“And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance.”
I ❤️ this group of men, we are all hurting today. A nightmare 42 seconds…
Soft people will always let you down. It’s always someone else’s fault, there is always an excuse, and they can’t take responsibility. If there’s one thing 19 years of college coaching has taught me... you need talent but you need toughness more. Everyone is replaceable.
Funny how division I schools are telling guys that we are both recruiting “Why would want to go to an NAIA, you are too good to go there.”
To those schools… Since we are just an NAIA put us on your schedule. We will come play for no money.
I worked my first three years in college basketball for a whopping $0. I took an assistant job making less than 20k after being a successful head coach… and it took me 17 years in college basketball to earn what I would consider a “good living.”
I love it when we are recruiting a guy and another school tells the recruit that he shouldn’t play for me because I’m hard to play for. I absolutely am, I don’t hide that one bit. I think most parents are “hard” on their kids because they love them and want the best for them.
For an HBCU to make a national championship game is unbelievable! We realized we weren’t just playing for Talladega College but for HBCU’s across the country. I could not be more proud of our guys or more humbled to be their coach.
#DegaStrong
Our program isn’t for everyone, I’m very transparent about that. If you don’t want to get coached hard, this isn’t for you! We want to be elite! You have to have talent to win but at the end of the day the team with good talent and the best toughness usually wins it all!
I could not be more fired up for this opportunity!!! I feel extremely blessed and humbled to be going to a place that really wants and expects to be excellent! We are going to build a special program at Langston. It’s time to get to work! L’s Up!!!!!
I love the hell out of these guys. THIS TEAM HAD THE BIGGEST TURNAROUND IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL!!!! From 1 win to 31!!! A 30 game improvement in one year!! Today hurts but I couldn’t be more proud of them.
#LsUp
My dad has been ICU for the past 7 days and isn’t doing well. Those of you that know my dad know that there is no bigger
@TexasTech
fan on the planet! Thank you so much
@CoachAdams_TTU
for sending this basketball. It means far more than you could possibly know! 🙏
#GunsUp
As a coach you know your team, I have been warning our guys about this for a couple of weeks. Too many guys in their feelings and too many opinions. The answer is simple.... just play better. That typically solves most problems. Adversity is here, excited to see how we respond.
I couldn’t be more thankful or blessed to be a Lion. It’s a great day for me personally. This has really made a lot of hard times and struggles worth every second.
I love being at Langston, and I believe we are just getting started as to what we can accomplish here.
#LsUp
ROARING THROUGH 2027!
Langston University has announced an extension to retain head men’s basketball coach Chris Wright (
@CoachCWRIGHT
) for the next four years. Join us in welcoming Coach Wright home for the long term!
Of course you need really good players to be successful, but just as importantly we really want guys that have gotten over themselves. This was the difference in us and a lot of teams this past season. I don’t think you can ever maximize talent unless that talent is unselfish.
The best day of the year!!!! This is what it’s all about!!! 13 guys walking across the stage today as college graduates. I could not be more proud of these men.
Coming off a 31-3 season, Langston University (NAIA) has re-loaded and is setting their sights on a National Championship 🔶🔷
NAIA Coach of the Year
@CoachCWRIGHT
boasts a roster that includes:
⭐️Anthony Roy- New Mexico State
⭐️Jay Allen-Tovar- New Mexico
⭐️Ronald Mitchell Jr-
Young coaches that think they are owed something or entitled to a particular job or position never cease to amaze me. College coaching is a very due paying profession and somehow a lot of guys don’t get that. There is nothing given, guaranteed, or easy in this profession.
It’s only March and I’ve heard way too many of the “he’s a good player at your level” comments. We don’t want “NAIA guys,” we need Division I players- we are trying to win a national championship.
Billy Donovan, Phil Jackson or the Coach at Langston seems like a fair grouping to put together in order to make his NIL point! 🙃🙃
@CoachCWRIGHT
@LangstonLionMBB
There are a lot of very deserving coaches that could have gotten this, it’s a great honor and I’m extremely humbled.
Our players, staff, and administration deserve all the credit for the year we had. Im blessed to coach and work with really good people.
#LsUp
We are 46-3 in our time at Langston. This has been a complete team effort. We have had really good players and excellent assistant coaches. Add this to a supportive administration and a passionate alumni base and it is a recipe for success.
#LsUp
Rest In Peace Dad, I love you and will miss you more than you know! I’m glad you aren’t hurting or suffering anymore.
You always told me to live life to it’s fullest, and no one did that better than you! Thank you for your love and tremendous friendship.
This guy looks more like a left tackle right now than a basketball player but we have a few years to work on that! Here’s to hoping he brings good luck to us in Kansas City!
