Western Illinois Basketball: Billy Wright fired after 6 years as head coach

Let’s take a closer look at Western Illinois Basketball, where Billy Wright has been fired after six seasons in charge of the Leathernecks program.

After six seasons, Western Illinois announced that Billy Wright has been fired as head coach. He went just 53-115 during his time with the Leathernecks, leading a team that struggled mightily in the Summit League. There was never a point where Western Illinois really competed in this conference.

A former point guard at Bradley, Wright’s coaching career began with over a decade at the high school level in Indianapolis. He joined predecessor Jim Molinari’s staff at Western Illinois in 2008, reuniting him with his college head coach. He spent five years with the Leathernecks before spending a season on staff at Ball State. When he was hired six years ago, he clearly knew a lot of people involved in this program; he just couldn’t carry the momentum Molinari created.

That familiarity didn’t result in the type of success that the Leathernecks envisioned. This team had gone 22-9 in 2013 but failed to come anywhere close to replicating that under Wright. In his six years at the helm, the Leathernecks never won more than 12 games, never won more than 5 Summit League games, and finished 8th or 9th every single season in the conference.

If you take a deep dive into the statistics, you’ll see a team that struggled mightily across the board. Throughout Wright’s tenure, the Leathernecks were one of the worst teams in the nation at free throws and offensive rebounding, among other key statistics. His offense was never exactly impressive, but the defense really bottomed out this season. Finishing the year 5-21 and on an 11-game losing streak really was the nail in Wright’s coffin.

With their next hire, Western Illinois has a key decision to make, especially as the program continues to trend in the wrong direction. Winning in Macomb is a really tough job, and it’ll take a pretty good coach to start turning things around. While I don’t have a specific name to promote, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Western Illinois hiring someone with head coaching ability at the college level, even if it’s not D-1. With all due respect to Wright, they need someone who can bring in better talent and put it in a position for success.

With the successful rivalry of North Dakota State and South Dakota State and the other talent in this league, Western Illinois has a bit of a hole to climb out of to become competitive in the Summit League again. As previously mentioned, they’ve been at the bottom of this league for more than half a decade and change isn’t going to come instantly. Patience will be key, though nailing this hire will be even more vital for the Leathernecks. This team has never made the NCAA Tournament; can the next hire accomplish that task?