Leroy Wright

Background

Wright grew up in Texas and graduated from Aycock High School (Rockdale) in 1956.

Education

Wright played basketball at the of the Pacific from 1957-1958 to 1959-1960 (freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports according to National Collegiate Athletic Association rules when he was in college) When he became eligible as a sophomore in 1957-1958, Wright burst onto the national basketball scene with per game averages of 13.2 points and 17.1 rebounds. A 6 ft 9 in (206 m) forward, his points per game average increased in each his junior and senior seasons (148 and 159, respectively) while his rebounding averages were tops in the nation. Wright"s average of 25.1 rebounds per game as a junior and 22.4 per game as a senior are the top two in Pacific history, and he became the first player ever to repeat as the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I season rebounding champion.

He was named the West Coast Conference Company-Player of the Year in his final two collegiate seasons as well, first sharing the honors with San Francisco"s Mike Farmer followed by LaRoy Doss of Saint Mary"son

Career

He was a four-sport star, playing football, basketball and track and field After his collegiate career ended, Wright was selected in the second round (16th overall) of the 1960 National Basketball Association Draft by the Boston Celtics. He never played in the National Basketball Association, however.

lieutenant was the first American Bar Association championship in the league"s history.

Foreign the season, Wright played in 17 games and averaged 3.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. Thirteen of those games came in the playoffs in which he averaged 2.0 points and 5.6 rebounds en route to the championship.

When the franchise relocated to Minnesota for the following season, Wright remained on the team but only played in 10 games and averaged a diminished 0.8 points and 3.0 rebounds. Since he was 30 years old at that point, Wright"s career came to a close when he was not re-signed after the season.

Achievements

• He won state championships in both football and basketball during his senior year of 1955-1956. Wright"s average of 25.1 rebounds per game as a junior and 22.4 per game as a senior are the top two in Pacific history, and he became the first player ever to repeat as the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I season rebounding champion. He was named the West Coast Conference Company-Player of the Year in his final two collegiate seasons as well, first sharing the honors with San Francisco"s Mike Farmer followed by LaRoy Doss of Saint Mary"son During his rookie season, Pittsburgh won the American Bar Association Finals, four games to three, over the New Orleans Buccaneers.

Membership

He played two seasons in the American Basketball Association (American Bar Association) in 1967-1968 and 1968-1969, winning the American Bar Association Finals in 1968 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers. He spent two seasons playing in the American Bar Association in 1967-1968 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pipers and then in 1968-1969 while on the Minnesota Pipers.