WSOU

2021 Pirate Player Preview: Amari Wright

Date: August 11, 2021

By: Jorie Mickens

Seton Hall's Amari Wright dribbles on the court during a Pirates home game.

Noah K. Murray/AP Photo

After an encouraging freshman season, second-year guard Amari Wright projects to be one of the best reserves in the Big East conference this year.

The Jacksonville native played in all but one game for the Pirates last season and averaged 11.4 minutes (eighth on the team), 2.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists. While those numbers aren’t eye-popping, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the rising sophomore.

Assuming Lauren Park-Lane, Mya Jackson and Andra Espinoza-Hunter are back in the Seton Hall’s starting lineup this year, Wright will likely start most of her games alongside Pirates’ head coach Anthony Bozzella.

That said, Wright’s offensive versality is one of the most intriguing parts of her game. Wright can play next to Park-Lane as a secondary ballhandler and replicate what Seton Hall’s starting backcourt offers or be the primary initiator for Seton Hall’s second unit.

Last season, Wright shot 53% from the field, 50% from three and posted a 1.1 assist/turnover ratio, all great numbers for a true freshman. A bigger role in the offense may cause those numbers to dip, but if Wright can hover around 50% from the field, 40% from three and raise her assist/turnover ratio by a smidge, she will be one of the most efficient players in the Big East conference.

Another area in which Wright excels is off-ball defense. Wright averaged 0.8 steals-per-game during her freshman year, but on four separate occasions, she had two or more steals in a game. Wright plays the passing lanes like a veteran defensive back and while she may not be tasked with defending the best opposing perimeter defender, Wright knows how to make her presence felt on that side of the ball. 

One area of Wright’s game that needs improvement is her free throw shooting. Wright’s problem does not lie in getting to the line, evident by the fact that she ranked fifth on the team in free throw attempts last year. But when she did get to the charity stripe, she only converted 67% of her foul shots. If Wright can bump that percentage up to the mid-to-high 70s, she will assist in Seton Hall’s quest of becoming the best free throw shooting team in the Big East all while boosting her own points-per-game average as well.

Another area in which Wright could improve upon is hunting for her shot. There were only five instances last season when Wright took three or more shots in a game. The absences of Desiree Elmore, Alexia Allesch and Jasmine Smith, Seton Hall’s third, fifth and seventh leading shot takers from this past season, leaves a gaping hole in the Pirates’ offense. 

Wright is too good of a shot creator to take just 1.7 shot attempts-per-game. Provided the opportunity, Wright should rank top-five on the team in field goal attempts by the end of the season.

Wright built a great base during her first year with the Pirates and will continue building in year two. We do not have to go back very far to uncover two cases of standout freshman who took major strides during their sophomore seasons (Park-Lane and Jackson). If Wright can get on a similar trajectory, she will be one of the most valuable contributors for Seton Hall this upcoming season.  

Jorie Mickens is an Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports and can be reached at jorie.mickens@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Women's Basketball, Sports, WSOU

Seton Hall

Seton Hall

Merchandise

wsou store