Buffs' Wright Ready For Challenge Against ASU, Arizona Star Guards
January 14, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Every week, it seems, Colorado's McKinley Wright IV is matched against another elite-level point guard.
Two weeks ago in back-to-back games, he faced Oregon's Payton Pritchard, a first team preseason All-Pac-12 pick, and Oregon State's Ethan Thompson, a second-team selection. Last week, it was Utah standouts Rylan Jones and Both Gach.
This week, the storyline stays the same — except for the fact that Wright won't have the comfort of the home court on his side. Colorado hits the road this week for games at Arizona State on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN2) and Arizona on Saturday (12:30 p.m., Fox), where Wright will face two more preseason first team all-conference players in ASU's Remy Martin and Arizona's Nico Mannion.
It is no doubt a big weekend for the 20th-ranked Buffs (13-3 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) and Wright, of course, is relishing the challenge. He was also a member of the preseason all-conference first team, and there is nothing the CU junior enjoys more than the challenge of squaring off against the best.
Martin is a 6-foot, 170-pounder whose game revolves around his quickness. He leads ASU in scoring at 19.1 points per game (fourth in the Pac-12) and is ninth in the league in assists with 3.94 per game and a 1.34 assist-to-turnover ratio. Wright is averaging 13.6 points and 5.06 assists per game, with a 1.88 assist-to-turnover ratio
In their first meeting this year — a season-opening 81-71 Colorado win in China — Martin finished with 23 points, but he needed a 9-for-20 shooting night to get there. Wright had 17 points on 8-for-16 shooting.
"I have respect for Remy, I know he has respect for me," Wright said. "It's going to be a battle. He's going to try to will his team to a victory as I'm trying to will my team to a road win. It's a perfect opportunity for us to make up for our home loss against Oregon State and this will be a big one for us."
But the level of difficulty for Wright will go up a notch Saturday when he faces Mannion. The 6-foot-3 UA freshman — already being tabbed as an NBA Draft lottery pick — is averaging 14.3 points and a league-leading 6.25 assists per game.
Still, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle likes Wright's chances.
"The guards in this league are no joke," Boyle said Tuesday. "I'm sure (Oregon coach) Dana Altman would say the same thing about Payton Pritchard, I'm sure (ASU coach) Bobby Hurley would say the same thing about Remy Martin, but I wouldn't trade our guy for anybody. I wouldn't trade McKinley for anybody. I love coaching him, I love his mentality. I'll go to war with him every time out."
Indeed, Wright has earned a reputation not only as a clutch player in his three years with Colorado, he's also become known as a player who backs down from no one. He has become a quality defender and makes opponents work for every point and every assist.
"The thing I like about McKinley is he takes that attitude of, 'Respect everybody fear nobody,' and it's genuine and it's true and it's real," Boyle said. "A lot of guys say 'I respect everybody but I fear nobody' — and they really fear some guys. They don't want to play against them. That's not McKinley. McKinley wants the opportunity to guard Remy Martin and he wants the challenge to guard Nico Mannion or Payton Pritchard or Ethan Thompson. He relishes that and that's what makes him special."
COLEMAN CONNECTION: Thursday's game in Tempe will have just a little more "juice" for CU assistant coach Anthony Coleman, who spent the last three seasons as a member of Hurley's staff at ASU before making the jump to Colorado over the summer.
Thus, it's no coincidence that Coleman is the CU assistant who had the scouting preparation duties for the Sun Devils this week.Â
"He obviously knows their personnel," Boyle said. "He knows a lot of those kids, he's got good relationships with them and he helped recruit a lot of them. So it's a big game for Anthony. He and Coach Hurley still have a very good relationship … but once the ball gets tipped up, that will go by the wayside. I know this game means something to him and I'm sure those kids want to beat him, and I want him to come back and get a win at their expense."
DIFFERENT DEVILS: While the Buffs can no doubt take with them a little confidence after their early season win over ASU, they also know this will be a different team.
In the season opener, the Sun Devils were without the services of big men Romello White and Taeshon Cherry, both of whom were serving suspensions for violating team rules.
Since then, White has started every game for the 10-6 Sun Devils and is averaging 10.6 points and 9.6 rebounds — second in the Pac-12 behind CU's Tyler Bey (9.75 rpg). Cherry, meanwhile, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds with seven starts since the opener.
"They're completely different," Boyle said. "He (White) is worth 12 points and 10 rebounds more. Adding those guys in the mix makes a big difference."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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