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Another "Twan" to watch in Boston
I went on the Web to find out about Boston area prep stars that some of you
may find occasion to watch live this winter (what with the trend that they
might declare for the NBA within a few years).
I used to go to the Boston Shootout in the old days, where it was uncommon
to have a top-10 nationally rated player from New England on the court.
But this year, everyone is talking about 6-7 Antione "Twan" Wright,
possibly a top-5 player. He's a 16-year old rising senior at Lawrence Prep
in Groton, MA., playing in the class "c" category of sports (the weakest).
He is actually a boarding student from California who purportedly outscored
Tyson Chandler and defeated his team in a regional Jr HS championship game
out there years ago. In fact, that was the year Chandler got interviewed
for the "60 Minutes" portrait of Sonny Vaccaro (the Nike recruiter).
Anyway below are the names of some players to watch (two are from
Worcester), plus parts of a profile article on Wright from ESPN. He sounds
like he's worth the price of admission. I'm sure you'll see Leo P. at some
of his games.
Have a good weekend. Go you Red Sox!
Joe
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Recruiting USA top 100
5. Antione Wright Guard 6-7 Lawrence Prep (Groton, Mass.)
29. Marshall Strickland Guard 6-2 Winchendon Academy (Winchendon, Mass.)
30. Jarrett Jack Guard 6-3 Worcester Academy (Worcester, Mass.)
43. Torrin Francis Center 6-10 Tabor Academy (Marion, Mass.)
99. Wes Wardrop Guard 6-3 Worcester Academy (Worcester, Mass.)
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ESPN.COM
"The most underrated player in the country"
While many in the media don't know who Antione Wright is, that doesn't mean
that's the case with the college coaches.
"He's the most underrated player in the country," said one Pac-Ten
assistant coach (college coaches aren't allowed to be directly quoted
talking about potential recruits). "Some of these experts don't even have
him in the Top 100, but he's really, really good. He's definitely a Top 25
player without blinking an eye. I think he's a Top 10 talent.
"His skill level for his size is unbelievable," continued the anonymous
Pac-Ten assistant. "He can play 2-3 positions, he plays hard, and he's a
great kid. I think he's another Ray Allen. I liked him before when I saw
him last summer, but he's gotten so much better. I love him."
The West Coast coaches aren't the only ones who have noticed Wright's
improvement.
"He's in the gym all the time, how can you not like that?" said another
anonymous college assistant, this one from the Big 12. "He shoots the
lights out, he doesn't miss. Antione is really athletic, he's got major
skills and he comes to play. He's really aggressive on the boards. He gets
a lot of tip jams.
"Twan's special, he's one of the best players in the country. He's such a
good kid too. I love recruiting a kid like him, he's got a great personality."
"He's a pro," said one ACC assistant. "I loved him last summer at ABCD Camp
and it's like everyone forgot about him, forgot he made the underclass
all-star game at camp. Lawrence is a pretty small place, but Wright's a big
time talent."
Since Lawrence Academy let out on June 8, Wright has been putting in
roughly nine hours of workouts a day, preparing for the NCAA
open-evaluation period, when college coaches decide who they're going to
focus their recruiting on. For an upcoming high school senior ballplayer,
the two weeks in July during the open-period can make or break your
recruiting.
Since returning home to San Bernardino, Wright has spent nearly every
morning from 7-11 a.m. at
the Colton Recreation Center, working with his mentor, Coach Perry, getting
in shots and working on his ballhandling. He spends over two hours at
Riverside City College in the late afternoon, on his own, working on his
conditioning and lifting weights. Then, Perry has the Inland team
practicing daily during the week, from 8-10 p.m. And in between all that
(he shoots at least 700 jumpers per day), Wright squeezes in some pick-up
games. And for most of those hours, Perry, who is known by his nickname,
"Kool-Aid," is right there beside the silky-smooth swingman, motivating
him, correcting him and offering direction.
Much of the media focus at this year's adidas ABCD Camp will be on two
extremely talented swingmen, both considered the best players in their
respective classes, 6-7 rising senior Lenny Cooke (Northern Valley Regional
H.S./Old Tappan, N.J.) and 6-7 wunderkind, rising junior LeBron James (St.
Vincent-St. Mary H.S./Akron, Ohio).
"They're both great players," said Wright of Cooke and James. "They have
Lenny Cooke down as No. 1 and I want to see how I do against him. I'm not
really concerned about it. But, if he's No. 1, that's the guy you want to
measure yourself against. It would be fun to play against both those guys.
Have fun, play hard and see what happens from there."
"Oh, he's going to take ABCD Camp by storm, its no question," said Perry.
"It ain't even an issue. That's my least worry. He's worked too hard and
he's too talented. He can shoot the rock from anywhere, I mean deep range.
But he can also handle the ball good enough to play point. And he's nearly
6-8!
"'Twan has big time athleticism, runs the floor, sees the floor, plays
defense, passes the ball and can play over the rim. He's got no weaknesses."
Wright is equally confident going into what is likely one of the most
important months of his very young existence.
"I worked a lot on my game, I feel the improvement," said Wright. "Lots of
people have commented on my improvement. I feel so much more confident this
year.
"Overall, I've gotten stronger, I jump higher, my handle is tighter, and my
jumper is more consistent. I get a lot more lift on my jump shot, its
falling from deep on a consistent basis and I'm dunking effortlessly. I can
get my whole forearm inside the rim.
"The best thing I do is to create my own shot and play within the offense,
to help my own teammates," Wright said. "I like to penetrate and dish or
penetrate and finish. My defense has improved as well. I know I'm ready."
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