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Trotwood's Wright ready to start over again with Flyers

The 6-foot-8 high school star, whose Rams lost in the regional semis, must work on his shooting.

By Chick Ludwig

Staff Writer

Saturday, March 17, 2007

CINCINNATI — When his tears dried, Trotwood-Madison High School basketball star Chris Wright replaced the pain with perspective.

"It's hard right now because we've lost," Wright said after the Rams' 75-64 defeat to St. Xavier in the Division I boys regional semifinals Thursday. "Once we move on, it's just going to be another piece of the puzzle to our life.

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"I felt my career went well because we accomplished a lot. You always want to finish it off by cutting down the nets at 'The Schott' (OSU's Schottenstein Center). But it just wasn't meant to be."

Denied a return trip to Columbus, Wright looks forward to life as a University of Dayton Flyer.

At 6-foot-8, he's a highlight reel of windmill dunks and soaring rebounds. However, he won't be considered a complete player until he becomes a more consistent shooter.

"He's a great athlete who's going to end up being a really good Division I player," Rams coach Larry Ham said. "But there's some things that Chris has to work on. At the next level, they're going to have all the time and utensils to help him.

"The main thing with Chris is developing that outside shot. He can get a good look. He doesn't have a bad touch. He's just got to start shooting it more and more and more. Inside, once he learns to finish, once he learns that everything isn't necessarily a dunk, that he can get to the basket, post up, pump fake, go up-and-under and shoot layups, he's going to be fine."

Ham said Wright reminds him of several great players he used to coach at Springfield South — dunking like Elgrace Wilborn and running the floor like Nate Miller and Tony Brown.

"If he had Ivan Harris' outside touch," Ham said of the Ohio State senior, "I'd be really happy."

UD assistant Reggie Rankin calls Wright "a special talent and super young man. So we're getting the total package.

"He'll be a tremendous small forward for us. He's so versatile. The great thing about Chris is you just put him on the floor and he does great things with his effort and energy. So we're excited."

So is Wright.

"I have to work on everything because college is completely different," he said. "I have to go in with the mind-set that it all starts over again."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com