UA recruits preparing to fill void after UA's top scorers move on, The Arizona Daily Star-February 12, 1998, Author: Bruce Pascoe
Arizona might lose a trio of valued gym rats in Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson and Mike Bibby next season. But Chicago Farragut coach William Nelson knows the Wildcats will be getting at least one replacement rat next season. That would be Farragut star forward Michael Wright, the young man who spends many of his precious few non-playing hours in Nelson's home watching tapes of basketball. Tapes of himself, tapes of college games, tapes of NBA games.
For the workaholic Wright, one of six UA recruits now preparing for potentially wide-open opportunities next fall, the videos actually serve as a form of relaxation.
``He does it just to chill out,'' said Nelson, whose home is conveniently a block from Wright's. ``It's always fun. We always laugh together; the only time it gets serious is when we're in the locker room together.''
Wright is also serious any time he's on the court, which is much of the time he's awake. Nelson says Wright begged him for keys to the gym during spring break last year while the rest of the team scattered, and Wright's non-stop work on his perimeter game is paying off.
``You've got a 6-8 guy who's shooting jump shots, posting up, running the floor, passing the ball . . . and he's the only guy in the state where every game he's getting double- and triple-teamed,'' Nelson said. ``You can't tell me there's a better player in the state.''
Still, some people are. Quentin Richardson, the Whitney Young High School star who signed with DePaul, is still considered Illinois' top player in some circles.
But UA associate coach Jim Rosborough considers Wright among the top 15 players nationally, and Nelson proudly pointed out that the recognition is finally filtering in.
Wright was named the Chicago Tribune's prep athlete of the month for January, over Richardson and every high school athlete in every sport.
Wright averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds last month while putting on a show during the week of Jan. 19. He had 38 points and 24 rebounds against St. Louis Cardinal Ritter, then 76 points in two Chicago-area games later that week.
But there was one major disappointment in the month: When Farragut lost to Richardson and Whitney Young on Jan. 27, when Wright was able to take just seven shots and finished with 12 points.
``It was kind of embarrassing,'' Wright said.
Nelson blamed it on a sudden burst of selfishness among the other Farragut players, whom he said suddenly wanted their own numbers in a game with heavy media attention.
'`I was teed off, man,'' Nelson said. ``I was like, `Excuse me? Hello? He's the one who got you here.' ''
Wright may still get another chance, should Farragut and Whitney Young meet again in the city playoff finals, and a victory there would put Farragut in the Illinois Elite Eight. So far, Farragut is 16-4.
With the help of 6-3 guard Traves Wilson, Moline High School might even meet Farragut or Whitney Young in the final eight, should Moline find success in the upcoming AA playoffs.
Wilson has been averaging 19.6 points and 10.5 rebounds for Moline, while hitting about 38 percent from three-point range.
``His outside shot is much improved over last year; he's shot well from three,'' Moline coach Frank Dexter said. ``His ball-handling's improved, too.''
In addition, Rosborough said Wilson's strong defense alone could make him a major factor in next season's rotation.
Wilson had 26 points and 12 rebounds to help Moline beat rival Rock Island last weekend before about 4,000 fans. So far, Moline is 20-1, losing only to Galesburg, Illinois' third-ranked team and a likely team Moline will have to beat in order to reach Illinois' final eight.
Richard Jefferson, the 6-7 star forward at Moon Valley in Phoenix, hasn't been facing nearly as much tough competition this season, although his team has beaten Carl Hayden and has lost to Brophy Prep. But Jefferson says he still believes he has a shot at the McDonald's All-American game, and he has been working hard academically to ensure his eligibility next season (he already has the required test score).
Jefferson has been averaging 23.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists, although ``Richard could average 35 (points) if I wanted him to,'' Moon Valley coach John Boie said.
Boie said Jefferson has a rare knowledge of basketball and of teamwork, and, in fact, Jefferson said one of the main things he wanted to work on this season was his passing. It was no more evident than during a recent game against Cottonwood Mingus when Jefferson had 17 assists.
``One of our other players had nine threes in that game,'' Jefferson said, chuckling. ``I could have had 25 assists, but I came out with two minutes left in the third quarter. It was a lot of fun. It was good to know I had that kind of ability.''
Like Jefferson, 6-8 Luke Walton of San Diego's University High School is an inside-outside threat who has been working on his perimeter game this season. Walton is averaging about 18 points and nine rebounds a game, after ankle injuries slowed him in the early season. He scored 36 points with six three-pointers against rival St. Augustine
recently.
``I think Luke will be ready when it's time to move on,'' University coach Jim Tomey said.
UA coach Lute Olson took advantage of an off day yesterday to catch Walton for the first time in person.
Olson also watched his other two Southern California signees, 6-8 Ricky Anderson of Long Beach Poly High School and 6-5 Ruben Douglas of Bellarmine-Jefferson High in Burbank, Calif., during a Martin Luther King Day tournament at Pauley Pavilion last month.
Anderson has averaged about 22 points and 11 rebounds for Poly, though he has had to play more of a post role than he might at the UA, according to his father, Long Beach City College coach Gary Anderson.
Ricky Anderson still has helped Long Beach Poly to a 20-6 record and a 7-1 mark in league play, having split a two-game conference series with powerful Compton High School.
Douglas, meanwhile, has been averaging 33.8 points, nine rebounds and about four steals a game for 13-13 Bellarmine-Jefferson, according to his father, Rogelio. Like many of his fellow UA recruits, Douglas has struggled to put up impressive numbers against a variety of tough defenses.
``The thing that's going to help him is having to deal with adversity,'' Rogelio Douglas said. ``He's finding he's a marked man this year wherever he goes. Guys are doing a lot of trapping and stuff against him. But he's been able to round out his game.''
INCOMING NUMBERS
The numbers on UA's highly-rated six-man 1998 recruiting class:
Ricky Anderson: 6-8, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly H.S., 22 ppg, 11 rpg, leading team to 20-6 record.
Ruben Douglas: 6-5, Bellarmine-Jefferson H.S. (Burbank, Calif.), 33.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 4.0 spg, 5.0 apg, 47 percent field goal shooting; team is 13-13.
Richard Jefferson: 6-7, Moon Valley H.S. (Phoenix): 23.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 3.2 spg, leading school to 22-3 mark.
Luke Walton: 6-8, University H.S. (San Diego), 17 ppg, 10 rpg; team is 17-4.
Traves Wilson: 6-3, Moline (Ill.) H.S.,19.6 ppg, 10.5 rpg; team is 20-1.
Michael Wright: 6-8, Farragut Academy (Chicago), 29 ppg, 15 rpg, leading team to 16-4 mark.