AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) Longtime Villanova assistant George Halcovage is taking over the Buffalo men’s basketball program, the school announced Thursday.

Halcovage broke into coaching as a graduate assistant on Jay Wright’s staff at Villanova in 2008 before working his way up to associate head coach in Wright’s final season in 2021-22, when the Wildcats reached the Final Four. In that time, the Wildcats won national championships in 2016 and 2018 and seven Big East regular-season titles.

“He has experience winning at the highest level, he’s a tenacious recruiter and has the exceptional ability to connect with people,” Buffalo athletic director Mark Alnutt said in a statement. “He has a very clear vision of sustained excellence for UB Basketball which will position our program to regularly compete for MAC Championships and perform at a high level in the classroom while developing young men who will be champions in life.”