Feb. 7, 2002

Hovering in the paint for the Wildcats is a frontcourt force whose muscular frame makes opponents grimace just by the sheer sight of him. Villanova's 6-7, 215 pound junior forward Ricky Wright, however, was not always the physical presence he today.

"Actually I wasn't tall at all when I first started playing basketball," said Wildcat forward Ricky Wright about his early playing days. "I was a short and skinny kid playing basketball. I didn't really start getting bigger until I got into high school."

Wright hit a growth spurt between his eighth grade and ninth grade years. As he entered Central High School in East Chicago, Ind., his coaches saw the size and raw potential that he possessed.

"I was kind of awkward a little bit getting used to my size," said Wright. "Once I got used to my height, I was able to get my fundamentals and skills down. The coaches were always working with me after practice, and it just happened for me."

Wright's play even early on in his prep career, made coaches around the area and around the nation turn and take notice.

"I used to go all the time to Purdue games when I was in high school because they used to try to recruit a lot of players from my high school and in my region," said Wright. "They used to call me, send me letters and invite me to basketball games. When I first was introduced to that, it was a whole different experience because I got to go to the game and see how the crowd and the fans cheered."

As he continued to develop and receive even more attention, Wright liked what he saw and knew that he had what it takes to play at a level much like the Purdue teams he grew up watching. A foot injury caused him to miss most of his junior season, but he came back even more determined as a senior.

In his final high school campaign, Wright averaged 14.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. He was a member of the Indiana state all-star team, and was ranked among the nation's top 100 players by both the Basketball Times and Hoop Scoop.

Basketball powers such as Purdue, Indiana, Xavier, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan and Villanova came calling for the 6-7 Wright.

"I visited all those schools and the size of the campus really turned me away," said Wright. "I didn't really want to go to a big state school. I wanted to go to a smaller school. When I narrowed it down, it was between Villanova and Xavier. Overall, Villanova was more of a family than a lot of the other schools and that was important to me."

Despite the many offers from around the country, Villanova University was the "Wright" choice for this East Chicago big man. Wright contributed significantly as a freshman in 1999-2000, averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. His turning point came late in the season, when during a three-game Big East stretch, Wright averaged 16.7 points and over nine boards a game against the likes of Rutgers, Syracuse and Seton Hall.

"It was a total learning experience," said Wright. "It was an awakening. When I got here, I didn't think it was going to be that tough. I didn't think the competition was that fierce. I was very optimistic though. I knew I had a lot to learn when I got here. I just took that approach. Even if I didn't get the time that I wanted, I knew I could work hard to succeed because that's what got me here."

As a sophomore last season, Wright's minutes increased as well as his production. He scored in double figures 11 times on the year, and posted averages of 8.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as the `Cats recorded an 18-13 record and just missed out on an NCAA Tournament bid.

Just as he had as a freshman one season earlier, Wright saved his best performances for the end of the season. He scored 21 and 26 points respectively in the final two games of the year, leaving Villanova fans with even higher hopes for Wright heading into 2001-2002.

"At the beginning, I got off to a slow start," said Wright about his sophomore season. "But I watched a lot of tapes and I could see improvement. As the season went on, I just seemed to get better and better. I liked the way I finished the year."

The start of the 2001-2002 season has been bright for first year head coach Jay Wright, Ricky Wright and the rest of the Wildcats. Wright has vaulted his game to the heights of the Big East as well as the nation.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Wright is averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and shooting nearly 72 percent from the field. His field goal percentage ranks him tops in the nation as well as the conference.

Wright's dominance cannot be displayed merely through numbers. He plays much larger that his 6-7 height as he muscles his way to the hoop for scores and rips down rebound after rebound. Heading into the season, the `Cats knew that they needed another scorer to team up with guard Gary Buchanan. It was Wright who has stepped up to the challenge and proven that he surely is the "Wright" man for the job.