Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
Spencer Wright joined Bob Hoffman at Mercer in 2008-09, afterserving on Hoffman’s staff with the Rio Grande Valley Vipersin the NBA Developmental League.
Wright signed on as an Assistant Coach at Mercer and worked inthat capacity for two seasons before being promoted to AssociateHead coach in July of 2010. At Mercer, Wright coordinatesscheduling and apparel while also completing day-to-day functionsrelated to Mercer’s on and off-court success.
He’s been side-by-side with Hoffman as the pair haspresided over the most successful six-year stretch in programhistory. Since his arrival at Mercer, the Bears have produceda 126-82 record, most recently booking a 27-9 season highlighted bythe NCAA Tournament second round upset of No. 6 Duke.
The win over Duke was the latest in a series of high-majorvictories claimed by Wright’s Mercer teams. In additionto the Blue Devils, the Bears have also topped Ole Miss, SetonHall, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Auburnduring his time. In the last three years, Wright has been onthe sidelines for March wins in the NCAA, NIT and CITtournaments.
At his previous position with the Vipers, Wright worked with NBAfirst-round draft picks Aaron Brooks (Houston Rockets), ShannonBrown (Phoenix Suns), C.J. Watson (Brooklyn Nets), Steve Novak (NewYork Knicks), Cedric Simmons and Desmon Farmer.
Wright also spent five seasons (1999-04) as an assistant coachon Hoffman’s staff at Texas-Pan American where he served asthe recruiting coordinator, coached the Broncs’ perimeter andpost players, and was responsible for scheduling games beforeHoffman moved on to Oklahoma in 2004.
Wright was responsible for recruiting UTPA’s firstAll-America honoree in two decades, as well as nine All-Independentperformers. He also helped produce two Independent Defensive Playerof the Year award winners.
He tutored Brian Merriweather, who led the nation in 3-pointersper game while with the Broncs and in 2004 recruited and signedthree of the top 40 players in the state of Texas.
Wright remained on Robert Davenport’s staff at UTPAthrough the 2006 campaign and spent the 2006-07 season as headcoach at Potlatch (Idaho) High School where he guided the Loggersto the 2A Central Idaho League regular-season championship.
He played two seasons at Paris (Texas) Junior College, earningAll- Texas Eastern Athletic Conference honorable mention followinghis rookie season and was a TEAC third team all-conferenceselection in 1991-92.
Wright followed up with success on the hardwood at CentralOklahoma, leading the Lone Star Conference in assists during the1992-93 campaign.
His ties to Hoffman stretch back to his playing days as astandout point guard for Oklahoma Baptist, where Wright was anAll-Sooner Athletic Conference performer in 1994-95.
Wright helped lead Oklahoma Baptist to two NAIA NationalTournament appearances and the Bison concluded the 1993-94 seasonwith a 34-4 record, including a second-place finish at the NAIANational Tournament.
Following his graduation from Oklahoma Baptist, Wright wasinvited to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers free-agent camp in thesummer of 1996.
Spencer and his wife Amy are the proud parents of a son,Bryce.
