McKinley Wright, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior guard from Champlin Park (MN) High, is one of the state’s top player in the Class of 2017. Wright helped lead the Rebels to a 6-0 mark in the Minnesota Golden Gopher team camp this past weekend.
Wright averaged a team-best 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this year for the Rebels. He scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games with 13 games of more than 20 points, including a season-best 29 points versus Eden Prairie.
Wright has offers from Minnesota, Dayton, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Xavier, Sam Houston State, Illinois and Creighton.
Wright attended the Minnesota games versus Nebraska-Omaha and Clemson this past year.
Wright is off to a great start with D1 Minnesota this spring, leading them to a 20-1 mark so far this year.
Wright caught up with Gopher Hole at the Minnesota team camp to talk about the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You visited Minnesota recently on an unofficial visit. What was that experience like?
McKinley Wright: It was great experience. I got to learn more about the program that I didn’t know. I learned about, they are building a new facility. I learned about some incoming players that they have coming in. Other than that, I pretty much know the whole team, so it went well.
Gopher Hole: I think that you also visited Iowa State, too?
McKinley Wright: The Iowa State visit got cancelled. They had a former player pass away and the players went to his funeral, so I am just rescheduling for an official in August.
Gopher Hole: Any other visits that you are planning on making?
McKinley Wright: I went to Dayton two weekends ago and it was a really good experience down there. I got to get some shots up and I learned about the facilities, the program. They have been in the NCAA Tournament the last four years, I believe, and they just got another commit from Kostas Antetokounmpo (younger brother of Milwaukee Buck star Giannis). They are heading in the right direction, so I enjoyed my visit there, too.
Gopher Hole: Have you started to think about narrowing down your list of schools yet or are you still looking at other schools?
McKinley Wright: I am going to start narrowing it down at the end of July right after our last AAU tournament.
Gopher Hole: You have a couple of big AAU tournaments in July. How pleased are you with how well you have been playing so far?
McKinley Wright: You know, we are playing really well. I think that we are the best team in the country. It doesn’t just show up on paper. We are proving it on the court, too. I am excited. We have a lot of talent. We are deep. We have got eight players that everybody can go. There is not one players who is just been out there sluggish. Everybody is going to go. We have a lot of talent. I’m excited.
Gopher Hole: You are playing here at the team camp. Have you had a chance to do much lately before this event?
McKinley Wright: Not really. We have morning workouts, but that is only going to be for two weeks. We are starting to get familiar with each other.
Gopher Hole: When you finally do pick a school, what are going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over School B or C?
McKinley Wright: I just want to have a good relationship with my coaches. Somewhere where I am going to play and play a lot. I will have to earn the minutes, but a school that I am going to play a lot. A school that is headed in the right direction. That is winning. I am trying to do that.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to maybe have a chance to play for the hometown school?
McKinley Wright: That’s big. I like it here in Minnesota. I wouldn’t mind playing here, but at the end of the day, it’s about what is best for me, so I’m not sure where that will be yet.