By Franklyn Calle
Fordham University received a commitment from one of the top junior in New York City on Thursday afternoon. Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright chose to stay local and attend the Bronx school. Wright is averaging 25 points and 19 rebounds this season, including a 52 points and 29 rebounds performance against Grady. The Jamaican native attends Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn.
Wright chose the Atlantic-10 school over offers from Big East schools such as St. John’s, West Virginia and Providence. Seton hall and Villanova were also showing interest. Wright will not return to Jefferson for his senior year because he will be turning 19 and then will be too old and ineligible to play according to PSAL (Public School Athletic League) rules. It is being reported that it is likely that he will be attending New Hampton in New Hampshire. The 6-6 forward won’t be eligible to sign a national letter of intent until November.
Wright has a good relationship with the Fordham coaching staff, especially head coach Dereck Whittenburg and assistant coach Jared Grasso. Grasso was the lead recruiter for Wright while Whittenburg also coached Jefferson’s assistant coach, Seldom Jefferson, when both were at West Virginia.
Fordham has a good recruiting class coming in next year with Lance Brown, a senior wing player from Paterson catholic and Chris Gaston, a New Jersey native forward who is doing a year of prep school at New Hampton (N.H.).
Thomas Jefferson is expected to compete for the city title along with Boys & Girls, coached by Ruth Lovelace and Lincoln, who are led by one of the best players in the nation, Lance Stephenson.
Fordham needs all the talent it could get as they are struggling in the Atlantic-10 Conference with a 3-15 overall record and 1-5 in conference play.
Thanks to occasional SLAM contributor Adam Zagoria’s piece on SNY.tv for much of this info.
