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New Orleans ­— Julian Wright brakes his sleek black 2008 Nissan Armada to a stop at the security gate of an upscale New Orleans suburb. The woman in the booth knows him by name. He smiles, says hello and the crossbar rises. He steers past two-story red-brick and stone houses with lush green lawns dotted with palm trees, turns through a black iron gate and stops in the driveway. A “Welcome” sign greets him at the front door as he steps inside his home.

One year ago, Wright was a KU sophomore forward for the men’s basketball team, and his compensation included tuition, a shared room at the Jayhawker Towers and meals. He dined with students at Mrs. E’s cafeteria and the Underground, drove a seven-year-old silver Chrysler Concord and was on pace to graduate in three years.

Today, he is an NBA rookie who has traded in his school books for basketball fulltime as a reserve for the New Orleans Hornets. At age 20, he is a multimillionaire who lives a luxurious lifestyle that millions dream about but only a few can live. Wright enjoys owning his own home, competing for an NBA Championship, driving in the fast lane and bowling with teammates. He acknowledges his good fortune and knows he must manage his money wisely. He wants to give back both to his family who supported him and to those who are less fortunate. And, at the same time former teammates Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers ponder whether to join him in the NBA, Wright looks forward to returning to Kansas to complete some unfinished business.

Home life

Wright lives in his own stylish house in English Turn, an elite residential community in south New Orleans, where homes start at $400,000 and can cost well more than $1 million. Wright said he wanted to live far from downtown to avoid distractions so he could focus on basketball.

“It’s a good feeling to make decisions on your own,” Wright said. “That’s part of becoming a man.”

Most of his family has relocated from Chicago to be with him, although, his father, Paul Vinson, still lives in Chicago and works as a postal worker. Julian’s older brother, Andre, 26, lives with him. He cooks, cleans and takes care of Julian’s errands when he’s on the road. Their mother, Gina Wright, quit her job at an ad agency in Chicago and now lives nearby in the same subdivision in a house Julian bought her as a gift for raising him.

“A lot of hard work has paid off,” he said. “It was a no-brainer to tend to my mother’s wishes. I’m glad I’ve been able to do that. I can’t take credit for all my successes. It started with her.”

Gina keeps an eye on her sons and enjoys cooking them their favorite spaghetti and chili dinners at Julian’s house. She said they appreciated spending time together because Julian’s travel schedule of 41 road games sometimes made that difficult.

Julian’s life typifies that of an NBA rookie. He owns a nice house, but its rumpled disorder is what you would expect from a 20-year-old college student. He likes to read, write poetry, take long naps, play on his computer and shop online for shoes, especially Nike Fusions, like the white and blue ones on his feet. At 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Wright needs ample room and food, and he has both. His fridge is completely full. Three gallon-jugs of milk, two dozen eggs, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, meats and bread fill the shelves. His diet is a mix of health and junk food. He regularly eats vegetables, potatoes, pasta, seafood, gumbo and jumbalaya, his favorite food. He also drinks plenty of water and Gatorade to keep his body hydrated for grueling NBA practices.

His living room is where he lives like a king and like a kid. A large flat screen Panasonic TV is stationed at the front, where X-Box video games and DVDs spill out from containers. He’s always playing video games, even in his bedroom where another flat screen TV is stationed for games on his Nintendo Wii. A chess set and a pink Barbie book bag lie amid rumpled clothes on the floor. He plays chess with teammates on the plane when he’s flying to road games. And the pink Barbie bag? The veterans made him wear it as part of his rookie duties. His bed is unmade, the peach-colored sheets his mom picked out for him in a wrinkled pile.

On the wall is a poster featuring NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He wants to be an All-Star like them someday. His private bath is dominated by a bathtub/spa below windows that overlook the backyard where he grew oranges last year. Two walk-in closets hold his “shoe shrine” and a stockpile of clothes, including socks, slacks, Yankees hats and a teal and blue Hornets tie and a red and blue Jayhawks tie. He wears the ties on game days as he listens to music. He has 2,000 songs on his iPod.