Some coaching staffs should have their Twitter account taken away. They continually show how dumb and uneducated they are.
Anyone can talk big on social media, a lot harder to actually back it up. We always appreciate the extra motivation though.
What an amazing honor! I’m extremely thankful to receive this special award!
This is an unbelievable milestone in my career that puts me on a list with a lot of elite coaches and men that have won this previously.
March 30, 2023
HOUSTON, TX -- Langston’s Chris Wright is the recipient of the 2023 Jack Bennett Man of the Year award.
#2023CIAwards
#JackBennettAward
Press Release:
Award Website:
Words can’t express how heart-broken I am for our team. These guys did everything that I asked of them. They are good people, they love each other, they are unselfish. They represent themselves well on and off the court. I could not be more proud of what they accomplished!
30 Division 1 games originally scheduled for today, only 15 of those are actually being played. I don’t have all the answers but I do know that we won’t finish the season unless leadership at all levels of college basketball makes some adjustments. This is a very scary trend!
Life is all about how you respond to hard things. Sometimes things happen that aren’t fair and that are completely out of our control.
How do you respond in those times? I think that at the end of the day that is what defines us.
Do we want to win every game? Of course we do! It’s college basketball and we strive to be an elite program.
However, THE PROCESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE RESULTS!!!! The standard is the standard! If we skip steps in December we will set ourselves up for failure in March.
Not bad for a team that 6 of the 11 head other head coaches in our league picked us to finished 5th or 6th. I’m proud of our guys, not only did they prove a lot of people wrong… they proved themselves right!
#LsUp
#LangstonTough
SAC Champs X2 ... 🦁🔥
#LUMBB
defeats Wayland Baptist 80-68 ... Langston improves to 29-2 overall and are now the ... SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Up Next ... NAIA National Tournament
#goLions
#FeartheRoar
I spent four years working for
@coachkherod
as my Athletic Director. I can never thank him enough for hiring me at Talladega.
We’ve spent the last two years working together building programs here at Langston. I want to wish him all the best in his next move!
Not sure we protected much of anything tonight.
Other takeaways: Tony Romero is a very good coach, lots of respect for him!
Coaching is hard. Winning is hard. It’s great to win without your most talented player in the second half that won’t play hard unless he’s scoring.
This week has a special meaning to our family. 1 in every 36 kids are diagnosed with autism. We hope to help bring awareness and support to so many people across society.
@autismspeaks
#AutismHoops
My Athletic Director
@Kevinherod2
has been busy this year! Not only did he oversee a 27 million dollar student center project, but he also hosted two successful bubbles for men’s and women’s basketball! Oh yea he won another regular season championship as a Head Coach too!
It’s funny that once we release who we have signed, the vultures come out and about. We have other NAIA coaches trying to recruit our guys knowing that they are committed here. Shoot your shot fellas, I don’t think it will matter.
#LsUp
Bryce will hands down be one of the best point guards in the country. He’s a great talent, floor general, and scores it at will. I am super excited about getting to coach him!
Also, to the all D1’s negative recruiting us… we are still waiting on a call for a game….
Our backcourt got a lot better today! Welcome to the LU Bryce Monroe!!! He was named Southland Freshman of the Year at Sam Houston averaging over 10pppg. As a sophomore at San Diego he made 13 starts averaging 6ppg.
#LsUp
Hall of Fame Coach Gene Keady once said, “Recruiting is like shaving. If you don't do it everyday you look like a bum.”
No bums here! We are excited about these guys!!
#LsUp
I’m thankful for a lot of really good players and assistant coaches over my nine years as a head coach. I’m also grateful for the really good coaches that I worked for that taught me so much.
The former 4 star recruit that signed at Missouri will be as talented a player as there is in the country! He will be able to score at a high clip and can impact the game in a variety of ways! I can’t wait to get this guy on the court.
#LsUp
L’s Up Mario McKinney! This is a huge addition to our family!
Mario averaged 8.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg at UTEP. Prior to that he was also extremely productive at New Mexico State, John A. Logan, and Missouri.
This is absolutely no disrespect to any coach out there at the NAIA level that has had a great season...... If
@StacyHollowell
isn’t the National Coach of the Year I will be shocked. 30-1 overall with only loss coming without arguably their best player. Also, a D1 win over UNO.
❗️ MUNI BOUND ❗️
No. 1
@LangstonLionMBB
91
No. 9 Ave Maria 61
That Langston Defense got locked in in the 2H to punch their ticket to Kansas City!
@LangstonSports
I am so proud of Reef!!!! He has grown tremendously in his two and a half years with us.
All of our seniors are on track to graduate, this is what it is about at the end of the day. If we can’t help our guys grow as men and ensure that they graduate, winning is empty.
