Kyle Lowry almost got kicked off Villanova twice over bad behavior

Before Kyle Lowry was a two-time NBA All-Star, Olympic gold medalist, and the leader of the Toronto Raptors, he nearly got cut from his college team - twice.

The point guard has a great relationship with his former coach, Villanova's Jay Wright, but it got off to a rocky start. The bench boss recently revealed that while recruiting Lowry, he warned him he'd be on his way out if he didn't take his academics seriously.

Then, the summer before beginning his Villanova career, Lowry missed classes, so Wright sent him a little reminder:

"I had to come back and say, 'We talked about all this before you came. If you're not going to class, you might as well leave right now. Because you're never going to play,'" Wright recalled Monday on "The Sidelines with Evan Daniels."

It didn't end there, though.

During Lowry's freshman year, the Wildcats faced New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA tournament. During a practice, the young man challenged his coach to the point of being sent home on a plane.

"He was just disruptive. He was a contrarian. He would purposely do things the opposite of the way you wanted them done, just to show you he had control and you didn't," Wright explained.

Fortunately, Lowry turned things around in his sophomore year both on and off the court. He helped lead his squad to the Elite Eight before getting selected in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.

Related - Lowry: From 'Yo where's my scholarship?' to All-Star, gold medalist

Now he's a favorite of Wright, who shares their story to inspire his current players.

"(Lowry) allows us to tell stories when he comes back; there's nothing anyone can do here that is much worse than what he did when he was here," the reigning NCAA champion coach said.

"But you see the man he's become when he comes back. He's married to his high school sweetheart, two beautiful young boys, he's a great father, great husband, great businessman, loyal Villanovan.

"And to see that? They don't know what it was. They see him here in the summer working out at 5:30 in the morning before we even get on the floor. So then when I tell them what he was like in college, it's a way for them to (think), 'Man, if he can do it, I can do it.'"

- With h/t to Fox Sports