R-E-L-A-X.
Over the past few days, Georgetown fans online have been talking up McKinley Wright IV. Wright is the senior point guard for the Colorado Buffaloes, Georgetown’s first round opponent in the NCAA Tournament. By the sound of things, fans have talked themselves into believing he was a snub for a National Player of the Year candidate. Online, there’s a contingent of Hoya fans who are petrified that he’s going to light up the Hoyas and send them back home before they have a chance to unpack in Indianapolis.
Is Wright a good player? Yes. He’ll light up Lithuania in a year or so.
Is he worth working ourselves up into a tizzy about? No.
I’ve watched the tape, looked at the stats, and I’ve put together a brief scouting report. Wright is a high usage player: when he’s on the court, he takes 25.2% of the Buffs’ shots. He’s a true point guard, and he excels in both facilitation and scoring. Wright has good court vision, and he’s able to use that to help with both passing and in getting in position for rebounds, despite his six foot frame.
He’s a paradox in some ways, because while he feels like a ball hog, he can also rack up assists. I hate to mention the name, but he looks a lot like what James Akinjo would’ve looked like as a senior: a quick point guard who looks to score first but has facilitation ability.
McKinley Wright reminds me of a Zegarowski-type player. Patrick Ewing and the Hoyas seem to agree with this assessment, saying in Tuesday’s press availability that Colorado was very similar to Creighton. In addition, Ewing said that Wright “is a dynamic young man, he can score at all levels. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but we faced some good guards in our own conference.”
Both Wright and Zegarowski have similar stats this season: Zegarowski has a statline of 15.5 pts/3.7 reb/4.3 ast/46.1% FG on the season, while Wright has a statline of 15.5 pts/4.3 reb/5.6 ast/48.4% FG this season. The numbers are very similar, although there are some slight differences in playstyle.
The big difference is that Zegarowski is better at shooting from three and is more willing to let it fly. Wright averages 31% from three on 2.9 attempts per game, while Zegarowski shoots 41.2% from three on 6.5 attempts per game.
Where Wright shines though is that he has the strength and physicality to body defenders, which Zegarowski doesn’t have. He relies more on the midrange game and settles for jumpers
He seems to be a fan of taking tough shots, particularly contested midrange shots and driving to the rim on runners instead of getting all the way there and finishing through contact. The thing with Wright is, he can make those tough shots. On a day where he might be overmatched physically in the paint and midrange shots aren’t falling, Wright will struggle mightily on offense. That would spell doom for the Buffs, as his high usage rate would surely sink them if he couldn’t get it done.
In games where Wright has dished out four assists or fewer, Colorado has gone 6-6. It might be more important to shut down the rest of Colorado’s team than Wright himself and reduce his effectiveness as a facilitator. For example, in the Big East Championship game against Creighton, the Hoyas let Zegarowksi get his, but they completely shut down the rest of Creighton. Zegarowski scored 17 points, while the rest of the Bluejays scored 31 points collectively.
Now that we have the scouting report, should we be concerned about Wright? The answer is no. Respect him, yes, but both the fans and the team shouldn’t live in fear of him. The game isn’t going to be Wright on Dante Harris; it’s Georgetown versus Colorado. Wright is weak from three, and if the Hoyas can bring the stifling defense they displayed during the Big East Tournament (especially in the games against Seton Hall and Creighton), the rest of Colorado’s team will be shut down. In addition, Qudus Wahab and Jamorko Pickett’s length and physicality should give Wright fits when he attempts to drive inside.
Long story short, Wright is good. He isn’t infallible though, and he’s certainly not the sleeper NPOY candidate some fans have worked him up to be in their minds. At his core, Wright is an above-average point guard, and the Hoyas have faced plenty of those in the Big East already. He’s not significantly better or different than other guards the Hoyas have faced, although I understand that the fear of the unknown is scary, especially when it comes to a single elimination game.
However, it sure seems like the Hoyas have confidence in Dante Harris after the Big East Tournament, as do I.
You can respect McKinley Wright IV, but don’t fall for the inflated hype.
