Julian Wright

For academic of the same name, see Julian Wright (academic).

Julian Wright

Austin Toros
Forward/Guard
Personal information
Born	May 20, 1987 (1987-05-20) Chicago Heights, Illinois
Nationality	American
High school	Homewood-Flossmor, Flossmoor, Illinois
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
College	Kansas
NBA Draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the New Orleans Hornets
Pro career	2007–present
Career history
New Orleans Hornets (2007-2010) Toronto Raptors (2010-2011) Austin Toros (2012-present)
Stats at NBA.com

Julian Emil-Jamaal Wright (born May 20, 1987, in Chicago Heights, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the University of Kansas.

High school career

Julian Wright played competitive basketball at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois. There he led the Vikings to second place in the IHSA state AA tournament his junior year, losing to Peoria Central in the championship game, who were led by future NBA player Shaun Livingston. In 2005 he was selected to the McDonald's All-American team, and he was rated among the top ten basketball players in his class by several recruiting services) due to his talent and versatility. At 6'8" and 225 lb (102 kg), Wright combines good size with excellent athleticism and skills, which allowed him to play numerous positions in high school, including point guard, small forward, and power forward.

College career

Wright entered the 2005–2006 NCAA season for the Kansas Jayhawks as the pre-season freshman of the year in the Big 12 Conference. Though he did not start at the beginning of the season, he quickly played his way into the starting power forward slot. His superior athleticism often allowed him to score baskets simply by virtue of his having beaten the defense down the court. A highlight of his freshman campaign may have been against the University of Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game when he put an exclamation mark on KU's win with two magnificent breakaway slam dunks in the closing minutes of the game. During his freshman season, Wright averaged 8.5 points per game, but he was praised more for his ability to help his team without scoring. He was named to the All-Big 12 Tournament Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team along with fellow Kansas freshmen Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers. During the 2007 Tournament, he was again placed on the All-Tournament Team. Wright garnered national attention for a 33 point performance against the Missouri Tigers.

For his play during the 2006–2007 season, Wright was named a third team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-America Team.

Despite statements to the contrary, on Monday, April 9, 2007, Wright announced that he was making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. He hired an agent, making him ineligible to return to school prior to the draft.

Professional career

Wright was selected as the 13th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets. In his rookie season in the NBA, Wright has averaged 3.9 points a game and 2.1 rebounds a game. On October 26, 2009 the Hornets picked up the option on Wright's contract for the 2010–11 season. Wright is represented by Rob Pelinka.

On August 11, 2010, Wright was traded to the Toronto Raptors for Marco Belinelli.

Wright signed with the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League in February 2012.

Personal

Wright is known for his interest in bowling. His hometown is Chicago Heights, IL and he attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School class of 2005.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	New Orleans	57	1	11.2	.533	.417	.635	2.1	.7	.5	.2	3.9
2008–09	New Orleans	54	19	14.3	.466	.095	.567	2.8	.8	.6	.3	4.4
2009–10	New Orleans	68	14	12.8	.500	.333	.610	2.1	.6	.4	.3	3.8
2010–11	Toronto Raptors	52	6	14.7	.512	.200	.512	2.3	1.1	.8	.4	3.6
Career		231	40	13.2	.499	.262	.584	2.3	.8	.6	.3	3.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	New Orleans	11	0	11.9	.455	.222	.833	1.6	.5	.9	.1	4.3
2008–09	New Orleans	4	0	8.0	.429	.000	.500	1.5	.5	.0	.2	2.0
Career		15	0	10.9	.451	.222	.700	1.6	.5	.7	.1	3.7

Awards and Highlights

High School

• McDonald's All-American (2005)
• Illinois Mr. Basketball (2005)

NBA

• Led 2008 NBA Playoffs in Steal Pct.

External links

• Julian Wright at NBA.com
• Julian Wright @ Lawrence Journal World
• Julian Wright page at official U. Kansas sports page

Preceded by Shaun Livingston

Illinois Mr. Basketball 2005

Succeeded by Jon Scheyer