“I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I knew what to expect,” Wright said. “The people at Miami are phenomenal. They’re easy to work with. They want to be good. Our players have the desire to do well. They want to learn and understand the page I want them to be on.
“I felt like one of my first jobs was to recruit our current players, including the freshmen that were coming in. So I’ve put about 10,000 miles on my car and I’ve only been here two months.”
Hired on April 19, Wright replaced Maria Fantanarosa at the helm. Fantanarosa was 237-212 and made four postseason appearances during her 15-year tenure, but new MU athletic director David Sayler said the program needs to win more championships and fired her.
Pressure? Wright, 47, said it simply comes with the profession.
“I always put pressure on myself,” he said. “When David introduces me to anybody, he talks about what my teams have done. Well, that’s exactly what it was — my teams have done that. So when I talk to our players, I’ve made sure that they know there’s no miracle here.
“To me, the question is, are you going to buy into the system? And I’m not just talking about the system of how we’re going to play basketball. I’m talking about the system of how we’re going to do team. How are we going to do leadership? How much are we going to care about each other and love each other?
“If you buy into that and we come out and do this thing together, we’ve got a good chance to be successful. How that success will be defined, we’ll see.”
Wright’s staff is nearly complete. Rachel Folcik, Colleen Day and Patrick Henry are the assistants, and Ashley Saia is the director of basketball operations.
Folcik and Saia were both at Gannon. Henry was Indiana’s video coordinator last season. And Day is a holdover from Fantanarosa’s staff.
Ironically, Wright and Fantanarosa have been friendly for about 20 years. They met when Fantanarosa was an assistant at Xavier.
“Coach Wright has done a great job in honoring a lot of the program before and not stepping in and comparing,” Day said. “This summer has been nice because we’re getting to work with the girls on the court, so that’s going to make the transition go even quicker.”
Day, a 2004 Miami graduate, was one of the top players in school history, so she has deep feelings for MU. There was some natural awkwardness as the Wright era began.
“I have a lot of pride in Miami and respect for what Maria’s done,” said Day, who’s among the RedHawks’ career leaders in rebounds (fifth with 794) and points (11th with 1,269). “I definitely want that to continue to be celebrated and to be built upon.
“Just knowing that Coach Wright and Maria had a good relationship was a big deal to me in making the transition less awkward. I feel like I can be there for our alumni and help to bridge that gap and keep everything running a little more smoothly into a new era.”
Wright hasn’t finalized his coaching assignments, but he said this scenario is likely: Day, the recruiting coordinator, will work with the guards and post players, with an emphasis on the latter. Henry will focus on the guards, and Folcik will focus on the posts.
Northwestern, Butler, Duke, Ball State and Berea were Wright’s collegiate coaching jobs prior to becoming a head coach for the first time at Gannon. He was a student assistant coach at Berea while earning a bachelor’s degree there.
Wright was born in Greenfield, Ind., and lived in numerous places around the Hoosier State. His high school years were spent in Corbin, Ky.
“The last time I moved was 11 years ago, and my daughters were 5 and 3 at the time. Now they’re 16 and 14,” Wright said. “They’re still not here yet. They’re finishing up school in Erie. The hardest part so far has been being away from my family. They’ve always been involved in every situation I’ve been in. But they’ll be here soon.”
Why did he choose Miami after his lengthy run at Gannon?
“Well, Miami wasn’t the first school to call me since I was there,” Wright said. “When Miami called and put the position in front of me, I prayed about it, talked to my family about it, and I just really felt we needed to take a look at it.
“It’s closer to home for us, and it’s a school very much like the Division I schools I’ve worked at and even Gannon. It’s an academic institution, so you recruit those kids that like a challenge in the classroom and on the court.
“It’s mixed emotions for me. I’m super excited to be here, overwhelmed to be here, because it’s a different kind of job than I’ve been doing for the last 11 years. But there’s some sadness in leaving a place that your family grew up in.”
He had to wear more hats at a smaller school like Gannon. Here, Wright doesn’t necessarily need to be heavily involved in recruiting, but he enjoys that part of the job and wants to stay active.
On the court, Wright will push a style of play that is up-tempo and defensive-minded. He’s also a believer in consistently good post play.
“I was a defensive player and a rebounder, so I have a passion for playing defense and rebounding,” Wright said. “I think you’re going to see a team that’s going to be a team. I like how people describe the San Antonio Spurs, that they’re a true team. I want us to have that kind of culture.”
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