Dani Wright has reveled in success during every stage of her basketball journey.
Wright, 38, was named head basketball coach of the Gilmer High School Lady Cats last Thursday. She grew up in Gwinnett County and has 15 years of coaching experience, which includes seven seasons as a head coach with five of those taking place in one of Class 7A’s most competitive regions.
Gilmer County athletic director Paul Standard noted they interviewed several “very good” candidates, and he believes Wright is the “perfect fit” for GHS.
“We’re very fortunate that a coach of Dani Wright’s expertise and background wanted to come to our community, and we’re very excited,” Standard said. “What Dani will bring to our school is a coaching experience from the highest level in our state. The success she has had is a testament to what she can do.
“But more importantly, she will be another great coach at our school who cares about her kids first and is going to be a great role model just like our previous coach Susan Nunn, who had a great career at Gilmer. Dani will take our program and continue to move our girls in the right direction, and we’re excited for the future.”
Wright and husband David have two sons, Tyler (14) and Easton (11). David is an 18-year coaching veteran and has coached boys and girls basketball, football and track.
Wright explained why they made the move to Gilmer after spending nearly all of their lives in Gwinnett County.
“We went to Mississippi (to coach in 2012), and it was a small town; actually much smaller than Ellijay,” she said. “We absolutely loved it, and one of our goals and aspirations was to either move to another small town, whether it was in the mountains or close to a lake or body of water. We’ve always had the desire to do that. We’re country folks and love to hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors.
“When we heard the position at Gilmer was open, we wanted to check out the area. We immediately fell in love and the people were wonderful. We love the community support for the school, which is amazing. It was something I wanted my kids to be a part of: that community feel.”
Most of Wright’s basketball career has taken place in Gwinnett, starting with her days as a two-time state champion and region player of the year at Collins Hill, to her previous coaching stop at Archer High School.
Her college playing career began at Auburn and concluded at Brigham Young University where she was an All-American and the Mountain West Conference’s Player of the Year in 2007.
Wright went directly into coaching at the Suwanee Sports Academy after graduating. She then made stops at Collins Hill and Dacula. Her first head coaching opportunity came in 2012 at Wilkinson County Christian Academy (Miss.), and she held the position for two seasons.
She returned to Georgia in 2015 to be an assistant at Norcross. She was named the school’s interim head coach in 2017 and the position was made permanent following the season.
Wright led Norcross for two seasons before three at Archer. Her combined record at the two schools was 105-41. Her teams played for a region title in each of the five seasons and came away with championships in 2018 and 2021.
“It has been really fun coaching at top schools,” Wright said. “I got to learn from great coaches and got to coach with some great ones as well. I’ve been blessed to work with some great athletes.
“One thing I’ve taken away from that time is to always be a student of the game no matter what. There’s always a learning opportunity whether it’s dealing with kids, or parents or situations on the floor.”
Her teams’ deepest tournament run came this past season when Archer advanced to the Final Four. Remaining state tournament destinations included the Sweet 16 and three trips to the Elite 8.
Gilmer’s nine-year postseason run ended this season. GHS had a young roster with only two seniors, and its best player Elly Callihan missed a month with an injury, which lingered after her return.
Wright discussed her vision for the program and what fans can expect from the Lady Cats next season.
“I want to get better every day. I’m about taking baby steps and working toward a bigger goal,” she said. “Right now, with these kids, I harp on fundamentals. It’s the little things that make us great, so we need to make sure we’re doing the little things great to be successful.
“We teach a very fast-paced style of game. We like to transition and have always preached defense with our players. We like to press a lot, but we also cater to what our kids are good at. I want to make sure they shine and show off what they’re good at. We build around our strengths and what we can emphasize to get better.”
Wright will get to face two of Gilmer’s longest standing rivals when the Lady Cats face Pickens and Fannin in the first week of next season. Pickens advanced to the Class 4A Final Four earlier this month, and Fannin’s season ended in the Class 2A finals in 2021.
“That’s something I’ve missed,” Wright said. “Gwinnett has gotten so big, and when I was playing, we had those natural rivals. Because we’ve gotten so big, we haven’t been able to have that as much. Coming back into that is fun.
“Playing Grayson was always a big deal at Archer, but they’re not in our region, and we didn’t play them last year. I’m looking forward to the excitement and thrill of having the opportunity to play against those teams.”
Wright was introduced to returning GHS players last Friday. She was able to meet with them as a group and also spent some time with them one on one.
“Our long-term goal is obviously to get better. I told the girls this morning, it’s not just about basketball, it’s about life as well,” Wright said. “I want to see them succeed in every aspect of their life, whether it’s being an athlete, or a daughter or a friend. We want to see them achieve great things in all aspects. We want well-rounded kids because it’s not just about basketball.
“At the end of the day, there’s only going to be a certain percentage that go on to play basketball (beyond high school), but what can you get out of basketball? You get these life lessons in sports and what they teach you for getting a job, raising a family. Those are big goals for us. As far as basketball, we want to get better every day.”
Wright will finish the school year at Archer. She will join the Cats on the court in the summer and fundamentals, weight lifting and speed and agility training will be the focus.
She is still in the process of filling out her coaching staff. David, who played football at Georgia Southern, will fill one of those spots, and he will also coach linebackers as a GHS football assistant.