“Tremendous” Wright Ensures Cadets Leave O’Connell Victorious
Wright on the Move
January 24, 2004 – Chris Wright displayed his typical offensive
ability tonight, which unfortunately for opponents includes getting to
the rim, pulling up for jumpers, and directing traffic from his lead guard
position. His statistical output of 30 point, 3 assists, 6 rebound effort
resulted in St. Johns besting host O’Connell, 56-54. What makes
increases the impressiveness of his performance was that it was done on
an injured ankle.
When asked how he compensated for being injured in such a crucial joint, Chris responded, “Basketball is a game, where you have to be smart. It’s not always where you have to use your speed or quickness; you just have to know how to get to certain angles”. He did admit that the injury provided discomfort, especially “when it got down to the fourth (quarter) and overtime, but I had to do what I had to do - stick it out and get the win”.
During the second quarter, Chris displayed to show all in attendance he would put in work so-to-speak. With his team down 23-11, Wright led an 18-0 run, which included getting to the free throw line and converting, sinking the 3-ball as well as knocking down pull up jumpers, and hitting a buzzer beater before intermission. That last shot gave the Cadets of St. Johns a 29-23 lead.
That type of barrage despite his injury did not surprise Paul DeStefano, St. John’s 10th year coach (30th overall). “I don’t know if he’s 100%” said DeStefano, “but Chris Wright at 75 or 80% is pretty darn good”. He later responded “Without a doubt”, after being asked if the young man was one of the best players he ever coached. “He’s tremendous” added St. John’s coach. “He’s a tremendous competitor, tremendous leader, and a tremendous kid”.
Assisting Wright in the scoring department was Mihai Petcu with 10 points, along with Vlad Molodoveanu, who supplied seven. Not be forgotten were the five points supplied by Paul Orange.
From an O’Connell standpoint, Jason Colenda supplied a team high eight points, while fellow backcourt mate Jason Clark manned the point guard position, chipping in 11 points. Rockwell Moody supplied 10 points for the Knights. Following the game, Clark felt his team could have garnered the victory, as they “played hard. We came out and had them, but they played harder at the end”.
The second half did heat up, with the each team holding a lead that never surpassed three points. Fittingly, fans in attendance would be treated to an overtime session. Yesterday evening, the best entertainment bang for the buck in Arlington, VA, was unquestionably this contest.
With the score set at 47-47, O’Connell started the extra period in a decidedly methodic fashion; they would pass the ball at least six to seven times, very non-hurriedly. This tactic is part of the O’Connell offensive philosophy, and they use it very liberally.
In part because of the Knight’s strategy, and in part due to the inspired defensive effort of both team’s players, St. Johns only led by three – 51-47 – by overtime’s 1:27 mark. After a Knight scored, they immediately trapped, leading to a Cadet turnover (they had trapped Wright and others, all night long). DeStefano revealed after the game that “we were prepared for it (the trap), but it is easier to prepare for it in practice when there are no fans cheering, and there are no referees, and it’s not a game situation”. Other than a few possessions, he felt they “did a very good job” of handling O’Connell’s open court pressure.
The final 44.9 seconds were more than memorable. Clark scored three points the old fashioned way, as he was fouled driving to the hoop, making the shot and his free throw after being fouled. After O’Connell’s Colenda hit a pull up, the score stood as a 55-54 St. Johns advantage, in part due to big foul shots converted by Petcu and Wright.
Wright then broke full court pressure and sent a nifty diagonal pass to Aaron Richardson (1 point) on the baseline, the latter alertly dribbling away from the basket and eventually passing the ball back out to Orange, who was fouled. After making one and thereby lifting the Cadet’s advantage to 56-54, the ever-game Colenda came down and launched a shot that unfortunately for him, rimmed in and out. His teammate Clark felt the jumper “was a good shot”, and “just came off. You can’t do anything about that”.
O’Connell’s coach, Joe Wootten opined his team had opportunities to prevail, saying, “I thought down in regulation we had four shots at it to win it, and the ball just didn’t bounce our way. And I thought Colenda’s shot there at the end in overtime, went in and out”. As such, he felt “our kids battled” and “played their tails off”. He then indicated that his team “didn’t box out well”, and consequently were hurt “on the offensive glass”.
Guard Wil Johnson, who scored eight points for O’Connell agreed, stating “In the second half of the second quarter, we didn’t box out, and they killed us on the offensive glass”. This period of time corresponded with the Cadet’s 18-0 run, to finish the first half.
DeStefano was proud of his team’s victory, and output. He would reveal, “These kids are good. These kids are resilient. They have a lot of character. They prepare well, they play hard…It’s one of the most pleasurable teams I’ve ever coached”.
The win brought St. Johns to 7-3 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, and 13-6 overall. O’Connell’s record now stands at 5-6 in the conference, and 10-8 totally. Expect both of these well coached and talented teams to make noise down stretch in the WCAC. Check back with i95Ballerz.com for updates.