Colorado University Athletics
Buffs' Wright Returns To Practice, Expects To Play Vs. Cal
January 22, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Barring any setbacks in the next couple of days, Colorado sophomore point guard McKinley Wright said Tuesday he expects to play Thursday when the Buffs play at Cal in a 9 p.m. game at Haas Pavilion.
Wright sat out last Sunday's game at Utah, a 79-68 Colorado loss, after a shoulder injury suffered the previous week against Washington. It was the first game he has missed as a Buff after playing in all 48 previous games in his career, with 47 starts.
Wright said he didn't want to rush coming back from the injury, with just six days in between games.
"I decided to take a couple more days to help my body get back healthy," he said. "But I'm feeling good."
Now, he is wearing a brace designed to help keep his shoulder stable and he has practiced the last two days. His return would be a boost for the 10-7 Buffs, who have lost four of five Pac-12 games and six of their last eight games overall.
"(He's) coming along well," head coach Tad Boyle said after Tuesday's practice. "He's a little out of shape, yesterday he was huffing and puffing, but he had a good crisp workout yesterday. Today he's better, playing with the brace. I think he's adjusting to that. I think he'll be in the lineup and be good. Don't know that for sure yet, but we'll take it day by day, but he did practice today and he looked good."
Wright said he is adjusting to wearing the brace.
"I'm kind of used to it," he said. "It limits me from extending my arm too far back, which is how I dislocated it against Washington. It was hard the first day; I couldn't breathe trying to run with this thing across my chest. But I'm getting better. I'm comfortable and ready to go."
Wright said Sunday's game at Utah was the first game he has missed since his freshman year in high school. He watched the entire game from the bench, and admitted it provided a different perspective.
"It was super tough," he said. "I didn't know how to go into it and I didn't know what to expect. … I saw a lot of stuff differently. I kind of saw it from a coach's point of view. Now I understand how coaches see the game. It was a different view from being on the court."
But Wright hopes to see the game from his regular vantage point again this week. The Buffs play Thursday at Cal before wrapping up their Bay Area swing Saturday with a 6 p.m. game at Stanford.
One thing he won't do, he said, is be overly cautious. He is CU's leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game, and third-leading rebounder at 4.9 boards per contest.
"I'm still going to be aggressive when I do play," Wright said. "I just try to take care of this injury. It's not a small injury, it's something I have to pay attention to. My trainers and everybody are helping me, trying to get me back healthy. I'm feeling good and ready to go at Cal on Thursday."
Boyle said he won't try to curtail Wright's activity in games.
"He has to understand what he can and can't do," Boyle said. "He's going to have to make that slight adjustment in nuances, but in terms from a coaching standpoint, his responsibilities don't change."
BAY AREA STREAKS: The Buffs have won two in a row against the Bears, but both wins were in Boulder. Colorado hasn't won in Berkeley since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, with four straight losses on Cal's home floor. … It's a different story, however, with Stanford. CU has won nine straight games against the Cardinal, including four straight on Stanford's home floor. … Thursday's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with Saturday's game carried by FS1.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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