<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAWRENCE | Julian Wright?s sophomore season won?t be his last as a Kansas Jayhawk. Despite reports that he could be a top-10 pick in next summer?s NBA draft, Wright told The Star that he has no plans to leave KU for the pro ranks after the 2006-07 season. ?I plan to be here three years,? Wright said. ?I?m not even thinking about (leaving after) this season. I won?t even evaluate it.? That may come as a surprise to the NBA scouts and prognosticators who have pegged Wright as a potential lottery pick in the 2007 draft. One Web site, nbadraft.net, predicts Wright would be the eighth overall selection should he choose to forfeit his final two years of college eligibility. Being picked that high would make Wright an instant multimillionaire. But money doesn?t seem to be a priority for the 6-foot-8 Wright, who averaged 8.5 points as a freshman last season. ?Even after this year, I feel like I?ll still have a lot to prove to myself,? Wright said. ?I can?t worry about living up to everyone else?s expectations. My expectations are to be here at least three years. The only way I could exceed my expectations is to stay here for four or five years, or six or seven.? Wright said he doesn?t want to enter the NBA draft until he feels comfortable playing small forward, the position he?ll probably play in the pros. As a freshman he spent the majority of his minutes out of place at power forward. This year he expects to rotate between the two spots. ?I think it would be in my best interest to be here for another two years,? said Wright, a Chicago native. ?Obviously, I haven?t really even played a game at the position that most people think I?ll play (in the NBA): small forward. ?I think I need at least two years of playing that position to develop and get confidence.? Wright said he?s worked hard this summer to develop his game away from the basket. He attended the prestigious Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis. ?I got a lot of good instruction,? Wright said. ?My confidence is pretty high right now ? a lot higher than it was last year. Because I played so much power forward last year, my confidence in my perimeter game really went down. I was eager to start back on the perimeter workouts in the spring and summer.?</div> Source
Sure he says that after the poor performance he put up last season, but if he comes in this year and has a decent season it wouldn't surprise me to see his name in the draft. He's a talented player but you really can't take anyone's word for it these days.
Like everyone else has said in this thread, it's hard to really take anyone's word with so much money at stake, but what's more interesting to me is his comment about staying two years - "I think it would be in my best interest to be here for another two years,” It almost seems as if he has concrete plans to bolt after his junior year. I like his mindset at this point right now though, just focussing on his game and trying to make himself and the Jayhawks better. That's why the #1 ranking should be the Jayhawks' to lose, not to mention the fact that they've got guys like Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers on the roster.
