Being a part of championship teams started early for Caryville native Jody Wright.  The Caryville Cardinals (above) finished 16 & 0 and won the 1973 Campbell County Elementary School Basketball Tournament.

(First row left to right) 13 Lee Lowe, 32 Tony Simpson, 20 Dennis Money, 8 Walter Asbury, 22 Jody Wright, 4 Johnny Seal, 10 Jeff Newport

(Second row left to right) Coach Len Pierce, Manager Greg Lawson, 30 Ricky Kennedy, 12 Eddie Hatmaker, 34 Terry Petree, 14 Phillip Rogers, 21 Gary Smith, Manager Wade Lawson  (PHOTO COURTESY OF CARYVILLE FIRE CHIEF EDDIE HATMAKER)

By Jim Freeman

MURFREESBORO, TN (WLAF) – When Jody Wright’s Fulton basketball team made it to the state tournament in 1990, the first time, I just had to go and did. As tough as it is to get to Murfreesboro, I feared it might be a first and possibly last time for Jody’s program. But it wasn’t. There’d be 19 more trips. The 20th concluded in a state title on Saturday, the Falcons fourth under Wright.

As I said that to Jody after the post game meal on Saturday, he said the reason he was so upset after losing his first title game in 1996 was that they may not ever make it that far again. “It’s hard to get here; even harder when you get here,” said the coach of nearly 40 years.

Jody Wright and his family are bringing another gold ball back to Knoxville. Left to right are Kim and husband Jody with daughter Mollie Wright and daughter Lauren and husband Jeremy Grosam.

Fast forward 27 seasons, and we know Fulton did get back to state and did have more opportunities to play in the state championship. The Falcons defeated Haywood County 82-52 on Saturday morning to claim the 2023 crown for Class AAA.

By the numbers, Fulton finished 32 & 5. This was the program’s 20th trip to the state tournament, ninth title game and fourth state title during the Wright era. Wright now has 833 career wins. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/20/2023-6AM)

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