Wilburton names April Wright varsity girls basketball coach
Basketball saved April Wright's life.
The new Wilburton varsity girls basketball coach, who lived in the foster system and on her own as a high school senior, said her love of the game changed her perspective on life, which she said she hopes to instill into others.
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'I was a foster kid and basketball was the one thing that no one could ever take from me and I just loved it,' Wright said. 'As a freshman in high school, I was kind of like the assistant for our freshman team at Durant High School, which helped me pay my rent.'
Wright played at Collin County Community College and Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She then became the girls basketball coach at Buffalo Valley High School in 2023 and an assistant at Whitesboro High School in 2024 before taking the Wilburton job Wednesday.
Despite the Lady Diggers' recent struggles, she said Superintendent Kyle Vanderburg and Athletic Director Jeff Marshall showed excitement for her to create a new culture and rebuild the program.
'I could just see in their hearts that they truly are for their school, they're for building their school,' Wright said. 'I felt like they had seen in me someone who could build even through a trial and tribulation, which has kind of been my whole life.'
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Basketball is more than just winning and losing, according to Wright. Instead, she said she is determined to inspire the girls on her team to give back to their community and make them feel empowered as they enter the real world.
'For me, it's not about winning,' Wright said. 'It's about building these young ladies and their character so that when they step out in the real world one day and their careers, that they understand what it takes to touch lives, change lives and stand in the gap.'
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