Buffs Point Guard Wright Aims To Take Game To Next Level

BOULDER — McKinley Wright IV remembers his first practice with the Colorado Buffaloes very clearly.

"Last year, first day of practice I don't even know if I said a word," Wright said as the Buffs opened practice. "I was a freshman coming in, didn't know how to talk to the older guys."

But Wright learned quickly. By the time the season began, the true freshman had stepped into the role as the Buffaloes' starting point guard. By season's end, he had clearly become the team leader.

Now, he is without doubt the motor that drives these Buffs — and they will go as far as he leads them. His goal is to make sure he is up to the task every night.

"Coach (Tad Boyle) challenged me to a better leader this year," Wright said. "So coming in I want to make sure my talking is at a high level."

It would be hard to find fault with Wright's numbers in his first college season. He led Colorado in points (14.2), assists (5.5) and steals (1.0), and was third on the team in rebounding (4.7) in a 17-15 Colorado season.

But Wright is also his toughest critic. After reviewing film of every game from last year, he saw instances when his energy wasn't as high as it should have been — and as a result, the Buffs were not at their best.

"If I have high energy, they have high energy," Wright said. "I was shown some games last year when my energy was bad (and) the team was bad. This year I'm focused on making sure I have high energy and making sure these guys are learning with me."

Wright spent the offseason working on virtually every facet of his game.

"I think I took my game to a whole new level as far as taking care of the ball, scoring in isolation, guarding the ball, 3-point shooting, rebounding — everything," he said. "I've just taken my game to a new level."

He also added roughly 10 pounds of muscle to his frame, something he believes will help him withstand the rigors of a long season — especially when it comes to the weekly grind of Pac-12 play.

"I'm going to be a lot better taking care of my body," he said. "Last year I had times where I was cramping up during games. That was a lack of me drinking water and eating bad. This year I'm going to take on the challenge of eating more healthy and making sure my body is in shape."

A year ago, the Buffs endured their share of growing pains with a lineup that saw three freshmen — Wright, Dallas Walton and Tyler Bey — each with at least 21 starts, and another freshmen, D'Shawn Schwartz, get four starts and average 13 minutes per game playing time.

"I've told all these sophomores they're not freshmen anymore," Boyle said. "I'm going to coach them a little harder, expect a little bit more from them because the freshman mistakes are in the past. Now it's time to not make those. Nobody's going to play perfect, nobody's going to play flawless basketball. But I'm really stressing to McKinley, take care of the ball, cut those turnovers down, make everybody else better."

Indeed, if there was a flaw in Wright's game, it was his turnovers. He finished the season with 94 of those miscues, a number Boyle would like to see him reduce.

But one thing CU's coaches won't have to stress to Wright is his dedication to defense. A year ago — along with being named to the all-Pac-12 Freshman team — he was also an all-conference defensive team selection.

He's aiming a little higher this year.

"We're going to rely on our defense," Wright said. "Me and Tyler (Bey) have a challenge right now, we're trying to see who can get higher in defensive player of the year. That's something we really want to do. Last year I was honorable mention. I feel I could have been on the team, but there were some good defensive players. I'm not mad about it, I'm just determined to get on that team and maybe even win defensive player of the year."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu