Julian Wright (Class of 2005)

If Duke is looking for an athletic wing player to add to their Class of 2005 recruiting class, Julian Wright may very well be the perfect fit. Wright was, in fact, one of the more impressive players that BDP observed during the Boo Williams Invitational. Wright combines tremendous athletic ability with excellent ball-handling skills. The only thing that is questionable about Wright's game is that he has a very suspect perimeter shot. There may also be some questions about Wright's academics.

During the just completed high school season Wright led his Homewood-Flossmoor team to a 30-3 record, which included a runner-up finish in the Illinois Class AA tournament. In fact, Homewood-Flossmoor was defeated by Duke Class of 2004 recruit Shaun Livingston's Peoria Central team in the Class AA Championship game. For the season, Wright averaged 10 PPG, 7 RPG, & 5 APG.

Wright created a little bit of news during the Boo Williams as he announced that he has narrowed his list of schools down to 6 from his previous list of 9 schools. Included among his present list of schools are Duke, Illinois, DePaul, Arizona, Indiana, & Kansas. Eliminated were North Carolina, Texas, & Michigan State.

BDP observed Wright's Illinois Warriors on Friday night against Kevin Love's Oregon Select team. Wright scored 15 points, had 6 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, & blocked 2 shots in the Warriors win over Oregon Select.

Although Julian Wright is listed as 6-8, he appears to be closer to 6-6. Nonetheless, he is an excellent athlete with a wide wingspan, excellent quickness, & very good leaping ability. Wright has an excellent handle & is able to dribble very well with either hand. He also is a very good passer & plays very unselfishly. In one sequence during the Warriors' game against Oregon Select, Wright leaped above a taller Oregon player to tip the rebound to himself & laid the ball back in the basket before coming back down to the floor. Another aspect of Wright's game that is impressive is that he is continually talking to his teammates on the court & also plays with a lot of fire & emotion. Also, his quickness & long wingspan should enable Wright to be an excellent defender in college.

The biggest knock that we had heard about Wright before the Boo Williams was that he had a suspect perimeter shot. Nothing that we saw would make us disagree with that assessment. He needs to work on the mechanics of his shot & also tends to play out of control on ocassion. Finally, as is true of many high school players, Wright needs to work on getting stronger.