Such talk is common before a season starts, as coaches aim to drum up excitement about their team. In Wright’s case, though, Krystkowiak was right on target. Wright is first on Krystkowiak’s roster in assists and steals, tied for the team lead in blocks and is second in points per game.
The way Wright sees it, he’s just making the most of his long-awaited opportunity.
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, sports were always a big part of Wright’s life. His father Ray and mother Stacy pushed their children into sports with the hope that that would keep them out of trouble.
“My parents were really involved in my life and always kept me involved in sports,” Delon said. “I think that was good for me to stay away from bad things.”
Early on, it wasn’t basketball Delon seemed to stand out in, as both he and Dorell were smitten with baseball. When Delon was 10 years old, basketball had started to become his primary athletic focus. It was at this time Dorrell moved outto attend a prep school in Connecticut.
With six years separating the brothers in age, the younger Wright wasn’t too saddened by the move.
“We weren’t very close growing up,” Delon said. “I didn’t really like him. He used to pick on me a lot.”
Much has been made of the brothers’ relation ever since Delon arrived at the U, but he feels much closer to his sister Danae. Stacy Wright specifically remembers a time when the siblings attended a dance. Delon went around with his friends dancing with people, but when he spotted his sister dancing with someone, he went up to the young man and asked, “You know that’s my sister, right?”
“When Danae told me that, I thought it was so cute that he would stand up for her like that,” Stacy Wright said. “He acted more of a protector the older he got.”
Delon and Danae are 20 months apart, and their mother said they grew up almost like twins, though Danae viewed herself as the oldest. “She always felt that she was the older sibling, which she wasn’t,” Delon said.
Even as Delon’s relationship with his sister grew, the one with his brother was not forgotten. Throughout Delon’s teenage years, the two talked often even though they lived on different sides of the country. In Delon’s senior year of high school, they really started to bond. Dorell Wright, who now plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, noticed Delon’s game had improved enough to be able to play pick up ball with him and his friends. Playing on the court together strengthened the brothers’ relationship.
“As we grew older, we could relate to each other more,” Delon said.
Even with Delon facing the demand of college and playing Division I basketball, the two brothers find time to talk nearly every day, even if just for a brief time.
Dorell was drafted into the NBA straight out of high school, but growing up, Delon never felt the pressure of living up to what his brother had accomplished on the court. That is starting to change, though.
“I’m starting to feel [the pressure] more as I grow older,” Delon said. “I have moved up to college, and he is at the next level, and I feel that’s what a lot of people talk about.”
Delon hopes to join his brother in the NBA, but he knows his path to the league will be quite different. In high school, Delon had poor grades and received only one Division I scholarship offer. He opted to go the junior college route and enrolled at the City College of San Francisco. While there, both his grades and his game improved. He won conference Player of the Year, and his school performance was good enough to be eligible to move on to a Division I institution.
“I could tell a difference,” Stacy Wright said. “He was more focused.”
Washington and Gonzaga came calling, but Delon found his match in Utah.
“I felt that it was the perfect fit for me,” he said.
Early signs point to the idea that his feeling was dead on, and his stellar play through the first half of the season is opening the eyes of NBA scouts. NBADraft.net has him pegged as a potential second-round pick in 2015.
“It’s good that I am finally starting to get a little bit of notice, but that’s next year,” Wright said.
After waiting for his opportunity to play Division I ball, he is in no rush to get it over with. He has big dreams and believes he has the skill set to join his brother at the next level, but he knows that his time will come.
He’s learned that lesson before.