Early Years
Wright was born in West Covina, California to Wanda Wright.
Wright attended the Lawrence Academy prep school in Groton, Massachusetts, where in his three seasons he started 115 games and amassed 1800 points, 500 rebounds, 350 assists, 170 steals and 200 blocked shots. His career single game highs were 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists.
As a sophomore (1999–2000), Wright averaged 20 points per game, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, helping his school to a 15-12 record and earning him All-ISL and team MVP honors. The following year, his junior season, the team improved to a 23-2 record and Number 11 state ranking behind Wright's average 23.0 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. He was named MVP of the 2001 playoffs and earned All-ISL and All-Scholastic honors.
In his senior year, Wright, who averaged 26.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, was again named the MVP of the playoffs and earning All-ISL and All-Scholastic rankings as his team reached a Number 7 state ranking. Wright was named the Number 1 prep shooting guard in the country by ESPN.com, who also ranked him the Number 4 overall prospect. He was also named third-team Parade All-American. He was also dismissed from the High School months before graduating for disciplinary reasons.
Wright joined the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team in 2002, with the team earning a bronze medal for their 4-1 record and wright averaged 6.8 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and a team second best 2.4 steals per game. The medal qualified the team for a berth in the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships. He recorded tournaments bests of 10 points in the USA's preliminary round victory over the Dominican Republic and seven rebounds in their semifinal loss to Venezuela.
Wright was heavily recruited, entertaining scholarship offers from schools including Arizona, Maryland, Connecticut, UNC, Texas and Arizona State University. He chose to attend Texas A&M University and play under coach Melvin Watkins, primarily to show his loyalty to the coaching staff who had noticed him long before the other schools began wooing him.
Read more about this topic: Antoine Wright
Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)