Wright on brink of big decision
Versatile Albany Academy star weighs college vs. prep school choice
ALBANY, N.Y. >> The world inside Siena’s ARC gym was quiet and secluded as Hameir Wright lounged near the stowed away bleachers, waiting for Siena’s volleyball team to finish practice.
Wright, one of the nation’s top basketball recruits, was three days away from playing what might be his final game at Albany Academy.
Coaches from Syracuse, Villanova, Maryland and many more have made their way into prominent parts of his everyday life. It’s not the norm for players at Albany Academy, but it’s become the norm for Wright.
He made a decision before this season started that he would go to prep school, and not college, following graduation. It would allow Wright to focus on making a choice once the season ended. He wouldn’t be rushed into any decision that he wasn’t ready to make.
But with just a few days remaining in his high school career, the time for decisions have become unavoidable. And as much as he’s just one of the guys in a secluded Siena gym, the outside world waits on his every word.
“I’m looking at things from a very different perspective now,” Wright said. “Looking a lot more into the college game. Asking friends of mine who have already made their decision on how to make me make the best fit for myself.”
Wright is the No. 27 recruit in the 2018 ESPN Top 100. He was just named New York’s Gatorade Player of the Year. All that said, his position on ESPN’s list is fairly unique. The only commitment that he’s made is to play at Brewster Academy next year, but because he’s graduating from high school in 2017, he could theoretically sign a Letter of Intent and forego the year of prep school.
It’s a possibility that he’s far from ruled out. He’s gotten tons of attention from Mike Hopkins when he was at Syracuse, Cliff Warren at Maryland, Mike Garland at Michigan State, and schools like UCLA and UConn have come knocking as well.
“If I feel that I’m ready mentally, physically and the feeling that I get is so overwhelming that I would accept a scholarship and leave,” Wright said, “then that’s what I’ll do. If not, I’ll just carry on as planned.”
His 16.8 points per game aren’t eye-popping at Albany Academy. But his 6-foot-7 frame with shooting ability is impressive. He can play basically any
position on the court and has been triple-teamed by opponents much of the season.
Wright is used to the attention, coming at him from every which way. If he feels he’s ready and the right offer or situation arises, there’s no telling if Wright will indeed reclassify to 2018.
“You couldn’t tell LeBron he had a position,” point guard Will Bennett said. “I think some games he likes playing the one and some games he likes playing the four or the three, and I like to think that’s how ( Wright) approaches it. ... He supplies a great threat.”
Albany head coach Brian Fruscio made it clear that the Albany Academy season wasn’t ever compromised at the benefit of Wright’s career. He sacrifices some of his scoring to
help his teammates, who are less the focus of opposition’s defense.
On Wright’s AAU team, the Albany City Rocks, he plays with kids who also highly rated prospects. The only two players who averaged higher point totals than him have committed to Northwestern and North Carolina, respectively. The decision for him to play at a prep school was never because Wright didn’t feel he was ready, it was because he “felt rushed” and didn’t have a bead on any one school.
“It’s about his senior year,” Fruscio said. “It’s about the last time that he’ll sleep in his bed at home when he goes to school. I think for him, it’s very special. People have been very good to him. And he’s been a very good teammate. ... I don’t think he knew what he wanted
to do.”
On Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Glens Falls Civic Center, Wright might take the court for the final time playing for a coach and a school that helped mold him into a highly-rated superstar he’s become. The Cadets (15-5) will play Irondequoit, a team that is 25-1. If they win, there’s a game on Sunday. And then that will be Wright’s final game.
Regardless of how his team does this weekend, or if he has one or two games left to play, a decision for “Wright is looming. He’s only going to be the prospect for so much longer.
You get different feelings from different colleges, and I don’t really know if they’re good or bad at this point,” Wright said. “... It’s going to come down to how I feel, and if the feeling is organic.”