Indians great returns to Marysville as head coach

A banner hanging on the north wall at Lesta Joubert Gymnasium serves as a daily reminder for Mark Wright.

It represents Marysville High's 1993 Sac-Joaquin Section championship team that made it to the final four of the state championship.

In white script at the bottom of that black, felt banner reads, "M. Wright."

He did everything that was asked of him by legendary coach Ken Griffin. There was his 20-point effort in the section championship game, the 28 points he scored against San Marin in the state playoffs and another 29 when the Indians faced St. Helena.

"He was so versatile," Griffin said. "He had a real passion for the game of basketball. He was a special player."

Now 35, Wright isn't relied on to sink shots, play defense or record double-doubles anymore. His main task is revitalizing his alma mater and re-establishing the identity of Indian basketball.

In his first season as head coach, Wright is already figuring out that running a program is a seven-days-a-week assignment. Scouting trips, watching film, putting together practice plans, not to mention his responsibilities as a husband and father, all go into his day-to-day routine.

"I knew going into it that this would be very time-consuming," Wright said. "You have to do it though if you want to be successful and get your players into the best opportunity to win."

Despite the Indians' three-game losing skid, Marysville's 8-4 start is a step in the right direction. Wright said his main goal is getting his players to buy into his system.

He wants three things from his team on a nightly basis: "Play hard every night, play defense every night and rebound. If you do those things for four quarters, you'll have a chance to win every game."

That philosophy comes straight from the manifesto of Griffin, a Yuba College assistant and Wright's mentor.

Griffin won 428 games at Marysville. He was inducted into the Yuba College Hall of Fame in 2005 and invited Wright to be an assistant with Doug Cornelius last season.

"I took about 90 percent of what I do from (Griffin)," Wright said. "I run a version of Griff's system but scaled down to the high school level."

Wright was an assistant for Griffin at Marysville and also served as head freshman and junior varsity coach for one season each.

As Griffin worked with Wright at Yuba last season, he began to see his old pupil developing into a potential leader for any program.

"I was really impressed with the way he saw the game develop from the bench," Griffin said. "He has a good basketball mind. He started developing a good feel for the game and all the other things a good coach has to have."

Running a varsity basketball program wasn't something Wright considered until recently.

After those brief stints with Griffin as an assistant for Marysville, Wright took 10 years off from the game, traveling as far as Arizona for work.

He ended up back in Sacramento where he and a friend opened up two cookie shops named The Cookie Connection, but eventually sold his portion of the company to pursue a career in education.

Wright teaches at Butte Vista Elementary in Yuba City. His classroom experience during his credential program rekindled his passion for basketball.

"I always tell people, teachers make great coaches," Wright said. "Teaching a subject area and teaching basketball; they correlate quite nicely. Once I got back it was just a matter of familiarizing myself with specific aspects of the game."

Marysville athletic director David Chiono and Principal Gary Cena were taken aback by Wright's love for the sport, one of the main reasons they decided to hire him.

The fact that Wright is an alumnus was an added bonus.

"He knows what this program can be and it motivates him," Chiono said. "His players know he's been there before. We thought he could relate to them very well."

When Chiono watches a game, he notices little things about his coaches. What stands out to him about Wright is the fact that all his players have his full attention when he speaks.

"There are never any eyes or heads rolling," Chiono said. "The kids respect him and he respects them back."

When Griffin helps out at practice, he sees it too.

"He was so intense and demanded the kids' attention and they were giving it to him," Griffin said.

The memories of 1993 are still fresh in Wright's mind like it was yesterday.

Taking the hardwood at Arco Arena, the locker room at San Jose State University and playing a high-caliber brand of basketball with his best friends.

Right next to the aforementioned section championship banner is another banner commemorating the accomplishments of Griffin.

Wright only has 420 wins to go to catch him. He's ready for it.

"I look forward to establishing a program that I think will be successful year in and year out," Wright said. "It's special to go back and coach where you played at. There's nothing like it."