July 30, 2003
Former Dallas Carter High School coach Rob Wright has been named an assistant men's basketball coach at Texas A&M, head coach Melvin Watkins said Wednesday. Wright replaces Tom Billeter, who left A&M in May to become head coach at Augustana College.
A guard on A&M's 1980 NCAA Sweet Sixteen team, Wright served as head coach at Carter last season after previously serving as head coach from 1994-97, when he led the Cowboys to three straight regional finals. His 1995 team finished 32-7 and advanced to the Class 5A state championship game. Last season, Carter finished 28-6, won the district championship and advanced to the regional quarterfinals after finishing 12-14 the previous year. Wright has built a 122-19 (.865) record in four seasons as a high school head coach.
Wright served as associate head coach at George Washington University under Tom Penders from 1998-2001 and was an assistant coach at Texas under Penders in 1997-98. George Washington went to the NCAA Tournament in 1999.
"My goal in the hiring process was to look at Texas high school coaches," Watkins said. "Rob represents that but he also has Division I college experience and he's a former A&M player. We're excited to have him back in the A&M basketball family. We know he'll do a great job of coaching on the floor and in recruiting, not just in Texas but nationally."
The 45-year-old Wright helped the Aggies to the 1980 Southwest Conference championship and a 26-8 record, the most victories in school history. Wright transferred to A&M from Trinidad (Colo.) State Junior College, where he led the nation in assists and set a junior college record with 21 assists in one game. He earned all-city honors as a senior at George Washington High School in New York City and played in the National Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) All-Star Game.
Wright is a 1983 graduate of Paul Quinn College in Waco. He and his wife, Debra, have three sons -- Lejon (19), Cordell (14) and Jacoby (16) -- and a daughter, Chayzae (9).