedly focus on player development for the Knicks, per Ian Begley.
Knicks are expected to hire St. Joe’s head coach Billy Lange to oversee NYK player development, league source says. Lange has won at St. Joe’s, has coached at Villanova under Jay Wright. He was an assistant in Philly for several years during The Process, overseeing player…
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) September 10, 2025
Lange worked under Wright as an assistant at Villanova from 2001 until 2004.
He also returned as an associate head coach under Wright from 2011 until 2013.
That means Lange never coached any of the former Villanova players on the current New York roster.
But the ties to the university only grow stronger with this hire ahead of the upcoming season.