“I got to have my jams,” he said.

Wright, who grew up listening to and singing R&B and gospel music, sang Eric Benet’s “Want to be Loved” at a Hornets charity function. Someday he hopes to dabble in the music industry, perhaps as a producer. But on this night his biggest concern is watching the Boston Celtics-Houston Rockets game on TV. The Hornets will play the Celtics the following night. He’s been looking forward to this game since he got off work the day before.

At work

It’s a Monday, and inside New Orleans Arena the Chicago Bulls warm up at one end and the Hornets at the other. Wright slaps hands with fans at courtside, as he regularly does before games. Pregame music, Pat Benetar’s “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” blasts from speakers. After the Bulls starters are introduced, the arena lights dim and the court is swallowed by darkness. The Hornets team motto of “Passion, Pride and Purpose” flashes on the video board above mid-court. Four cannons shoot green and blue smoke flares as the Hornets starters are introduced.

Wright isn’t one of them. He has started just once this season. After player introductions, Wright walks to mid-court carrying a microphone and a smile. “How you all doing tonight?” he asks the crowd, who cheer in response. He thanks them for their support and encourages them to stick with the team through the playoffs, which begin this weekend. The Hornets are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. It was the third time Wright was chosen to greet the crowd before a game, which Hornets players often do. He returns to the bench and watches the Bulls jump out to a nine-point lead. The Hornets need a spark, and coach Byron Scott sends Wright into the game. The move pays off.

After a Bulls miss, he grabs the rebound and fires an outlet pass to Chris Paul, the team’s star player, who lobs it to Tyson Chandler for a dunk. The next possession, Wright sinks a shot from just inside the three-point line to give the Hornets a 20-18 lead. The Hornets won the game 108-97. Wright scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, made a dunk and hit a three-pointer in 18 minutes of action. Although he’s had more playing time lately, for most of the season Wright has been a seldom-used bench player. He averages three points and two rebounds a game. He said going from starting at Kansas to bench duty was an adjustment he wasn’t ready for.

“It was a big difference because it can wear and tear on you off the court,” he said.

Because of injuries to All-Star forward David West and improved play from Wright, coach Scott has put him in the lineup more often. Scott said Wright made rookie mistakes on the court, but his progress hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“He’s just going to continue to get better because he’s hungry and he wants to get better,” Scott said.

In the locker room after the game, media surround Chris Paul, who scored 37 points and dished out 13 assists and is a candidate for MVP honors. Two lockers down, a few reporters ask Wright about his improved three-point shooting and Paul’s performance. Wright’s smile, open personality and demeanor have made him a favorite with fans, media and teammates. His high school coach, Roy Condotti, used to call Julian “the Mayor of Flossmoor,” because Julian would stop and talk to everyone on his way to class at Homewood-Flossmoor high school.

“He’s always been the kind of kid everybody was drawn to and that remains constant today,” Condotti said.

Condotti has known Wright since he was in junior high, and they still text message after games. Although Wright averaged only 10 points and six rebounds at KU, his athletic ability and NBA potential had scouts projecting him in the top 10, where a winning lottery ticket awaited him. His father said he wanted Julian to graduate but agreed with his decision to leave, because he would likely be a lottery pick. His high school coach felt the same way.

“When they offer you that kind of money, you have to go,” Condotti said.

Wright missed out on KU’s NCAA Championship season this year, but he flew to San Antonio and watched the championship game and was on the podium when the team received the trophy. He even celebrated with them in the locker room afterward. However, Wright said he had no qualms about leaving school early to go pro.

“I live life,” he said. “You got to make decisions and you can’t have regrets.”

After the media have left the locker room and the cameras and tape recorders are gone, Wright walks down the hall and signs autographs for fans. He signs them for free now, but like for other athletes, someday you’ll have to pay to go get it, he said. A few minutes later, he exits through the player’s entrance and drives away into the darkness. He has dinner plans with his family that night.

