Julian Wright

From Hoopedia

Julian Wright (born May 20, 1987) is an American basketball player from Chicago Heights, Illinois. He has recently finished his sophomore year at the University of Kansas and has declared for the NBA Draft.

On June 28, 2007, Wright was taken 13th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets.

High School

Julian Wright played high school basketball at the Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois. In 2005 he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team, and he was rated among the top ten basketball players in his class by several recruiting services) due to his talent and versatility. At 6'8" and 225 lbs, Wright combines good size with excellent athleticism and skills, which allowed him to play numerous positions in high school, including point guard, small forward, and power forward.

College

Wright entered the 2005-2006 NCAA season for the Kansas Jayhawks as the pre-season freshman of the year in the Big 12 Conference. Though he didn't start at the beginning of the season, he quickly played his way into the starting power forward slot. His superior athleticism often allowed him to score baskets simply by virtue of his having beaten the defense down the court. A highlight of his freshman campaign may have been against the University of Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game when he put an exclamation mark on KU's win with two magnificent breakaway slam dunks in the closing minutes of the game. During his freshman season, Wright averaged 8.5 points per game, but he was praised more for his ability to help his team without scoring. He was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team along with fellow Kansas freshmen Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers. In 2007, he was again placed on the All-Tournament Team. Wright recently garnered national attention for a 33 point performance against the Missouri Tigers, highlighted by an emphatic dunk over Missouri's Kalen Grimes. Wright is also known to love bowling, which he does at the Jaybowl in the Kansas Union.

For his play during the 2006-2007 season, Wright was named a third team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-America Team.

Despite statements to the contrary, on Monday, April 9, 2007, Wright announced that he was making himself eligible for the 2007 NBA draft. He hired an agent, making him ineligible to return to school prior to the draft.