ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210093
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Dee Wright, the winningest basketball coach - boys or girls - in the history of Salem High School, announced Monday she is retiring after 11 years as the Spartans' coach.
Wright becomes the third Blue Ridge District girls' coach to step down since the end of the season, following Lord Botetourt's David Wheat and Northside's Marilyn Bussey. Wheat retired after winning back-to-back Group AA titles, and Bussey left the coaching ranks with more than 200 victories.
Wright's Salem teams posted a 186-72 record in 11 seasons. Counting two other stops, Wright was approaching 300 victories for her career, though exact figures were not available Monday.
``Blame it on Marilyn,'' Wright said of her retirement. ``I was reading the article about her retirement. I was like 60 percent [sure]. Then I said this would be a good time to get out.''
Wright underwent gall bladder surgery during this past season, but said her health was not a reason for her retirement. She leaves her successor a strong team; the entire Salem squad is expected back after going 12-10 in the rugged Blue Ridge
``This is just a good time. It's a comfortable decision. It leaves the program in good shape,'' Wright said. ``Like I told [Salem principal] John Hall, I feel like it's time.''
While Wright established Salem's program as one of the finest, it was a year at Radford under Wright that was arguably her finest. In 1984, filling in while Chris Garber was on temporary leave, Wright guided the Bobcats to a 26-0 record and the Group AA title.
Radford beat William Byrd 49-48 in the state championship game that year on the Terriers' floor. Wright kept together a battle-tested team that included All-Timesland stars Laura Barter and Nancy Glass. The Bobcats won 42 consecutive games en route to back-to-back state crowns under Garber and Wright.
Wright has coached from middle school to college. After one season at Radford, she took a job as an assistant coach at Roanoke College. From there she moved to Salem as the junior varsity coach, and took over as the head coach the next year.
Wright's first team at Salem, playing in the Group AAA Roanoke Valley District, went 18-7 after finishing 4-16 the previous season. Before moving to Timesland, Wright coached girls' basketball at Luray and Stonewall Jackson-Manassas.
Wright had to change the mindset of a losing program when she took the Salem job. ``At Radford, they knew how to win,'' she said. ``At Salem, the toughest thing was teaching them how to win.''
Her most exciting moment, though, wasn't a state tournament appearance, though one of her Salem teams made the final four in Group AA before losing.
``When I was coaching in the Roanoke Valley District and we had Dee Craft, we upset Cave Spring and went on to beat Northside to win the title,'' Wright said. ``We were playing at the Salem Civic Center and the most exciting thing to me was seeing a big crowd there when we beat Cave Spring.''
Wright said the Salem program is strong because of the longevity of the coaching staff. Current assistants Jill Green and Tracey Driscoll, who are sure to be the prime candidates to succeed Wright, have been with the Spartans for several years.
``Even before them, we've had changes in assistants, but most stayed there four or five years,'' Wright said. ``Jill is in her sixth year and Tracey has been there for four years.
``You think about the highs and lows when you retire. The most fortunate thing for me is that I was in a situation where I was able to come in and achieve most of my goals.''
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB