Colorado University Athletics
Buffs' Point Guard Wright Not Satisfied With Start To Season
November 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Maybe one of the bigger surprises early in the Colorado men's basketball season has been the relative up-and-down play of point guard McKinley Wright.
"Relative" because fact is, Wright's numbers thus far this year are solid. In leading Colorado to a 3-1 start, Wright is averaging 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, has a team-leading seven steals, and is shooting a respectable 45.5 percent from the floor (15-for-33). If there are any numbers with which to quibble, it would be his assist-to-turnover ratio, an area in which he currently has 22 assists and 15 turnovers.
But for a player who entered the season shouldering the largest expectations of anyone on CU's roster — and a player who has taken on the responsibility of being the team's leader — it's not enough.
"It all starts with me," Wright said. "I'm the leader of this team. I take full responsibility when things go wrong. The San Diego loss, I take full responsibility. I don't think it's too much on my shoulders. I'm ready to be the leader of this team and have that role. Coach challenged me to be the leader of this team and I don't think it's too much."
But even Wright's head coach believes his star point guard might need to relax just a little.
"The one thing about McKinley is he expects a lot of himself," Tad Boyle said Monday. "That's what makes him the player he is, is he has such high expectations for himself. McKinley's not a guy as a coach you have to get on because he gets on himself. … He's a self-driven guy. Self-driven guys, you almost have to tell them to take it easy on themselves sometimes."
But "take it easy" are not words in Wright's vocabulary. An all-Pac-12 Freshman Team selection last year (and honorable mention all-conference pick), Wright entered this season as Colorado's clear leader on the floor. He has taken it upon himself to ensure that the Buffs hit the ground at full speed, and he takes any bump in the road personally.
"I have to do a better job of hitting guys in the right spots and taking care of the ball," Wright said. "A lot of it starts with me being the primary ball handler. The ball's in my hands a lot. Just me taking care of the ball and hitting these guys in the right spots. D'Shawn (Schwartz), Shane (Gatling), Lucas (Siewert) — they're all shooting the ball lights out right now. I have to do a better job of finding them right now, especially Lucas."
The Buffs are indeed shooting the ball well thus far, especially the 6-foot-10 Siewert. After a 6-for-6 day from the field in Saturday's 93-56 win over Air Force, the CU junior is shooting 65.5 percent from the floor (19-for-29), including a blistering 10-for-14 from 3-point range.
"What he needs to do is trust his teammates, because he's got really good shooters around him," Boyle said. "He's got good players around him."
The Buffs begin a four-game homestand this week with a 7 p.m. contest Wednesday against Portland, followed by a 1 p.m. matinee tilt Saturday against in-state rival Colorado State. As the Buffs prepare, Boyle's message for Wright is a relatively simple one.
"The biggest thing is just relax and play with your instincts and don't have it predetermined in your mind what you're going to do," Boyle said. "Let the game come to you."
NET RANKINGS RELEASED: Monday marked the release of the first NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings of the season. The NET rankings are a new metric that will replace the long-used RPI by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
Just like early RPI rankings, there were some surprises in the NET numbers. Unbeaten Ohio State was at the top, with Virginia No. 2 and Texas Tech in third.
The Buffs checked in at No. 68. The highest-ranked Pac-12 team was 5-0 Arizona State at No. 28.
BUFFS BITS: Boyle said sophomore forward Tyler Bey will be ready to go this week. Bey missed the second half of the Air Force game after taking a tumble on his shoulder following an alley-oop dunk. … Three Buffs are averaging double-figure scoring after four games, led by Namon Wright (13.3 ppg). He is followed by Siewert (12.8) and McKinley Wright (12.3). … As a team, the Buffs are shooting 51.8 percent from the field this year. … Bey, by the way, hit his first career 3-pointer against Air Force. After going 0-for-6 last year from long distance and missing his first four this season, he drained his first and only try against the Falcons. …
Portland, which has already played in two tournaments this year, will bring a 5-3 record to Boulder on Wednesday. … CSU, under the direction of first-year head coach Niko Medved, is 4-2 thus far, with a Tuesday night game at home vs. Southern Illinois before heading to Boulder on Saturday.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
