NEW YORK -- Georgetown freshman guard Chris Wright made his long-awaited Big East debut Thursday against Villanova, returning from a nagging foot injury that has kept him sidelined since before New Year's to give John Thompson III a major bump in backcourt depth and talent.
"It was good just to see him out there," said Georgetown junior guard Jessie Sapp (career-high 23 points). "I think he's going to make us all better basketball players. He actually got me started today."
Wright entered the game with 13:41 remaining in the first half and the Hoyas leading 14-10, and it took the 6-foot-1 McDonald's All-American from Bowie exactly seven seconds to notch his first Big East assist on a drive-and-kick that Sapp converted into the first of his career-high six triples. Wright scored his first points in league play on a 3-pointer from the right wing that put the Hoyas ahead 34-19 with 4:02 remaining in the first half and finished with six points, four assists and no turnovers in 15 minutes.
"I was just excited to finally get out there," said Wright, who was averaging nearly 18 minutes per game during Georgetown's non-conference schedule before aggravating his foot in practice prior to Georgetown's Big East opener at Rutgers (Jan. 5). "My foot feels fine."
Wright's return can't be underestimated.
* His presence gives coach John Thompson III the option to run against smaller, more athletic teams by giving him his best up-tempo backcourt option. It's no coincidence the Hoyas scored 82 points yesterday, the team's second-highest total against a Big East team this season.
* His availability gives Thompson another ball-handler against the press and pushes sophomore Jeremiah Rivers back a slot in the rotation. Rivers is an excellent defender but a massive liability on the offensive end. Once again, it's no coincidence that Rivers' minutes dropped precipitously in yesterday's game, in spite of the fact that it was a guard-centric affair. Rivers had been averaging over 19 minutes in Big East games but played just 10 against the Wildcats. With Wright as the team's third ball-handler, Rivers can return to his role as a lockdown defensive specialist.
* Finally, Wright gives the Hoyas their best dribble-drive option against zone defenses, an element to their attack which has been sorely lacking throughout the season. At least three times during yesterday's game, Wright knifed into the Villanova defense, beat his man, drew help and whipped a pass to an open teammate for an open look. That ability could prove invaluable to the team as the postseason progresses.
"We've missed him," said Thompson. "We've had to adjust and tweak and change a lot of things based on how I had anticipated playing during the course of the year... You saw plenty of flashes earlier this year of how good he can be, and I didn't think he showed many signs of rust out there today."
