Wright embraces title expectations at Pascagoula

New Pascagoula boys basketball coach Lorenzo Wright knows that his new job comes with expectations, and he's comfortable with that.

Wright, who spent the last three seasons as the head coach at Class 6A D'Iberville, takes over a successful Class 5A program that has been to Jackson in the state playoffs in each of the last six seasons.

“My background helps me work in those expectations,” Wright said. “I played at Gulfport. I coached at Gulfport, which is used to getting in the state tournament and winning state championships. That's natural for me. I'm taking this position at Pascagoula knowing the expectations are going to be there.”

Wright was approved Monday night by the Pascagoula-Gautier School Board as the new PHS head coach.

Wright replaces Ronald Norman, who had a nice three-year run of leading the Panthers before leaving for Meridian last month. He was named the Sun Herald Coach of the Year this season after leading the Panthers to a No. 1 ranking in the final Sun Herald Top 10 with a record of 24-5.

Wright gradually built the D'Iberville program to a point where it could compete with some of the better teams on the Coast, beating Harrison Central, Biloxi, Pass Christian and St. Martin during the 2015-16 campaign. The Warriors were ranked No. 1 at the midway point of this season before finishing 19-12 and earning a spot in the playoffs.

Wright was 40-48 in three years at D'Iberville.

He’s ‘the guy’

“He took a program at D'Iberville that's not really known as a basketball school and really made them competitive,” Pascagoula-Gautier athletic director Greg Freeman said Monday. “We just think he's the guy.

“Everybody talked about his knowledge of basketball. He's a guy of great character. We felt really good about him coming over here.”

Wright previously worked as an assistant at Gulfport and Harrison Central. His first head coaching job came in Patterson, La.

‘Bittersweet’

Leaving D'Iberville behind isn't a decision Wright took lightly.

“It's bittersweet,” he said. “When I got there, it was a school that was a promising situation. It still is. Each year that I was there, we got better each year. We won 10 games my first year, 11 games my second year. This year, we won 19 games. It was growth. Those guys worked hard.”

Wright, who played college basketball at Nicholls State, is ready to get to Pascagoula and become familiar with the talent he'll be working with.

“(Norman) tells me I'm getting a great group of guys, led by (senior point guard Noel Jones),” Wright said. “He mentioned the fact that those kids play hard. They play for one another. The biggest thing is getting them to buy into the concept. I do a lot of things similar to what coach coach Norman does, especially with defensive intensity. I'm looking forward to it. I'll add my personality to the program.”

Pushing the Panthers

Wright is a more laid back coach than Norman is away from the court, but he plans to push his players hard in practice and games.

“I'm extremely excited,” Wright said. “I thought we were turning the corner at D'Iberville and we had a chance to be really good this year. Those guys will still be really good. I went from when I first got there where I had a group of guys that played a bunch of football to a group of guys that was always in the gym, always working on their game. It's bitter sweet, but I'm excited for the opportunity at Pascagoula, to compete to get to go to Jackson ever year.”

Pascagoula has never won a state title in basketball and Wright knows the expectation is to finally bring home the “gold ball.”

“That will be one of the very first things I talk about, expectations and continuing to raise the bar,” Wright said.

With Wright now at Pascagoula, D'Iberville begins the process of finding its new head coach.

“I know the timing of this is really bad,” Freeman said of Wright's departure from D'Iberville. “I'd like to thank (Harrison County superintendent Roy Gill) and the school board at Harrison County. I'd like to thank them for releasing him to come over here. I know what kind of hardship it is for them.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Wright embraces title expectations at Pascagoula."