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Overview

A great athlete with solid rebounding and shooting skills, Wright came into his own as a sophomore, but his inconsistent play in tournament action had many experts expecting him to return to Schoolfor the 2007-08 season. Wright even told reporters on March 25, the day after the Wildcats lost to UCLA that he intended to be wearing a Wildcats uniform next year. One week later, he changed his mind and applied for early entry into the 2007 draft.

Wright was a McDonald's All-American, first-team All-State pick and a member of the USA Junior National Select Team following his senior season at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. He was an All-Tournament selection in the IHSA Class AA State Tournament and rated the eighth-best High School player in the country by Rivals.com. He was the MVP of the Nike Peach Jam and a third-team All-State choice as a junior.

Wright led the team to a 27-4 record in 2004-05, handing eventual USA Today No. 1 Oak Hill (Va.) Academy one of its two losses that season. He averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists his senior campaign. His best game statistically was 19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and eight blocked shots. As a junior, he averaged 10.4 points, seven rebounds and 4.9 assists in guiding the squad to a 31-3 record and a state runner-up finish in 2003-04.

As a freshman at Kansas in 2005-06, Wright earned All-Big 12 Conference honorable mention and was a member of the league's all-rookie team. He moved into the starting lineup for the second half of the season and ranked second on the squad with 42 blocked shots, the eighth-best total in the Big 12. He shot 56.4 percent from the field (124 of 220) and 54.8 percent from the free-throw line (34 of 62) as he scored 282 points (8.5 points per game).

Wright led the team in scoring six times and in rebounding seven times. He produced 53 of his 152 rebounds on the offensive boards. He was named to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament team, where he averaged 9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and shot 54.2 percent (13 for 24) from the field. He also earned the team's Dick Harp Field Goal Percentage Award.

As a sophomore, Wright was named to the NABC All-American third-team and All-District XII first-team. He added All-American honorable mention from the Associated Press and first-team All-Big 12 Conference accolades. He ranked third on the team in scoring, connecting on 190 of 346 field goals (54.9 percent), including 3 of 13 (23.1 percent) from the 3-point range, adding 73 of 119 free throws (61.3 percent) for 456 points, an average of 12 points per game.

Wright paced the Jayhawks with 298 rebounds, including 96 offensive boards, an average of 7.8 per game. He finished second on the squad with 49 blocked shots and third in steals with 55. He also dished out 82 assists but tied for the team lead with 91 turnovers and was issued 94 fouls. He produced six double-doubles, as he scored at least 10 points in 23 games, including four contests with at least 20 points. He also had double digits in rebounds in 11 games.

In 71 games at Kansas, the combination forward started 54 times. He hit on 314 of 566 field goals (55.5 percent) for 738 points and a 10.4 average, while averaging 24.1 minutes of action per game. He made 107 of 181 free throws (59.1 percent) and grabbed 450 rebounds (149 offensive), averaging 6.3 boards per game. He was credited with 142 assists (2.0 average), 86 steals and 91 blocked shots. He turned the ball over 155 times and had 148 fouls.

Scouting Report

Positives: Long-limbed athlete with good upper-body strength and a frame that is still developing...Can carry at least another 15 pounds of bulk with no loss in quickness...Efficient rebounder who was one of the best passers in college at his position...Has good court vision and is an unselfish athlete who keeps his teammates involved in the action...Scans the court looking for the open man rather than forcing shots and has an explosive initial step to separate from his opponent when driving to the rim...Uses his long reach and wingspan to disrupt the passing lanes and has enough strength to bang the boards with most centers and power forwards...Quick off his feet and is a fine mid-range shooter with adequate perimeter ability...Has instinctive basketball reflexes and excellent hands, moving the ball well at both ends of the court...Likes to get physical under the basket...Has enough ball-handling skills to fill in at point guard...Uses his strength and athleticism to score when cutting to the basket, showing great timing and leaping ability attacking the basket and utilizes his quick feet to get penetration in the lane...Can freelance off the dribble and likes to slide out to the perimeter to bait big men out of the paint...Can finish better from close range due to his strength driving to the rim...Quick enough to lead the fast break and shows very good balance and body control slashing to the basket...Very good finisher at the rim who has the ability and spin moves to score off the dribble...Times his leaps well to block shots and his ball-handling ability is shown in the open court...Has the timing and hands to secure most offensive boards, using his arm length well to get back and defend in the lane...High-energy type that keeps the ball alive on both ends of the court and is especially effective when he cuts to the basket and finishes with a left-handed hook shot...Works hard to prevent his man from gaining position down low, but will need to improve his upper-body strength in order to be successful in the pivot at the next level...Has the foot speed to cover ground quickly and keeps his head on a swivel looking for the open man to kick out to the perimeter when lanes to the basket close...Shows strong right-handed drives to the basket, stopping sharply on his pivot foot to spin around and hit the fade-away jumper...Has a knack for elevating over smaller opponents with his hands fully extended to secure the offensive rebound...Shows good determination on the putback off the glass...When he holds his position and extends his arms, smaller guards cannot shoot over him...Does a good job of doubling in the post to force turnovers.

Negatives: Needs to improve his range and timing as a jump shooter...Marginal long-range shooter who is best when driving to the basket...Good ball handler, but tends to get over-confident in this area and will attempt no-look passes that generally lead to a turnover...Throws up quite a few clunkers with his jump shot and needs to get the shot off quicker, as he tends to throw up a soft floater instead of trying to maneuver his way to the basket...Aggressive, but can get pushed out of the paint by bigger centers when playing power forward, but his poor perimeter shooting limits his potential as a small forward...Gets into a pattern where he scores in bunches to start the game and then passively backs off as the contest progresses...In the 2007 UCLA loss, he failed to penetrate the lane and was passive, opting to swing the ball around the perimeter...His free-throw shooting needs refinement due to a slightly unorthodox release...Struggles at times with his back to the basket and, while he generally does a good defensive job in the paint, he will stay alongside his opponent rather than in front of them when working the perimeter and this lets the quicker guards slash by him for the shot.

Compares To: SHAWN MARION, Phoenix. Some experts compare Wright to Marion's teammate, Boris Diaw, but there is too much inconsistency in Wright's game and he lacks the long-range shooting touch of either player. Like Marion, Wright gets by mostly on his athleticism. He is not strong enough to play power forward at the NBA level immediately but lacks the perimeter shooting to play the small forward slot. He needs to improve his free-throw shooting and can sometimes be unselfish to a fault as a passer. He is a fine ball handler and shows good promise on defense, but needs to focus on fundamentals and forget flash. While he will likely go early in the draft, his game would have been much better served with another year of tutelage under Kansas coach Bill Self rather than learning on the bench in the NBA.

High School

Attended Homewood-Flossmoor (Chicago Heights, Ill.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Roy Condotti...McDonald's All-American, first-team All-State and named to the USA Junior National Select Team following his senior season...Added All-Tournament honors in the ISHA Class AA State finals and was rated the eighth-best High School player in the country by Rivals.com...MVP of the Nike Peach Jam and a third-team All-State choice as a junior...Led the team to a 27-4 record in 2004-05, handing eventual USA Today national champion Oak Hill (Va.) Academy one of its two losses that year...Averaged 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists his senior campaign, as his best game stat-wise was 19 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and eight blocked shots...As a junior, he averaged 10.4 points, seven rebounds and 4.9 assists in guiding the squad to a 31-3 record and to the state runner-up finish in 2003-04.

Personal

Communication Studies major...Son of Gina Wright and Paul Vinson...Father played basketball at Illinois Institute of Technology...Born Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright on 5/20/87 in Chicago, Illinois.

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