It is a changing of the guard in Boulder, or should I say, changing of the point guard. Freshman McKinley Wright originally committed to play for Archie Miller at the University of Dayton. However, when Miller got the head coaching job at the University of Indiana over the Summer, Wright reopened his recruitment.
Tad Boyle had already assembled one of his best recruiting classes in his tenure for 2017. When the 2016-2017 season ended back in March and freshman Bryce Peters transferred out of the program, Boyle had another scholarship at his disposal. Sometimes it can be challenging to find the right player in such a short amount of time with such a limited group to choose from. By the summer, most incoming freshman have committed to their respective schools and may be beginning unofficial team workouts.
Some choose to believe everything happens for a reason, and in this case it seems it certainly holds true. Minnesota’s ‘Mr.Basketball’ in 2017, Wright committed to the Buffs soon thereafter in a visit to Boulder. Upon his arrival on campus, it was pretty clear…this kid could play.
The 2017-2018 Buffs made their “debut” in a preseason trip to Italy back in August. Wright started at point guard over senior Dominique Collier and was one of two players to start all four games along with redshirt-senior guard/forward George King. McKinley also led the team in minutes (25.7/gm), field goal percentage (55%) and assists (3.2).
Yet it wasn’t all roses for the 18 year old. He also led the Buffs in turnovers with 16, averaging four per game. This is to be expected of a young point guard with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders right out of the gate in his career. You can expect those issues to work themselves out as McKinley continues to get acclimated to the college climate and continues learning. He also acknowledges that for the Buffs to have success this season, he can’t play like a freshman.
The Buffs got back on the practice court as the calendar flipped to October. He has only completed 12 official team practices, and just two so far in ‘training camp’. It is still very early on in his process. However, it’s not farfetched to think that Tad Boyle has found his floor general of the future.
