Dec. 31—All Wright and the Beacons of Valparaiso University visit Missouri State University for a Missouri Valley Conference matchup in Great Southern Bank Arena on the campus of MSU in Springfield on Wednesday night.
The Beacons (7-6, 0-2 MVC) will be seeking their first win in conference play in the early season. The Bears are in the exact same spot with a 7-6 overall record and standing at 0-2 in conference play.
While Wright is excited to be in front of plenty of fans from the Joplin area and surrounding areas like Carthage, the main thing on his mind is getting a conference win.
“I want to accomplish a win for our team. I just want to get a conference win for our team,” Wright said. “I want to show guys I can play but I’m not going to force anything. I’m just going to play my game and let it come to me.”
The game has been coming to the 19-year-old freshman guard well so far. He’s averaging 10.3 points per game and chipping in 2.9 assists while pulling down two rebounds per contest.
He also talked about the excitement of getting to play Division I basketball and doing it in front of a community of faithful fans traveling down Interstate 44 to watch him play Wednesday night.
“It’s definitely really exciting and a great opportunity playing close to home. It hasn’t been done a lot,” Wright said of players from the Joplin area playing at this level. “It means a lot. The opportunity means a lot in itself. But it also means a lot for my community. I know there are kids that want to do it as well and it tells them any goal is possible for them.”
Wright began the year as a bench player but was inserted into the starting lineup by head coach Roger Powell for the fourth game of the year. That against former MIAA school, now Division I, Lindenwood University and Wright has been a starter ever since.
“I was super excited to start. I try to come in and make shots for our team but really make plays for our team and others,” Wright said. “I try to control the pace and make sure things are going smoothly.”
The former Joplin Eagle has always considered himself to be a facilitator with an ability to see the floor well and share the rock. His head coach even spoke earlier this year about the passing ability of Wright.
Wright has a season-high mark of 10 assists back on Dec. 22 against Calumet College. He also notched six assists off the bench in a win over Concordia University.
His toping scoring performances are 26 and 22 points. He poured in 26 on 7-of-16 shooting in a win over Central Michigan on Dec. 14 at home. The next game, Valparaiso fell to Ohio State on the road but Wright tallied 22 and shot 8 for 15. He was 13 for 14 on free throws in those two games combined.
The young point guard is shooting 42% overall (46 of 110), 38% from outside (15 of 40) and 82% at the charity stripe (27 of 33). He has one double-double with points and assists so far. His season-high for rebounds is four in two different games.
Wright is one of four different Beacons averaging double figures this year in scoring. Cooper Schwieger, last year’s MVC freshman of the year, is averaging 13.6 ppg. Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (12.6) and Tyler Schmidt (11.6) are also averaging north of 10 ppg.
He’s been learning how to play more consistent and what it takes to have that consistency night in and night out at a high level and with a busier schedule.
“Really just consistency. There’s a lot of games in college. We just finished non-conference games and still have a lot of games to go so its a lot different than high school,” Wright said. “So its about consistency. Everyone on the other side in Division I is a player, man, so you have to be ready to bring it.”
