June 27, 2005
Sometime Tuesday night, Antoine Wright likely will become the highest NBA draft pick in Texas A&M history.
Since the end of the college basketball season in March, Wright's status has improved from simply being a top prospect to possibly being the best shooting guard in the 2005 NBA Draft.
Draft analysts predict Wright could go as high as the fifth overall pick and is an almost certain top-14 "lottery" selection.
Tuesday's NBA Draft will be televised live by ESPN starting at 6 p.m. (Central). A&M coach Billy Gillispie will be a guest on ESPNU's draft coverage at 8 p.m. (Central).
A&M has produced only one first-round draft pick in its history. Sonny Parker was drafted by the Golden State Warriors as the 17th selection in 1976. The last A&M player drafted was Winston Crite, who was a third-round pick by the Phoenix Suns in 1987.
After struggling as a sophomore, Wright had an outstanding junior year in leading the Aggies to their best season in more than two decades. He boosted his shooting percentages to 45 percent from 3-point range and 50 percent overall and averaged 17.5 points per game. He continued to turn heads in his pre-draft workouts for various NBA teams.
"When my sophomore year was over and we were getting a new coach, I considered entering the draft or transferring but after meeting with coach Gillispie, I decided to come back to A&M," Wright said. "In our initial meeting, I told him of my desire to enter the draft as soon as possible and coach told me he would help me reach that goal. We've both worked hard to make this happen. He told me that for me to be a first-round draft pick, I had to have a great year and if I had a great year, then we would have a great year as a team.
"Coach Gillispie made a major difference in my life on and off the court," Wright added. "He brings out things in you that you didn't even know you had inside. He wants only the best for his players. If I am a high pick, I'll be living a lifelong dream."
"Our job as educators is to try to put people in a position to live out their dreams and that's what Antoine is doing," Gillispie said. "He's really grown in every aspect in the last year, on and off the court. It's been an honor to coach him and I'm proud to have been a part of it. He has the ability and character that it takes to succeed. He's a special one and we'll miss him as a person as much as a player."