The next morning, Wright is up early for practice at the Alario Event Center, the team’s practice facility just outside the city in Westwego, La. As a rookie, he has to bring Krispy Kreme doughnuts to every practice. For the final 20 minutes of practice, he plays a half-court game of 5-on-5. Wright said NBA practices were much more difficult than at KU, and he doubted any NBA team practiced as hard as the Hornets. When practice is done, Wright watches teammates shoot jumpers as Chris Paul records a TV promo for his upcoming summer camp. Paul, one of Wright’s closest friends on the team, called Julian a great teammate who was just beginning to make his own mark on the team.

“I think he’s one of the best examples of how hard work pays off,” Paul said.

Wright, meanwhile, heads to the locker room to shower and change. His work is done for the day. He plays video and arcade games in the player’s lounge, then exits out the back to the player’s parking lot where his SUV is parked.

At play

His freshman year at Kansas, Wright couldn’t afford a car. His sophomore year, he got a used 2000 Chrysler Concord. Now he rides in style in his 2008 Nissan Armada, sticker price $40,000. He turns the key and the sound of Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” thumps through the speakers. “It’s good driving music,” he says. The car is littered with fast food remnants—Popeye’s and Raising Cane’s chicken fingers cups, an empty Gatorade bottle, an energy drink and a Wal-Mart shopping bag.

“I’m still a Wal-Mart boy,” Wright said.

He multitasks as he drives, text messaging and chatting on his two cell phones, sometimes steering with his knees. Wright knows the shortcuts and he’s good at making U-turns. On a narrow two-lane bridge he drives right down the middle of the road because it scares him a little. He usually drives 10 mph over the speed limit and admits he’s been pulled over a few times and gotten tickets.

“I got to learn to just chill out,” Wright said.

Alone in the back seat is a black leather case that holds his four custom-made bowling balls. When he needs to relax, he still enjoys the hobby that he picked up at the Kansas Union.

Just after 1 p.m., he wheels into the parking lot at AMF All-Stars, a popular 64-lane bowling alley in Kenner, La., a suburb north of New Orleans. The employee at the desk recognizes him and asks if he needs shoes. Wright doesn’t. He’s brought his own pair: size 16, tricked out in KU colors, red at the heel, blue in the middle and white at the toe. He walks toward lanes 53 and 54 and exchanges greetings with another employee who knows him.

A woman at a nearby table eating lunch with her family sees him and asks, “Is that Julian Wright?”

Fame follows him to other cities as well, he said. Wright has accepted that for the rest of his life, he would likely be a recognizable face, which makes him enjoy the occasions when he’s not.

“That makes it refreshing,” he said.

Wright sets his four, 15-pound custom-made bowling balls onto the rack. Black, orange, red and blue swirls wrap around the shiny orbs. Each ball is specifically designed for oily surfaces or dry lanes and different hook and spin. He takes bowling seriously. At the electronic scoring machine he types in his nickname “Juju” and prepares to bowl. With his lanky arms and legs swinging into motion, he fires the ball down the lane with speed and power.

Bam!

A perfect strike. Wright claims a 200 average and can show off when he wants to. When the Hornets ballboy and Wright’s teammate Hilton Armstrong arrive, Wright bowls left handed. He even hits strikes bowling between his legs.

“He’s always at the bowling alley,” Armstrong smiles. “That’s just his second thing to do after basketball. I think it might be his first, actually.”

When he’s not at the bowling alley, Wright hangs out with Armstrong, visits the French Quarter or strolls down Decatur and Bourbon Streets to listen to jazz. Sometimes he’ll just go down to the docks to watch the boats come in.

Money matters

As the 13th pick in the NBA Draft last year, Wright was a lottery choice and signed a five-year $10 million contract. This year he is making $1.7 million. That’s $20,731 for each of the 82 games in a season. He and his family are set for life and he understands how lucky he is.

