Bradley's Wright welcomes reunion

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 21, 2006

YOU DON'T HAVE to convince Lawrence Wright Jr., that life is full of surprises.

Wright, who grew up on Beale Air Force Base in Yuba City found himself being mobbed Sunday afternoon by folks in Peoria, Ill., a town he'd never heard of until two years ago.

"It was kind of overwhelming," said Wright, a senior on the Bradley University team that beat Kansas and Pittsburgh in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. "We got back and were greeted by a thousand fans at the airport.

"Everyone was hugging us, giving us kisses. It was crazy."

Bradley, having advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 51 years, now makes something of a homecoming trip for Wright. The Braves (22-10) play top-seeded Memphis (32-3) Thursday in Oakland, just two victories shy of reaching the Final Four.

Seeded 13th in the Oakland Region, Wright sees no reason he and his teammates should look at Thursday as the end of the line, although a team seeded so low never has reached the Elite Eight. "We're not scared by who we're playing," Wright said. "I think we can go even further."

And Wright believes Oakland fans may embrace the underdog Braves as their own.

"People that aren't even our fans have been cheering for us," he said. "I think it's going to be same out there."

Not that Wright won't have his own personal rooting section at the Arena. His mother and sister are among a sizable throng from Yuba City expected to attend the game, although his dad, a master sergeant in the Air Force, is on temporary duty in France and won't be there.

The fact that Wright is playing for Bradley is evidence that most anything in life is possible. He played basketball and track and field at Wheatland High, where his mother coached the track team and he parlayed his 44-inch vertical leap into nearly a 49-foot triple jump.

During two seasons at Yuba College, he drew the notice of Bradley coach Jim Les, but only through connections.

Les once played for the Sacramento Kings, where he became friends with Doug Cornelius, the coach at Yuba. Cornelius called and Les made the trip to California.

"The first time I saw him I fell in love with him as a player," Les said. "He's just a great young man off the floor, a good student, very respectful."

Wright's only other Division I scholarship offer came from Sacramento State. Bradley? "I had no clue where it was," Wright said.

That's OK. Les confessed that without his connection to Cornelius, he likely never would have come across Wright, either.

A 6-foot-4 forward with a 7-foot wingspan, Wright earned a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Bench team last season. His statistical contributions have been steady for two years -- about 10 points and 51/2 rebounds per game.

"I never had any doubts when I was coming here," Wright said.

But even he probably didn't imagine all this.

A RARE MEETING: UCLA (29-6) and Gonzaga (29-3) -- who meet in Thursday's late regional semifinal game at Oakland -- have played just once, and Bulldogs coach Mark Few laughed when asked if he has tried to schedule non-conference games with the Bruins.

"That's absolutely impossible with Ben," he said of Bruins coach Ben Howland. "Just look at his history of non-league scheduling, including at Pittsburgh and Northern Arizona.

"Fortunately for UCLA fans, Mr. Guerrero's in charge of their non- league scheduling," Few continued, referring to UCLA athletic director Daniel Guerrero. "If Ben ever wrestles that away, you're going to see five Alabama A&Ts and four non-Division I's. There's no greater scheduler out there than Ben Howland."

UCLA's schedule this season included home games against Delaware State, Albany, Coppin State, Wagner and Sacramento State, but also neutral-site matchups with Memphis and Nevada, and a road game at Michigan.

PEORIA EUPHORIA: Jim Les said because there is no professional sports team in Peoria, Ill., and no football at Bradley, the Braves' run into the Sweet 16 has special meaning.

"It's the big show in town, and this success and the stir has energized this whole community," Les said. "Everybody's walking around with a little dip in their hip and puffing out there chest."

Les has history with the school, having played for the Braves before going on to the NBA.

"It's more than, 'Hey, I want to do well just because it's what I do for a living.' I look at it more as a responsibility," he said. "I'm part of the tradition."

Les has become the answer to an NCAA trivia question as only the sixth man to lead his team in scoring in a tournament victory, then coach his team to an NCAA triumph.

TIP-INS: Few said he expects his Gonzaga team to be in full health by Thursday, despite the fact that several players, including star junior Adam Morrison, were hit by a flu bug last weekend. Senior Erroll Knight and freshman Larry Gurganious of St. Mary's High in Berkeley both are feeling better, Few said.. ... Memphis coach John Calipari said his Tigers are deeper and more skilled than the 1996 Massachusetts team he guided to a 35-2 record and a spot in the Final Four. But that team was more experienced and had center Marcus Camby, whom Calipari labeled as "one of the top 10 players in the history of college basketball."