Joseph "Joby" Wright (born September 5, 1950) is an American former college and professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who was men's basketball head coach at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

and at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

Early life

Wright starred in basketball at Johnson High School in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. In 2004, the ''Savannah News'' named Wright one of the "Fantastic 15" top 15 all-time high school basketball players in Savannah.

College career

Wright played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, where in three varsity seasons he averaged 17.4 points per game and a total of 1,272 points. As a sophomore in 1969–70, Wright averaged 14.7 points for game, tied for second on the team, and he was second in rebounds. As a junior in 1970–71, Wright had a career-high 18 rebounds in one game against Notre Dame. He was again the second-leading scorer with 17.8 points per game (behind

George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (born August 10, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted into the ABA from Indiana ...

) and third in rebounding. The Hoosiers posted a 17-7 record under coach Lou Watson. In 1971–72, Wright's senior season,

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

became the Hoosiers' coach. Wright was named team captain and earned all-Big Ten honors, leading the Hoosiers in scoring with 19.9 points per game, and he was second in rebounding. The Hoosiers posted a 17-8 record and played in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT).

Professional career

He was selected in the second round (18th overall) of the 1972 NBA draft by the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

. In his rookie year of 1972–73, Wright played in 77 games, averaging 12 minutes per game and 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. The following season, 1973–74, he played in three games in the ABA with the

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, averaging 4.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He did not play in 1974–75, then in 1975–76 he played a total of 23 games with the ABA's

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

and

San Diego Sails The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

, averaging 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. After his three NBA/ABA seasons, Wright then played professional basketball for two years in Europe.

Coaching career

Wright returned to Indiana University in 1978 and completed his bachelor's degree requirements, then earned a master's degree, both in physical education. He served as an assistant coach at Indiana under his former coach, Bob Knight, for nine seasons. During those seasons, he was part of NCAA championship teams in 1981 and 1987, nine NCAA tournament appearances, and four

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

titles. In 1990, Wright was named the head coach at Miami (Ohio), replacing Jerry Peirson, who had posted four consecutive losing seasons. In Wright's first season at the helm, the Redskins (now RedHawks) posted a 16-12 record. In his second season, 1991–92, Miami went 23-8, won the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) championship with a 13-3 record, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, falling in the first round to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 68-63. In his third season, 1992–93, Wright's team went 22-9 and earned a MAC co-championship, with Wright named MAC Coach of the Year. Miami went to the

(NIT), where they defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

56-53. They then defeated

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

, 60-58 before falling to Georgetown, 66-53. In 1993, Wright left Miami to accept the head coaching job at the

. In his first season, 1993–94, the Cowboys posted a 14-14 record and 7-11 in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC). In the next three seasons under Wright, Wyoming's records were 13-15, 14-15 and 12-16. In 1997, after a first-round loss in the WAC tournament, Wright resigned as Wyoming coach. His career head coaching record in seven seasons was 114-89. In 1999, he was hired by the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

with the title Head Coach and Director of Competitive Play, which meant that he was not a traditional Globetrotters coach, but one who directed the team in truly competitive games, including against foreign national teams and major American universities. Wright currently serves as Head Coach and Technical Director of NBA Africa, the league's development program in Africa. He is also CEO/President of Joby Wright Basketball School/Wright Way Foundation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Joby 1950 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Centers (basketball) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players International Basketball League (1999–2001) coaches Memphis Tams players Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) San Diego Sails players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Virginia Squires players Wyoming Cowboys basketball coaches