By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
Former WNBA Atlanta Dream Coach Tanisha Wright, 10th right and Sea Cows Bay Basketball Club President Milton McLean, 2nd left, with U17 players
When Roy Barry called Sea Cows Bay Basketball Club president Milton McLean, asking if he could accommodate former WNBA coach and former player Tanisha Wright in his Christmas camp at the Multipurpose Sports Complex, he jumped at the opportunity.
“Let’s just say it was a blessing,” said McLean, just shy of nine months into his club’s 30th anniversary. “Coach Wright actually came here with Rev. George (John) of the St. Georges Anglican Church, and the plan was for her to train some children from the St. Georges High School, but it turned out not many of the children showed up. When I got the call from Mr. Barry and found out who she was, I told them to bring her.”
Wright, who coached the WNBA Atlanta Dream from 2021 to Sept 2024, conducted a three-day clinic with the that wrapped before the Sea Cows Bay Basketball Club’s 9-12 and 13-16 tournament just before Christmas on Dec 21.
Wright told Island Sun Sports that her Atlanta neighbor Sherifa Jackson, told her that her father John George, is a pastor in the British Virgin Islands. George asked if she would come and do a camp for the St. Georges High School and she jumped at the opportunity.
“I’m excited to be here and to give back to the young people of the island,” Wright said. “It’s been fun getting to know the kids, building a rapport with them, bantering back and forth with them and just teaching them some new things and learning the things they already know, so it’s been a good time. It’s been fun.”
Wright said she saw players wanting to want to learn, their excitement for sports to be involved with the community and they were very respectful. She noted they were good listeners and they communicated well. Wright said when they found out she coached in the WNBA, they were excited. But that’s normal, even states side. “There’s just an excitement from learning from that caliber of a person,” she said.
Wright said it was a joy coaching in the WNBA after playing in the league and she’s a teacher and coaching is nothing more than being able to teach. “It’s been a fun ride to give back to the W in that fashion, being that the W gave me so much as a player,” she said.
McLean, who had 35 players between 9 and 16 in the camp at the time, said she did a great job with the young people. “They’re very attentive, very responsive and we’re so pleased to have her and hope we can get her back at some time,” he said. “This is our biggest highlight for the year 2024. In fact, it might be the biggest highlight over the last 30 years to have a professional like Ms. Tanisha Wright in our midst helping us, this is awesome. This is huge.”
Jaalai Cupid, who plays on Skillful Ballers boy’s team, was the only girl among the nine boys Wright was working with. She said she learned some ball handling skills and how to work on her shooting. “It was an honor working with her,” she said. “Even though I might not get to that level, it was good to see how I can do in that setting.”
Zion Phillip said it was a good experience. “It’s not something we get everyday and they don’t train us in the things she was doing here, so it was good to have her teaching us,” he said. “My ball handling definitely got better from the three days I’ve been here and I learned different fundamentals that I didn’t know before.”
Wright, a 2005 first-round draft pick guard, spent 10 seasons with the Seattle Storm, led them to nine straight playoff appearances and a WNBA title in 2010. She also played with the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx before retiring in 2019. She compiled a 48-68 record between 2021-2024, with the Atlanta Dream, including taking them to the playoffs last year and this year, when they were 15-25. However, she was fired on Oct 2, after losing both first round playoff games to eventual WNBA champions, New York Liberty.
