Woelk: Freshman Wright Brings Motor To Buffs Lineup

BOULDER — After just one game, here's a prediction about the Colorado basketball team:

Freshman point guard McKinley Wright IV is going to be a fan favorite for the next four years. The youngster from Minnesota has a motor that doesn't stop and the kind of game that will keep fans entertained and excited.

"He's going to be a great player at Colorado," head coach Tad Boyle predicted after the Buffs opened their season Friday night with a 66-51 win over Northern Colorado. "Not a good player, he's going to be a great player. I love coaching him. He has a toughness, he has a will, he has a competitiveness about him that's really special. He didn't play particularly well tonight in certain respects, but you can see he's got the 'it' factor."

Wright finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and played a big role in a 12-0 Colorado run that broke open a tight game in the second half. With 10:48 to go, he had a defensive rebound and coast-to-coast layup to give CU a 45-41 lead, added an assist to Namon Wright for a layup during the run, then finished the run with a driving layup of his own.

"He's special," Boyle said. "I know it, his teammates know it, our staff knows it. I think he's the best freshman nationally that nobody is talking about right now, but they should be — and in time they will."

At his first postgame press conference, Wright flashed a big grin when asked about his debut.

"It was fun," he said. "I'm excited to be here. The energy that these fans bring to us is really great. I had a great time out there playing with my guys."

Boyle said he was impressed with Wright's effort on both end of the floor.

"He's as dialed in on defense as he is on offense," Boyle said. "His motor, his intensity, you can't teach that. You can't teach feel, you can't teach what he has."

Wright said he didn't suffer from any pregame nerves.

"My teammate George (King) told me there's no such thing as pressure when you're prepared," Wright said. "Ever since I've stepped on campus, these two guys (King and Tory Miller-Stewart) and the rest of the tea have been helping me prepare. There were no nerves. I'm just excited to be here."

Buffs fans will be equally excited to see Wright — and the rest of his teammates. This Buffs team is going to be worth the price of admission just to watch as they develop through the season.

Yes, they are young. In Friday night's opener, three of CU's true freshmen played at least 13 minutes — with Wright leading the Buffs with 31. Along with Wright's effort, the Buffs got six points and two rebounds from freshman Tyler Bey, three points and a pair of assists from D'Shawn Schwartz and six rebounds and three points from Nikolic Lazar.

Throw that in with the steady performance of CU's three senior starters — George King had 12 points, Tory Miller-Stewart had 11 points and five rebounds and Dominique Collier had three assists, two steals and two points — and it was a balanced effort from both ends of the age spectrum.

"We beat a good team that can win their league," Boyle said. "I think time will tell. This was test No. 1. We passed it on defense, we passed it on rebounding, but we still have a lot of room for improvement. This is going to be a fun team for me to coach and a fun team for our fans to watch."

It will indeed be a fun team to watch develop — and one that might just make some noise when the Pac-12 season rolls around.

NAMON WRIGHT BACK IN ACTION: Junior transfer Namon Wright saw his first official action since the 2015-16 season, and finished with seven points, four rebounds and an assist in a starting role. He played 23 minutes, but was hampered by three fouls.

"Namon's going to be a good scorer for us," Boyle said. "This was the first game of kind of knocking the rust off. A lot of our guys did not play as well as they're capable of. I would put Namon in that category, but he played with great energy on defense, so I'm proud of him for that."

NOTEWORTHY: CU now leads the all-time series with UNC 21-18. … CU has now won 10 consecutive home openers, including 8-0 under Boyle. … The Bears shot 14-for-25 from 2-point range but just 6-for-37 from beyond the arc. … CU held an opponent to 51 points or less for just the third time in the last 35 games.

— George King (12 points, 9 rebounds) had his 48th career double-figure scoring game and is now 36th on CU's all-time rebounding list (439).

— Tory Miller-Stewart (11 points, 5 rebounds) recorded his 15th career double-figure scoring game.

— Dominique Collier (3 assists, 2 steals) moved into 25th on CU's all-time steals list (82) and is 32nd in career assists (178).

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu