After graduating a large senior class in 2025, the Greene County basketball team has a young roster this season.
The Tigers still have talent, with some contributors from last year’s Final Four squad back, though their youth has shown at times this season as they enter week eight of 2025-26 with a 2-10 overall record. However, it also doesn’t help that they haven’t played with a full roster yet due to suspensions, injuries, and illness.
Greene County is currently on a six-game losing streak, although head coach Mark Wright is confident his team can turn it around. He feels like his players have done everything he’s asked over the last couple of weeks.
“The boys have done what I asked them to do,” Wright told the Lake Oconee News. “ For the most part, I asked them to compete, despite a win or a loss. Just do their best to compete. We knew we were still shorthanded. So, at this point in the season, I wanted to see if we could overcome adversity despite being shorthanded. Do we fall apart or come together? So I’m noticing in practices and in games, these guys are starting to come together, and this is the perfect time to do it because now we’re getting ready for region play.”
Wright has seen younger players such as Zaven Williams and Ethan Wright mesh with veterans like Braylen Hurt and Dontriel Grable. The coach thinks the underclassmen have handled the pressure really well.
Overall, Wright has seen the team grow since the start of the season, after playing a “rigorous schedule.”
“I know it doesn’t appear that way based on our record, but we don’t play a soft schedule at all,” he said. “We play a pretty rigorous schedule. And to be shorthanded and not get blown out speaks volumes to me about this team. I think we’re in a good mental spot right now. The team’s culture is high, and I’m happy with how they’ve been performing. We haven’t been able to turn those in the wind yet, but I believe that’s coming.”
Wright described the team’s chemistry as “good” as region play resumes this Friday against Washington-Wilkes. However, he’s challenged his players to keep growing as a unit and to peak at the right time.
“Every day in practice, these guys are growing closer and closer together, and they’re supposed to,” Wright said. “This is about the midway point of the season, and for them to be on the rise as far as gelling and chemistry is concerned, it is rewarding to see because it’s reassuring to me that these guys are going in the right direction.”
Another thing Wright values is his players holding each other accountable. He mentioned that when one makes a mistake or commits a personal foul, the others are there to correct them and turn it into a teachable moment.
Wright himself admitted that he isn’t bigger than the team.
Recently, during a holiday tournament game against Northgate, Wright received a pair of technical fouls for arguing with the referees and was ejected from the contest. Even though it’s a GHSA-mandated rule that a head coach will sit out for a game following an ejection, he actually “benched himself” for it.
“I decided to take it upon myself to bench myself, and I did it for two reasons,” Wright said. “One, I wanted my guys to see that I hold myself to a high level of integrity, regard, and respect, and I told my team, nobody’s above the team, including myself. Everyone has to meet a standard. That was the reason for me jumping ahead to GHSA and actually benching myself. The second reason I did it is that I wanted to see what the guys would do in an environment against all adversity, against all odds, when it’s just them together.”