With all the bad going on in the world right now, it was nice to hear some good news on Monday. National College Preps (NCP) announced that legendary former Clemson Basketball great, Sharone Wright is becoming their Regional Director of College Basketball Scouting. This story is even more inspiring when you take into account the trials that Wright has gone through since his days at Clemson.
Wright was a dominating player for Cliff Ellis’ Clemson team from 1991-94, and still ranks 5th in the ACC when it comes to career blocked shots per game (3.13). He was an Honorable Mention AP All American in 1994.
While at Clemson he led the ACC in blocked shots in 1992, 1993, and then finished 3rd in 1994. He also became the first Tiger player to declare early for the NBA Draft and became the sixth overall selection in the first round of the 1994 draft by the Philadelphia 76’ers.
Wright eventually played five seasons in the NBA with Philadelphia and Toronto and was named to the 1994-95 NBA All Rookie team. His NBA career would be cut short due to a severe auto wreck early in his fifth professional season.
The wreck happened when his car skidded off the road on a rain drenched morning, while on his way to speak at a basketball camp for the Boys and Girls Club in his hometown of Macon, Georgia. He suffered multiple broken bones in the wreck.
The recovery period was long and he played only seven more games in the NBA. He went on to play professionally in Europe for almost a decade, but it was not the NBA. After his playing career concluded he went into coaching.
While Wright was living in Florence, SC he faced a bout with cancer. This was a fight that came every close to taking his life, and few knew the serious nature of his battle. Once again, Wright showed that you can’t keep a good Tiger down as he won that fight, and continued to go after his coaching career at a prep school in Arizona.
Wright’s struggles weren’t over yet. Over the last year, he contracted a staph infection in his left leg that would get worse and worse. Earlier this he had to have his left leg amputated and has been recuperating and adjusting to the prosthesis that he now has.
This new position shows the toughness, heart, and determination that Wright possesses. In this new position his job will deal with implementing and managing the National College Preps process to ensure each member has access to NCP resources and makes full use of the national network.
”It does feel great to be back on track again” Wright told clemsonjunkies.com. “It’s an honor to be working with NCP. I am built for this.”
Wright first became involved with NCP when his family the organization to help them while his son was in high school. He’s been an advocate ever since.
“Although I have experience at the highest level, I also saw the value in gaining access to a third-party, unbiased evaluation for my son. The evaluation and guidance provided by NCP at that time was instrumental in us understanding as a family, which schools made the most sense for my son. Since that time, I have been a fan of the program and now I am proud to be an official member of the team.”.
He will be joining fellow former Tiger Greg Hood, who played football at Clemson in 1992-93. Hood had this to say about Coach Wright.
“Being an athlete at Clemson during the same time as Sharone, I saw his work ethic first hand. I have no doubt that he will bring that same relentless energy in guiding our program throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Utah,Colorado and the Southern California regions.”
It is always good to hear of former Clemson greats and the success they are having since their time In Tigertown. It is even better when it’s someone as desrving as Sharone Wright.
