Sweet shot from Joel, bittersweet news from Jay | Sports Daily Newsletter

Philly basketball followers experienced some shock and awe on Wednesday night.

Villanova coach Jay Wright made the surprising announcement that he would retire from coaching after 21 seasons at the helm, including four Final Four appearances and two national titles. The 60-year-old stepped down after having maintained Villanova as a college basketball powerhouse during his Hall of Fame coaching career.

Numerous times during his tenure, it was speculated that Wright might consider going to a larger school. Or exploring an NBA opportunity. But he stayed and kept on winning. In the end, perhaps the college game had changed and the NBA wasn’t a good fit because Wright was great at coaching pure basketball.

Later in the evening, there was a dagger. Joel Embiid tossed in a remarkable three-pointer in the closing second of overtime, and now the 76ers have a commanding 3-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in their first-round playoff series.

— Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport

Tell us if you believe the Sixers will sweep the Raptors: sports.daily@inquirer.com

So, Deebo Samuel says he has asked the 49ers to trade him. A multidimensional weapon as a receiver who can make tough catches in traffic and lead a rushing attack, Samuel should attract plenty of interest from teams looking to make a splashy move.

No, writes Marcus Hayes, the Eagles should not be one of those teams because it would cost too much in terms of draft picks and salary at a time when the team still needs to make other upgrades.

Yes, the Eagles still are publicly backing Jalen Hurts as their current quarterback. But they could need a future pick for a quarterback. And it’s not as if the Eagles and Howie Roseman have the greatest track record of hitting on mid- and late first-round picks, so picks are valuable.

In any case, the Eagles are preparing for a draft in which they do have 10 picks, and beat writer Josh Tolentino has takeaways on what Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni said. The press conference took place before the Samuel news broke, but Roseman did weigh in on the receivers market.

The Phillies’ first road trip of the season is in the books, and it didn’t exactly go well. They won two of seven games between stops in Miami and Denver. The good news for the Phillies as they return home? They’re flying back to Philadelphia fresh off winning a game in the way they were built to win — by hitting 1,758 feet worth of home runs.

Joe Girardi doesn’t want to wear down catcher J.T. Realmuto, who has started 11 of 13 games, but he’s also not about to sit him as the team struggles.

Next: The Phillies open a seven-game homestand at 7:05 p.m. Friday against the Brewers. Ranger Suárez will start against Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta (NBCSP).

The Sixers took a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series on Wednesday night, placing the Toronto Raptors deep into a deficit that no team in NBA history has managed to come back from. Joel Embiid took center stage in the win as he is wont to do, knocking down a contested turnaround three-pointer with 0.8 seconds on the clock to deliver a 104-101 overtime win at Scotiabank Arena.

Emiid, who was previously 0-for-14 on shots with less than a second left in a game, registered the first true buzzer-beater of his career in dramatic fashion. On the night, he posted 33 points and 13 rebounds, recovering from a rough first half. James Harden and Tyrese Maxey also added 19 points apiece. But it was Embiid’s night.

Next: The Sixers will play the Raptors at 2 p.m. Saturday in Toronto with a chance to sweep a playoff series for the first time in 31 years.

If Flyers rookie Bobby Brink has had a crazy schedule going, from winning an NCAA championship with the University of Denver to joining the Flyers as a rookie and getting immediate playing time, imagine what his family has experienced.

It has been a whirlwind adventure for the Brinks, who’ve followed their son’s journey from the Frozen Four to now traveling as they follow the Flyers.

Yes, I believe the Sixers have the talent to win a championship. However, having had my heart broken before, I am hesitant to believe they will win it all . Just saying. — Joseph R.

There are teams in the East now they can’t beat. Celtics, Brooklyn, Milwaukee. Sixers not tight enough on defense. —Stephen M.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, Marcus Hayes, Jeff McLane, Josh Tolentino, Scott Lauber, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, and Giana Han.