Gamecocks offer ‘tough as nails’ in-state point guard
Jacobi Wright has been on South Carolina basketball coaches’ radar for a while. Frank Martin and the Gamecocks pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer for the Legacy Charter guard Friday.
USC started showing interest in Wright before last season and he has visited the school three times, including a game against LSU on Feb. 22. Gamecock coaches also watched Wright play at the 2019 Chick-fil-A Classic at Richland Northeast.
“I like the family environment throughout the program and how everything is ran,” Wright said Friday. “They said that they like my pace of speed, how I run the team. Coach Martin said that he feels that I am a winner and they like my basketball IQ and feel for the game.”
Wright is part of a talented Class of 2021 in South Carolina that includes Wren’s Bryce McGowens; Lower Richland’s Korey Richardson and Quinton Flood; Cardinal Newman’s Joshua Beadle; Ridge View’s Tyler Rice; and AC Flora’s Robert McCray, among others. McGowens is committed to Florida State while the others are uncommitted.
The Gamecocks are Wright’s first Power Five offer. His others include Elon, College of Charleston, Winthrop, Tennessee Tech, DePaul and UNC Charlotte. He also is getting interest from St. John’s, South Florida, Vanderbilt, Xavier and Bradley.
Wright averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds this season in his first season for Legacy Charter, which is located in Greenville, after transferring from Fort Mill High School. He missed the final four games because of an ankle injury.
As a sophomore at Fort Mill, Wright averaged 25.3 points. 5.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game.
The Gamecocks have one former Legacy player on the roster in Jalyn McCreary and also recruited Nicolas Claxton before he chose Georgia.
“They definitely like and want him,” Legacy coach B.J. Jackson said. “Jacobi is tough as nails. He can score on all three levels with the three-point shooting, mid-range and get into the paint. He also does a great job leading and motivating the team. … The sky’s the limit for him.”
Wright shot 44% from the field last year and 80% from the free-throw line. Jackson compares the 6-foot-1 guard’s game to Duke point guard Tyus Jones and said he has the same characteristics Jawun Evans had. Evans played for Jackson at Southside and Legacy before going on to play at Oklahoma State and then the NBA.
“He has the Jawun Evans mentality and has that dog in him,” Jackson said of Wright. “He wants to play and go against the best. He is a team-first guy and does a great job running things.
“He does a great job of making the right call on the floor and we give him a lot of freedom. He knows and understands on making the right call and getting it to who is hot. And when we need a basket, he is someone who can do that as well.”
Wright plans on playing this summer with Team Charlotte — if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t affect the AAU season. He doesn’t have a time frame on when he will make a decision but would like to do it before the start of his senior season.
The Gamecocks have one senior on next year’s roster in Seventh Woods, but more spots might open up with additional attrition.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
