March Madness was set up for the ultimate religious battle, as Moses (Wright) was set up to face Sister Jean in the first round of the men’s basketball national tournament. While he unfortunately could not play in the game for Georgia Tech due to COVID-19 complications, that does not hide the legacy of Moses Wright.
Wright had a very intriguing path to winning ACC Player of the Year. Wright had never even played competitive basketball until his senior year of high school, and at 6 feet, 9 inches, 230 pounds, his high school coach was probably thrilled when he joined the team. However, even with such a size advantage, Wright was still considered a 0 star recruit due to his inexperience. Wright only had two offers to play at the college level.
Wright had an offer to play at Catawba College, a division two college out of North Carolina. Instead of going there to be a for sure starter, Wright decided to play at the only other college to even give him an offer, The Georgia Institute of Technology.
Wright began his career as a backup, which was to be expected. He played the role of a sixth man through his sophomore year as a guard. However, as a junior he became the starting center, a drastic change from the guard position he had become accustomed to. However, it turned out to be a tremendous swap.
His junior year, Wright’s shooting percentage went up 8%, and his rebound count doubled. Wright proved his junior year that he deserved to be recruited by Georgia Tech, and his senior year he entered his name into the NBA Draft conversation. Wright shot 41% from the three point line, which is great for any position, but especially for a center. He had some remarkable stats, averaging 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game. These stats earned him ACC Player of the Year, one of the most prestigious college basketball awards.
March Madness is always full of underdog and Cinderella stories. This year, Wright might be one of the most intriguing. He has only played competitive basketball for five years, and has only played the center position for two years. He was almost not given a chance out of high school to continue his basketball career, and honestly, the idea of trying to go play division one basketball as a zero star recruit is extremely gutsy. I imagine Wright would have only one thing to say to the doubters; hold my player of the year award.
