The Wright Stuff

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

KANSAN FILE PHOTO

The awards keep rolling in for this year’s team, and Julian Wright has been the big winner so far for the Jayhawks.

The sophomore forward was named All-Big 12 first team by both the Big 12 coaches and The Associated Press. He also was named the co-Big 12 Player of the Week.

“He changes how teams have to play us,” coach Bill Self said. “For a guy at his size to get 13 rebounds in a big game, it’s very valuable. It’s good to see that a guy can do so many things to impact a game and it not necessarily be all about points.”

Wright averaged 8.1 rebounds per game during the season, the most on the team.

But he can make baskets, too. He scored a career-high 33 points against Missouri and 21 points when the Jayhawks defeated then-No. 1 Florida in Las Vegas.

“The Florida game may have spoiled us into thinking he should be doing those things on a consistent basis,” Self said. “That’s like saying Kevin Durant should be scoring 20 points every 12 minutes.”

Wright shared the Big 12 Player of the Week award with Durant, a freshman at Texas. Wright was commended for his defensive work; he shut down Durant in the second half of their game with simple one-on-one defense a majority of the time. In addition, he provided the game-winning defensive play by blocking a Texas three-pointer in the final seconds.

Teammate Russell Robinson said he was impressed by Wright’s performance on the boards during that game.

“The most impressive thing to me about Julian is his rebounding,” he said. “He’s a hard worker and a great player.”

When asked about the award, Wright made sure to acknowledge his teammates, and said that the team had bigger goals than just individual honors and conference championships.

pullquote

The Florida game may have spoiled us into thinking he should be doing those things on a consistent basis.

-coach Bill Self

He also didn’t address the possibility that he could leave for the NBA at the end of the season, saying he refused to think about it at this time.

“Nobody should be thinking about that,” he said. “This is what we’ve been practicing for, so if you’re thinking about that, it’s not going to be very good for the team.”

On a team that seems to find a new superstar every night, Wright has provided a consistent presence for the Jayhawks. His rebounds and points are impressive, but he also leads the team in blocks and is ranked third in steals.

“I feel like I can be a major contributor during any stretch of the game in any statistical category,” he said.

Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.

— Edited by Darla Slipke

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