Tag: Tanisha Wright

Haley Jones was mortified to learn she missed a call from her new WNBA coach after being drafted

This is the absolute worst call to miss!

You never want to miss an important call, but this might have just been the absolute worst one to miss.

The 2023 WNBA Draft came and went on Monday with lots of fanfare from basketball fans. As expected, Aliyah Boston was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever to kick off the night for WNBA fans. As the clock rolled down on the Atlanta Dream to draft at the No. 6 spot, the team picked Haley Jones out of Stanford to add to their young, emerging lineup.

When it came time for Dream head coach Tanisha Wright to call Jones to congratulate her on the selection, the newest draftee didn’t answer her phone! Wright then took to Twitter to send her congratulations and offer a good-natured ribbing about the missed call.

A reporter then broke the news to Jones, who was absolutely mortified to learn she blew off her boss in the first few minutes of her new gig.

Thankfully, Wright gave Jones a pass for the day — and the pair finally connected after the press conference — so all’s well that ends well!

No doubt Jones will be keeping a close eye on her phone from here on out.

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Former Nittany Lion Tanisha Wright named WNBA Coach of the Year

The WNBA’s head coach of the year, Tanisha Wright, makes Penn State family proud.

The Atlanta Dream were at the bottom of the WNBA but they have started to crawl out of the basement of the league as it gains momentum. The best part? They are doing so with the help of their head coach and Penn State women’s basketball alum Tanisha Wright.

Wright played at Penn State from 2001 to 2005 and now she has made WNBA history in his first year coaching. She was voted the WNBA coach of the year and becomes the first former WNBA player to win the award in the process.

Wright led Atlanta to a fifth-place finish in her first season with the team. The Dream’s 14-22 record was nearly double their win total from the year before when they won just 8 games. Wright also coached Rhyne Howard who was the leagues first overall pick this past season. Under Wright’s coaching she would play well enough to earn an All-Star selection as a rookie.

As for her career at Penn State, Wright as mentioned played at the school from 2001-2005. She earned three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards and helped drive the team to the NCAA Tournament all four years she was on the team. Wright even was able to lead the Lady Lions to an Elite Eight appearance in 2004.

Tanisha Wright would enter the 2005 WNBA draft and be selected 12th overall by the Seattle Storm. She went on to play ten seasons with the Storm, with stops in New York and Minnesota with the Liberty and Lynx along the way.

Ironically despite the rise, the Dream will hold the third overall pick in the draft. She will ne absorbing more talent in the coming months so she could hopefully lead the Dream to more wins and success in the coming years.

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