Joey Wright

At 56 years old, Joey Wright has this physical status:

Joey Glenn Wright (born September 4, 1968) is an American professional basketball coach and former player with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL).

He has been the mentor of two other NBL teams, the Brisbane Bullets, which won the NBL championship and the now-defunct Gold Coast Blaze.

Personal life

Wright later pursued a career outside of sports in the Texas real estate market. He owns two Austin, Texas businesses but prefers to spend his time as a basketball coach in Australia. He has four children.

Source

College career

Wright was born in Alton, Illinois, and after high school, he enrolled at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He was a member of the Drake Bulldogs basketball team during the 1986-87 NCAA championship but he had no playing time on the court. Wright came from Texas after his freshman year to play with the school's prestigious Longhorns basketball team. Wright was selected as the Longhorn's point guard from 1988 to 1991 after sitting out as a redshirt sophomore in 1987-88. During the 1989-1992 basketball season, Wright and teammates' Lance Blanks and Travis Mays wowed the group as the "BMW Scoring Machine." Wright was best known for his hustling and precise jump shots, which greatly contributed to the "Scoring Machine"'s success. In the 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the Longhorn team won the Southwest Conference tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight in the Southwest Conference tournament.

Professional basketball career

Wright attended the Chicago National Basketball Association tryout camp in 1991, where he displayed a high field goal percentage and averaged nearly ten points per game. During the tryouts, Joey Wright caught the eye of the Boston Celtics, who expressed an interest in him. However, the Celtics finally gave up on Wright, owing to their lack of speed and size. Wright was still expected to be drafted in either the late 1st or early 2nd round of the 1991 NBA Draft. The Phoenix Suns picked him at the tail end of the 2nd round as the 50th pick of the NBA Draft. Friends and Longhorn teammates celebrated the news at Joey Wright's apartment, but the former University of Texas basketball player was extremely concerned with his poor draft pick. Joey Wright had been with the Suns prior to the 1991-92 NBA season. Despite playing in other nations for many years, Wright never appeared in a NBA game.

During the 1995 and 1996 NBL seasons, Wright played for the Geelong Supercats.

Coaching career

Wright, based on his prior coaching experience with the Austin Cyclones in the Southwest Basketball League (USA) and other American teams, sought a coaching position in the NBL. He was hired as the Brisbane Bullets' head coach midway through the 2002–2003 season, a position he occupied until 2008. Wright led the team to record-breaking success in the 2004–04 season, successive finals appearances, and a championship.

Wright sat out 2012-13 before being named head coach of the Adelaide 36ers for the 2013–14 NBL season after the Blaze folded at the end of the 2011–12 NBL season. After leading the 36ers to a 5-0 record on November 22, 2013, the 36ers, who had finished last in three of the previous four NBL seasons, were named Coach of the Month for November, with Joey Wright named NBL Coach of the Month for the month. In his first season with the club, Wright brought the 36ers' fortunes back to life, but the Wildcats won the Grand Final series by beating the 36ers 2-1.

Most were stunned when the NBL named Gordie McLeod as the NBL Coach of the Year for season 2013-2014, with Wright having risen the 36ers from the bottom of the ladder to the NBL Grand Final in less than a year. Adelaide's record went from an 8–20 record in 2012–13 to 18–10 in 2013–14, while Wollongong, finalists in 2012–13 with a 13–15 record, also finished 2013–14 with the same 13–15 record.

In 2014–15, Adelaide made it to the Semi-finals, but it was not until 2015 that the playoffs were played. The 36ers got off to a slow start in the 2016–17 NBL season, winning just 3 of their first nine games. Nonetheless, the team came from behind winning 14 of their next 15 games, and by Round 16 of the 19 round, 28 game champions were confirmed as regular season champions for the first time since 1999–2000. The 36ers posted a 17-11 record in the season's second, two games ahead of the second placed Cairns Taipans. In November, December, and January, Wright was named Coach of the Month, but in December, he was undefeated. As a result, Wright received his 3rd Coach of the Year award on February 13, 2017, naming Brian Goorjian and Lindsay Gaze (who received the CotY award) as a 3-time winner of the competition. Wright also signed a five-year contract extension with the 36ers at the end of the season.

Following an end of season review, Wright and the Adelaide 36ers parted ways on February 26, 2020, citing a mutual deal.

Source