“I’m making a lot more money this time in my life at 20 than most do in their lives,” Wright said.

His agent, Rob Pelinka, who represents other NBA stars including Kobe Bryant, appreciates Wright’s diverse interests and desire to excel on and off the court. He says that he and Wright can have deep conversations about Julian becoming a beast on the court or keep it light when they shoot pool or play ping-pong together. Pelinka won’t discuss the potential for Wright’s next contract but says the Hornets made a wise investment by signing him.

“Julian has an incredibly unique game,” Pelinka said. “He is a flat-out play-maker on both ends of the floor. He is extremely high-energy, very athletic and really competes on every play.”

Wright has taken steps to be wise with his spending. His mother and a financial advisor help him manage his money and both are on Julian’s personal payroll.

Giving back

As a member of the Hornets, Wright is required to be active in team charity work. At the Hornets annual Top Hats and High Tops live auction in March, an autographed Chris Paul All-Star jersey sold for $15,000 and a road trip with the team went for $18,000. But Wright topped those numbers. He and teammate Hilton Armstrong were auctioned off at a bid of $22,000 each to coach two youth basketball clinics.

Despite their success on the court—the Hornets have been at the top of the Western Conference nearly all season—the team has struggled with attendance. Questions about the team’s long-term future in the hurricane-ravaged city have risen, although team owner George Shinn vowed to stay and help.

“We are committed to our long-term success in New Orleans and that commitment includes leaving our legacy in the community,” Shinn said following the auction that raised more than $163,000 for New Orleans charities.

For every home game, Wright and his teammates treat 150 kids to free tickets. Kids get a free T-shirt that has the logo of each player’s designated cheering section. Wright’s group is called the Juju Slam Jam Crew. Wright participated in the team’s Read to Achieve and Hoops for Homes programs this year, but he hopes to give more on his own. He’s in the process of creating his own charity foundation, Jay Midi Inc., named after his high school nickname. Wright wants to put a good share of his money into his foundation. His father, Paul Vinson, said Julian’s compassion for others didn’t come from his mom or his dad.

“It comes from God,” his father said. “I think Ju is a really great person and basketball is one way for him to utilize that.”

While Wright has good intentions, he knows he must guard against people who may pose as his friend but really want to exploit him and use him for their own personal gain.

On guard

Many ask him for small favors, such as pictures and autographs. He said he wasn’t hounded as much as other athletes, but sometimes he felt pressured to comply when he didn’t want to. Wright said he was not immune to being asked for outrageous gifts, including money favors.

“I try to be as giving as possible,” he said. “But I have to make sure I’m smart with my money.”

Wright said the most frequent requests were not for money, but free basketball tickets, which he pays for out of his own pocket. While Wright still keeps in touch with his former KU teammates, he must be careful because even that can cause trouble. NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from accepting free or reduced-cost tickets to professional sporting events unless they are made available to the school’s student body. In January, University of Southern California freshman O.J. Mayo violated NCAA rules by accepting free tickets to a game from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, a friend of Mayo’s.

Brandon Rush could accept tickets from his brother, Kareem, who plays for the Indiana Pacers, but not from Wright, his friend. Wright understands how some may want a personal relationship with him because of his money and thus is wary of romantic relationships. He said he was “happily single” and didn’t want a relationship to distract from basketball.

Unfinished business

His immediate plans include winning an NBA Championship this year, then returning to KU this fall via the Internet. He plans to enroll in online courses and work toward finishing his degree in communication studies. He plans to take campus classes in the summer of 2009 and said he was looking forward to being a KU graduate.

Though Wright has a house and a new life in New Orleans, he thinks of Lawrence as home. Wright spent just two years of his life here, but said he might buy a home in Lawrence like other successful KU athletes had. But for now, he’s happy and content living life in the Big Easy.

“I’ve enjoyed the experience so far,” he said. “It’s been a rocky road, but it’s made me a better person.”

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