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 (appro ...

player who was men's basketball head coach at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

and at the

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

. Married to Loretta Wright, August 18, 2017.

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 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 Brita ...

. 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 College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, where in three varsity seasons he averaged 17.4 points per game and a total of 1,272 points.Record Book
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 (August 12, 1950 – December 14, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball ...

) 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 (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...

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 Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly shortened to Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Division (1967–1970), and ...

. 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 ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

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 * Memph ...

, 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 a professional basketball team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The "Q's", as they were popul ...

, 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, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

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 collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, 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 (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

56–53. They then defeated Old Dominion, 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(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 is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

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.

Career statistics

NBA/ABA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

(NBA) , 77 , , 12.1 , , .478 , , , , .416 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , , , , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Memphis 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 * Mem ...

(ABA) , 3 , , 10.3 , , .313 , , – , , 1.000 , , 4.7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

(ABA) , 10 , , 10.5 , , .593 , , – , , .400 , , 2.2 , , .0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

(ABA) , 13 , , 15.4 , , .415 , , – , , .607 , , 2.8 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 6.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (ABA) , 26 , , 12.9 , , .440 , , – , , .575 , , 2.8 , , .1 , , .2 , , .2 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career (overall) , 103 , , 12.3 , , .467 , , – , , .465 , , 2.8 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 4.2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Joby 1950 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Finland 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 Floridians draft picks Miami RedHawks men's basketball coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards San Diego Sails players Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Seattle SuperSonics players Virginia Squires players Wyoming Cowboys basketball coaches