Pascagoula’s championship-winning coach leaves for new post on Mississippi Coast
Lorenzo Wright restored basketball glory to the Mississippi Coast and is now taking on a new challenge: doing the same for Harrison Central.
Wright confirmed to the Sun Herald he is leaving Pascagoula and taking the open head coach position at HCHS after winning a 6A title with the Panthers.
The championship was the first by a Jackson County school and the first Gold Ball brought to the Coast since Gulfport in 2014.
“It’s been great here at Pascagoula, it’s been nothing but love, and it’s always going to have a special place in my heart,” Wright said. “You always want to leave a place better than you found and what better way than leaving with a state championship?”
Wright will be replacing Gulfport Sports Hall of Famer Francisco “Boo” Hardy, whose tenure over the Red Rebel program covered 19 years.
Like Hardy, Wright is a Gulfport grad taking over a team he once called a rival.
“Harrison Central has always traditionally had basketball talent and is always in the mix,” Wright said. “When the opportunity presented itself to return home, I couldn’t turn it down. I’m really excited about it and looking forward to getting in and working with the guys and getting the program back to where it needs to be.”
Harrison Central has three state championship banners hanging in the rafters, but its most recent one came in 2000.
