Julian Wright

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Julian Wright (born May 20, 1987) is an American college basketball player from Chicago Heights, Illinois. He is currently a sophomore at the University of Kansas.

[edit] High school career

Julian Wright played high school basketball at the Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois. In 2005 he was selected to the McDonald's All-American team, and he was rated the eighth best basketball player in his class by www.rivals.com due to his talent and versatility. At 6'8" and 225 lbs, Wright combines good size with excellent athleticism and skills, which allowed him to play numerous positions in high school, including point guard, small forward, and power forward.

[edit] College career

Wright entered the 2005-2006 NCAA season for the Kansas Jayhawks as the pre-season freshman of the year in the Big 12 Conference. Though he didn't start at the beginning of the season, he quickly played his way into the starting power forward slot. His superior athleticism for his position often allowed Wright score baskets in transition by beating his defender down the court. A highlight of his freshman campaign may have been against the University of Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game when he put an exclamation mark on KU's win with two magnificent breakaway slam dunks in the closing minutes of the game. During his freshman season, Wright averaged 8.5 points per game, but he was praised more for his ability to help his team without scoring. He was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team along with fellow Kansas freshmen Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers. Wright has stated numerous times that he does not intend to enter the NBA Draft early no matter how well he plays during his sophomore season.