By Mike Hogan
When you think about recent players who resemble everything that makes St. Bonaventure basketball, you’d be hard pressed to come up with many better names than Dion Wright.
Wright, a fan-favorite for his extreme motor, intensity and scrappinness, is one of Bonaventure’s all time leaders in both rebounding and scoring, where he finished with 1,263 career points (25th on the programs all-time scoring list), and 683 career rebounds (15th on the programs all time rebounding list).
Wright’s senior season may have been his most impressive, finishing third in the A-10 with 9.1 rebounds per game, 14th in scoring with 16.7 points per game, and led the conference in double doubles with 14. All of that helped contribute to a 22-9 record and a share of the A-10 regular season title.
But while accolades are nice, when Wright reflects on his time at Bonas, its the emotion that stands out in his mind.
“I miss the fans, the people around the community and just being with my teammates every day,” Wright said. “We had a lot of good times on and off the court. A lot of my teammates are still really close with me today, I really do miss them a lot.”
Wright paused, then continued.
“I also miss putting on that jersey and playing at the RC and hearing those fans scream,” Wright said. “That stuff is priceless.”
Wright was a very accomplished player during his time at Bonaventure and was a part of the 2015-2016 team that produced one of the best seasons in program history and made an appearance in the NIT.
Still, many argue that the Bonnies deserved a spot in the NCAA tournament, something Wright had no qualms about discussing.
“I felt like we were a tournament team that year,” Wright said. “We won 22 games that year, and we had a high RPI as well. We just didn’t get in for whatever reason. Who knows what would have happened if we would have beaten Davidson in the A-10 tournament. But we lost, and we left the decision in the committee’s hands.”
While his time at Bonaventure was great, Wright is currently playing professional basketball overseas in Europe for Cyprus. In his first game with Cyprus, Wright had 23 points, 10 rebounds, and earned the victory.
“Out here in Europe, the games are more physical,” Wright said. “They play kind of fast and they really like to get up and down.”
He also had a brief stint in Japan with the Sendai 89ers where he played 18 games and averaged 12.3 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game before moving on to play with Cyprus.
Before my conversation with Wright was over, I asked him about his thoughts on this year’s team and if they can get over the hump and into the tournament.
“I want to see them get into the tournament,” Wright said. “I feel like they can be a 23 to 24 win team. I think that this is the year for Bonaventure.”
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