‘It’s all about business’
Fayetteville native John-Michael Wright aims to build off fast start at High Point.
By Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer USA TODAY NETWORK
As stellar as John-Michael Wright was in his freshman season at High Point, the Fayetteville native remains focused on making the sequel better than the original.
Over the course of his rookie campaign on the court for the Panthers, Wright says he would oftengointopractices“jokingly” or “not as serious as I should’ve been.”
That won't be the case this season.
“One of the biggest differences is really just my mindset when it comes to practice and just trying to prepare for the gamesthatarecomingup,”said Wright, who was the first freshman in program history to start all 32 games for the Panthers.
“. … This year, it’s all about business because what happened last year, we don’t want that to happen again. For me, it’s just been me getting myself mentally prepared to go hard every day in practice, just put it all on the line on the court.”
Looking to help the Panthers bounce back from a 9-23 season, Wright was selected as a preseason All-Big South secondteam choice on Tuesday. High Point was predicted to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
“I was pretty excited when I saw my name on the all-conference team,” said Wright, who was on the all-freshman team last season after averaging a team-best 32.5 minutes per game while leading the Panthers in scoring at 14.2 points per contest.
“It’sreallyanhonortoberecognized by the Big South.”
After leading Fayetteville Academy to the NCISAA 2-A state title in 2019, Wright carried that success with him to High Point and tied for the second- highest scoring average by a freshman in the program's NCAA Division I era.
This offseason, Wright has worked on improving as an “impact” defender and “playing freely” on the offensive end.
“I want to be a guy that’s everywhere all the time,” he added.
In arguably his top performance of his freshman season, Wright finished with 30 points in a 62-57 victory at Campbell. He scored 23 points in the final 20 minutes to outscore the Camels by four points at Gore Arena.
“One of the biggest changes a player makes is between his freshman and sophomore year. … It’s all about attitude, effort, energy. John-Michael’s always brought that from day one,” said High Point coach Tubby Smith.
“He was one of our leaders as a freshman. He’s gifted and talented athletically, and he’s talented as a leader.”
Wright took that to heart in August when he was asked to be a part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches player coalition, which will provide feedback on a variety of issues in college basketball.
“It’s not just one-sided,” Wrightsaid.“.…It’sjustagreat opportunity for me and the people on the board to be a voice forcollegebasketballplayers.”
Wright is one of three players representing North Carolina on the coalition roster. Duke’s Wendell Moore, a Charlotte native, and UNC forward Armando Bacot also are among the 11 members.
“The players look up to him and they respect not just his ability to play a basketball game or his knowledge of the game, but his willingness to set an exampleeverydayinpractice,” Smith said of Wright.
“I expect him to pick up where he left off last year and be even better. We’re going to need him to lead us in a lot of ways, not just statistically but also from a leadership standpoint.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright said “it’s kindofhardtogetinarhythm” on the court ahead of what is expected to be an unusual 2020-21 season.
With “more rules” and “always carrying a mask” on his mind, Wright has tried to focus on what he can control.
“It’s different but I’m handling it pretty well,” he said. “. ... I think I’m prepared for the season coming up, mentally and physically.” Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
Fayetteville native John-Michael Wright aims to build off fast start at High Point.
By Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer USA TODAY NETWORK
As stellar as John-Michael Wright was in his freshman season at High Point, the Fayetteville native remains focused on making the sequel better than the original.
Over the course of his rookie campaign on the court for the Panthers, Wright says he would oftengointopractices“jokingly” or “not as serious as I should’ve been.”
That won't be the case this season.
“One of the biggest differences is really just my mindset when it comes to practice and just trying to prepare for the gamesthatarecomingup,”said Wright, who was the first freshman in program history to start all 32 games for the Panthers.
“. … This year, it’s all about business because what happened last year, we don’t want that to happen again. For me, it’s just been me getting myself mentally prepared to go hard every day in practice, just put it all on the line on the court.”
Looking to help the Panthers bounce back from a 9-23 season, Wright was selected as a preseason All-Big South secondteam choice on Tuesday. High Point was predicted to finish seventh in the preseason poll.
“I was pretty excited when I saw my name on the all-conference team,” said Wright, who was on the all-freshman team last season after averaging a team-best 32.5 minutes per game while leading the Panthers in scoring at 14.2 points per contest.
“It’sreallyanhonortoberecognized by the Big South.”
After leading Fayetteville Academy to the NCISAA 2-A state title in 2019, Wright carried that success with him to High Point and tied for the second- highest scoring average by a freshman in the program's NCAA Division I era.
This offseason, Wright has worked on improving as an “impact” defender and “playing freely” on the offensive end.
“I want to be a guy that’s everywhere all the time,” he added.
In arguably his top performance of his freshman season, Wright finished with 30 points in a 62-57 victory at Campbell. He scored 23 points in the final 20 minutes to outscore the Camels by four points at Gore Arena.
“One of the biggest changes a player makes is between his freshman and sophomore year. … It’s all about attitude, effort, energy. John-Michael’s always brought that from day one,” said High Point coach Tubby Smith.
“He was one of our leaders as a freshman. He’s gifted and talented athletically, and he’s talented as a leader.”
Wright took that to heart in August when he was asked to be a part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches player coalition, which will provide feedback on a variety of issues in college basketball.
“It’s not just one-sided,” Wrightsaid.“.…It’sjustagreat opportunity for me and the people on the board to be a voice forcollegebasketballplayers.”
Wright is one of three players representing North Carolina on the coalition roster. Duke’s Wendell Moore, a Charlotte native, and UNC forward Armando Bacot also are among the 11 members.
“The players look up to him and they respect not just his ability to play a basketball game or his knowledge of the game, but his willingness to set an exampleeverydayinpractice,” Smith said of Wright.
“I expect him to pick up where he left off last year and be even better. We’re going to need him to lead us in a lot of ways, not just statistically but also from a leadership standpoint.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright said “it’s kindofhardtogetinarhythm” on the court ahead of what is expected to be an unusual 2020-21 season.
With “more rules” and “always carrying a mask” on his mind, Wright has tried to focus on what he can control.
“It’s different but I’m handling it pretty well,” he said. “. ... I think I’m prepared for the season coming up, mentally and physically.” Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
