Wright led the University of Dayton to the NCAA tournament and a 27-8 record last season.
He was First Team All-NABC All-District, Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and the MVP of the Chicago Invitational Challenge in 2008-09, his first full season in a Dayton uniform. After missing 19 games with a fractured ankle as a freshman, Wright came back to lead UD in scoring (13.3), rebounding (6.6) free throws made (121), dunks (a school-record 54), double-doubles (6) and SportsCenter Top Ten Plays (3).
The proud owner of a 39.5 inch vertical leap, the high-flying Wright seemed to save his best efforts for the best competition. Three of his six double-doubles came against BCS schools, including 13 & 13 in November against No. 15 Marquette to lead UD to the Chicago Invitational Challenge championship, and a career-high 27 & 10 in the Flyer win over West Virginia in the NCAA tournament.
Wright is the only player named to the list from the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Dayton returns four starters and 10 of its top 11 scorers from last year's 27-8 team that reached the NCAA Second Round.
The Flyer returnees include all four players who earned Atlantic 10 postseason honors in 2008-09: Wright, Marcus Johnson, London Warren and Chris Johnson. Several 2009-2010 preseason polls, including those associated with Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, CBS College Sports.com, NBC Sports.com and The Sporting News.com, already project the Flyers to be ranked next season.
In late December, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list. Wright’s former teammate, Brian Roberts, was named to the Midseason Top 30 List in 2007-08. The midseason announcement will be followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round during the NCAA Tournament.
The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award winner, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 9-11, 2010.
ABOUT THE JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his or her university that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird (’79), Michael Jordan (’84), Tim Duncan (’97), and Blake Griffin (’09). Candace Parker of Tennessee won the Women’s Wooden Award in 2007 and 2008.
Since its inception, the John R. Wooden Award has contributed close to a million dollars to universities’ general scholarship fund in the names of the All-American recipients. The Award has also sent more than 1,000 underprivileged children to week-long college basketball camps in the Award’s name. Additionally, the John R. Wooden Award partners with Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) each year to host the Wooden Award Special Olympics Southern California Basketball Tournament. The day-long tournament, which brings together Special Olympic athletes and the All-Americans, takes place at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on the Friday prior to the John R. Wooden Award Ceremony.