Mike Wright arrived in Las Vegas a few weeks before starting high school at Bishop Gorman.
He was supposed to attend Central Catholic in Pittsburgh, which at the time in the late-1980s was considered one of the top athletic schools in the nation. But his dad got a job at the Nevada Test Site, meaning his son would also have a new beginning.
It didn’t take Wright long to learn there was a lot to like about Gorman.
“I understand what it means to put a ‘G’ on your chest,” he says. “It’s a privilege — not a right — to go to Gorman.”
Wright went from being part of state championship basketball programs as a player to winning them as coach. Friday, his championship ways were taken to new heights.
Wright was an assistant coach for the Gorman girls, who rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to upset eight-time defending state champion Centennial. A few hours later, Wright was storming the court again at the Thomas & Mack Center after the Gorman boys held off Coronado for the state championship.
Wright has been an assistant with the boys program since 2001. When Sheryl Krmpotich, who had spent 18 years coaching the Gorman girls through 2016, returned to the program last spring, she called Wright to be part of the staff.
The girls had a roster of talented younger players and needed someone with Wright’s appreciation for the school and basketball knowledge to pave the way.
There was only one problem: Wright wasn’t going to leave his spot on the bench of the boys team.
“I was flattered when they also asked me to coach the girls,” he said. “I felt it was important to help them in some capacity.”
Wright contacted colleagues who previously coached girls teams, doing research to be prepared to give the Gaels’ girls the teaching they deserved. A conversation with Mike Collins, a former Gorman assistant who spent years in the girls game helped give Wright confidence that he’d be a good fit.
There was one hiccup: scheduling.
He’s also one of the school’s deans, meaning he arrives on campus at 6:15 a.m. each day. On a good day, he leaves the school 12 hours later after workouts for a 30-minute commute home.
But on game days, he’s not arriving home until after 10 p.m., only to flip around a few hours later and do it all over again.
During league games, the Gorman girls played first and the boys followed to make the dual-coaching manageable. Practices were also back-to-back, although there were afternoons when there was some crossover, he said.
Wright is soft-spoken and has found his niche working with players individually to help them develop. But when he speaks, he immediately has the attention of his colleagues, said Grant Rice, the Gorman boys coach.
“Mike is a good person, kind man and great coach,” Rice said. “He’s always looking out for the best for Bishop Gorman.”
Rice’s first phone call when he was hired in 2001 was to Wright asking him to join the staff. They’ve been together ever since and this season won their 14th state championship.
Wright has also been an assistant coach in football and track for the Gaels, including being on staff for three of the football program’s national championship seasons. In total, he’s been part of about 25 championship teams — and has a ring in a display case at his home for each.
Wright doesn’t take the winning for granted.
He attended and started working for the school at its old campus on Maryland Parkway, where fans jammed into the old “House of Glory” basketball gym on Friday nights to create the best high school sports environment in Nevada.
He’s witnessed the Gorman football and basketball programs go from fighting to win a state championship to becoming a nationally recognized brand after the school’s move to Summerlin. Both have been ranked nationally and travel the country playing against a who’s who of opponents.
He’s never wanted to leave Gorman to start his own program because his alma mater is that special. And, he stresses, because the coaches he’s worked with value his input.
He’s a historian of all things Gorman and can talk for days about memorable games of yesteryear, cherishing his role as link to the past.
Winning is nice, he stresses. Being a Gael lifer is even more special.
“Looking where we started on Maryland Parkway to now is unbelievable,” Wright said. “I’m glad to be part of it. If you cut my veins, I would bleed orange and blue.”