2 years ago, you promised me that reef knox would get his degree and next month it’s happening. I appreciate you for keeping your word. DEGREES MATTER
@CoachCWRIGHT
@CoachJWarren1
HBCU family, we have Langston MBB TONIGHT in the NAIA Championship game!!!!
The last time an HBCU won the NAIA title was 1977.. over 4 decades.
Watch & support LU at 7PM CT on NAIA YouTube! 🦁💙
@LangstonLionMBB
!!!!!
Tweet at LU MBB page and wish them good luck!!!
We had a couple of guys that didn’t make it for us for this exact reason! We have been far better without them. Entitlement is like a contagious disease, it’s spreads quickly and ruins everything you are trying to do in a program!
Congrats to my guy Eric Harris Sr. for going into the Langston University Athletic Hall of Fame! I appreciate your friendship and all that you do in our program!
#LsUp
Every coach in the country is excited about their team at this time of the year. If they aren’t then something is definitely wrong. With that being said , I absolutely love our talent level! How tough, unselfish, and coachable will we be? Those things will define our season!
The season didn’t end how we wanted it to but I was a remarkable year for our program.... the first top 25 ranking in the school’s history along with the first ever trip to the National Tournament. I’m really proud of our players and staff.
@apeman33
Definitely not getting deleted. You guys have the right to your opinions, that’s what makes our country great. As a public as a player wants to act is as public as I will choose to call him out. We win and graduate our players at a high level for a reason
We are 29-0 at home since we came to LU. This season we have outscored conference opponents by over 35 a game at home before tonight. Wayland Baptist was the better team and flat outplayed us. The better team did not win tonight.
They are a national tournament team. Period!
I don’t care about the NAIA’s “metrics,”they are flawed and there are definite ways to manipulate the strength of schedule.
If Wayland isn’t one of the best 64 teams in the country then I know absolutely nothing about NAIA basketball. Watch our game tonight and tell me I’m wrong
Duke Hall of Fame coach, Coach K was recently asked, “What’s the difference between a great team and a championship team?”
His answer was profound… “One play.”
The margin for error is so very thin this time of year.
6 days away… L’s Up
Grateful for my time at Langston University finishing out my collegiate career. 🧡 66-5 record, 2x SAC Champ, 2x SAC Defensive Player of the Year. Thankful for all the relationships I built that’ll last a lifetime ♾️ Faith in God ready for what’s next 🙏 Thank You LU 💙
#TB4L
When talented players defend and rebound at a high level, special
things tend to happen. It’s not about scoring, it’s about making winning plays.
If we hold teams to 30% from the field and outrebound them by 19 we won’t lose too many games.
Players play, tough players win.
Congrats to my guy Tristan Harper as he signed his pro contract to play in Germany! He is a testament that hard work always pays off. I couldn’t be more proud or happy for him!
#LsUp
It’s harder for most people to handle success than it is adversity. It’s easy to forget what made you successful in the first place. We will get a good reminder today.
I love these two guys! They don’t get nearly enough credit for what we’ve done this year. They are loyal, hardworking, and both have a heart of gold. They make the lives our players better every single day. To say that I’ve been blessed with a good staff is a huge understatement!
“You are either in or you are out. There’s no such thing as life in between.” -Pat Riley
This week we are going to get the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus completely. Sometimes less is more.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned at the small college level is that you have to get players that really want to be here. If guys really want to be here, they will likely buy in and you will have a chance to be great. I can’t wait until next season!
We are all entitled to an opinion…. No matter how wrong it may be. If you are going to run your mouth about us, at least be a part of a program somewhere that’s done something at some point. We definitely have a couple of games circled on the calendar this year.
Congrats to
@coachkherod
on his 200th win tonight as a head coach!He helped us reach 4 national tournaments in 4 years as our AD in Talladega. He also helped us reach a national title game in our last year. I owe him a great deal of my career to him.
Always good to get some help from this guy in the office! I don’t care what he does when he grows up as long as he is smarter than his dad and doesn’t coach!
Extremely thankful for both of these guys!
@Coach_Vincent_
@CoachJWarren1
work extremely hard, and do so much to make our program successful! I love you guys.
We are excited to add Jarvis to our program! He has tremendous upside and will make an immediate impact for us. He can get his own shot at any time and can score in bunches.
#LsUp
Josh will be a dominant inside presence for us next season! He is as talented a forward as there is at our level. He’s a great person and a tremendous student. We could not be more thrilled, this is a big time addition!!!
Hopefully I don’t offend anyone for “publicly” praising our team.
Im very proud of our guys for playing a complete game tonight. We are now 9-0 on the year! L’s up to the peanut gallery out there!