Is Sherrod Wright becoming the player we hyped him up to be?

Before the season started, we had high hopes for Ryan Pearson and what he was capable of doing for this team.  But with Cam Long and Luke Hancock gone we didn't quite know what to expect from back court. A lot of us, including myself, penciled in Sherrod Wright to quickly bounce back from his shoulder injury that sidelined him all of last season, and fill the scoring void.  It was an unfair expectation for a guy who had missed an entire season and who was in a crowded back court his freshman year.  Nevertheless most of us expected big things from him, especially when he started off playing 39 minutes against Rhode Island in the first game of the season scoring 17 points, and then 16 in the next game against FIU. But after a hard fall against Monmouth in the NIT Tip-off, his production started to wind down.

Sherrod missed the next game at FAU due to the injury but returned for the Patriots as they faced a group of weaker non-conference opponents.  At this point Andre Cornelius was still serving his suspension and Wright was getting close to 30 minutes a game.  His production was still going strong, then the Patriots suffered a  disappointing loss to UVA on the road and things changed. In a game that was there only chance to grab a marquee win on the non-conference schedule the Patriots were flat and Wright finished with seven points.  That game was the start of a downward trend for him as he didn't reach double figures in scoring for more than a month after that.  From December 6 through January 12 he averaged only five points a game and was replaced in the starting lineup by Andre Cornelius.  

Since being replaced in the starting lineup he has been averaging about 11 points a game, which has included second half performances against JMU, Hofstra, UNCW, and VCU that were a huge part of the team's victories. Ryan Pearson may be the team's go-to guy but Sherrod Wright is quickly turning into Mr. Clutch. Even before his heroic shot against VCU he has been giving this a team a huge lift off the bench late in games. He was in a slump and is now thriving in his role as the team's sixth man. 

Mason needs Wright to keep this up as games are going to continue to be tight from here on out. Defenses will tighten up, especially in the CAA tournament and beyond, and the Patriots need a go-to man in the back court. His conference leading free-throw shooting and ability to get to the line is a big asset for this team moving forward. The VCU game still has us all on a high but I won't let that cloud my judgement that I believe Wright's best games are still ahead of him.  

[Photo by John Powell]