Waco, Texas ? As peaceful, soothing entertainment goes, Julian Wright probably isn’t the way to go.
He’s enjoyable to watch, all right. It’s just that in the process he can play pingpong with your emotions. He’ll put the ball behind his back when it really doesn’t need to go there. Just when you’re readying yourself for a jam that will be played on the big-board highlight package, the ball will slip through his hands.
The sophomore forward for Kansas University is sensational, except when he’s awful.
On Wednesday night at Ferrell Center on the campus of Baylor University, Wright started the game in spectacular fashion and finished it not as well, by which time the outcome long since had been decided.
He finished the 82-56 victory over Baylor with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
Four nights earlier, Wright made such poor decisions in a loss at Texas Tech, Kansas coach Bill Self played him only 17 minutes.
“I thought Julian was a big key,” Self said after the Baylor blowout. “I thought Julian really played great in the first half. Julian’s one of those guys who, when he plays well, usually Kansas follows. If you look at our best performances, it’s usually been when he’s played well.”
In the marquee victory of the season, Wright contributed 21 points, 10 rebounds and three steals against Florida.
On the flip side, in KU’s losses to Oral Roberts, DePaul and Texas Tech, Wright played poorly. In those games, he averaged 10 points, shot .419, totaled two assists and 11 turnovers and attempted just eight free throws.
He still looks raw and out-of-control at times. Against Baylor, he came out looking freakishly athletic, with dunks, steals, blocked shots and quick passes.
Wright fell back into his jump-shooting mode in the second half and made one of five shots from the field. Once, when the recipient of a pass near the basket, instead of powering up, he shook his body left, shook it right and attempted a fadeaway jumper. It’s moments like those that he can be a frustrating player.
Wright’s inconsistency as a player is so baffling because he, by all accounts, is a model of consistency off the court, a true gentleman. Wright is polite, has a reputation for being attentive in class and is beloved by pizza delivery men because he tips well. (Teammates need to follow his lead there.)
His enthusiasm for life spills onto the court, sometimes to his detriment.
“My best games are when I play all-around games, focus on making the easier play,” Wright said. “I’m trying to make the simple plays, get back to playing that way.”
His coach gave him a passing grade in that regard Wednesday.
“He was back to being who he is, and that’s a quick-twitch athlete getting his hands on balls and affecting the game in every way, as opposed to just trying to affect it on the perimeter or whatever he sometimes gets focused on,” Self said.
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when Wright is focused. Strange as it sounds, his body movements can be so quick and so unconventional, he can be a tough player to officiate, often being called for traveling on perfectly legal ball moves, such as early in the Texas Tech game. Boring is one thing Wright never is.
