Thursday, June 30, 2005
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff
Keeping with the long and honored tradition of out-of-state drivers, Antoine
Wright's party got lost yesterday. The group of three, which included his
agent and his AAU coach, ended up at Continental Airlines Arena instead of
the Nets' practice facility, where his introductory news conference was to be
held.
Somehow, the 21-year-old swingman found that entirely appropriate.
"Yeah," he said, applying his game face. "I'm ready to play, ready to go now
-- I went straight to the arena."
Ready for everything, prepared for anything. That could be the kid's mantra,
having encountered a fair amount of adversity in his short life, which
suddenly became very bright Tuesday night, when the Nets made him the 15th
pick in the NBA Draft.
The San Bernardino, Calif., native has always had talent -- he was once
regarded as one of the top five high school players in the country -- but
there have been a number of obstacles to overcome on the way to the $4.5
million payoff he'll soon receive.
For starters, there's the family. His father hasn't been around for some
time, and his role model -- 24-year-old brother Tony -- has been imprisoned
in San Luis Obispo, Calif., for a burglary conviction three years ago.
"My brother is just a really tough guy, always been hard on me, always wanted
me to be better than him," Wright said. "I know he's excited for me right
now, and I can't wait to talk to him. He's had a tremendous impact on my
life."
The basketball part has been relatively easy, but hardly perfect, despite
Elvert Perry's best efforts. Perry, an AAU coaching legend in San Bernardino,
has a pipeline to the prestigious Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., where he
has sent numerous players -- Richard Roby of Colorado and Sylvester Seay of
Arizona State among them.
So in the fall of 2002, Wright was sent 3,000 miles away from his mom and
16-year-old sister.
Naturally, like many city kids, he hated it.
http://www.nj.com/nets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1120108380245840.xml&coll=1
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