Joplin's Always Wright named male athlete of the year

Jul. 9—Always Wright could juggle football and basketball with the best of them.

Wright, a senior this past year, was a dynamic dual-sport athlete as he put together a decorated prep career at Joplin High School.

But what made him such a successful two-sport standout?

"It's his competitiveness and desire to be successful," Joplin football coach Curtis Jasper said. "Obviously from an athletic standpoint, he's a heck of an athlete. He's got all the tools as far as football goes. He can throw the ball. He can run the ball. He makes good decisions."

"He's 6-foot-3 with really good handles and unlimited range," Eagles basketball coach Bronson Schaake said. "He got really good at attacking the rim and then he became a really good defender. Overall, he has a really good IQ on the floor. He does things about a step ahead of everybody."

Parlaying his performances across both sports, Wright has been named the Globe's male athlete of the year for the 2021-2022 school year, becoming the second Joplin athlete to win the award and first since Zach Westmoreland in 2018-19.

Wright played integral roles for the Class 6 Eagles in successful seasons for football and basketball.

Wright was an all-state and all-Central Ozark Conference performer in football as well as a unanimous first team All-COC selection in basketball. He also picked up first-team all-area honors from the 4-States Basketball Coaches Association.

On the gridiron, Wright was a dynamic quarterback, throwing 2,217 passing yards for 25 touchdowns. He completed 68% of his passes and added 486 yards on the ground (8.4 ypc) with nine touchdowns as the Eagles (10-2) reached the district finals for the third time in four years.

Wright, a potent dual-threat quarterback, amassed five touchdowns in games three times. He logged at least four touchdowns in six of 11 games.

"He did a good job of understanding and learning what coach (Jacob) Hewitt was wanting to accomplish and being able to facilitate that," Jasper said. "His mental preparation, along with his physical attributes, make him a very successful competitor."

For his football career, Wright logged 4,405 passing yards, 42 touchdown passes, 633 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.

"He did a really good job," Jasper said. "He had to follow up a tough act. Blake Tash set the national record for completion percentage (73.6). (Tash) was one of the guys that led us to the state championship game. To be able to come in and fill those shoes and create a mark of his own, I think it speaks to the type of athlete and competitor that he is."

A sharpshooting combo guard on the hardwood, Wright averaged 21.4 points while shooting 52% from the floor and 48% from beyond the arc. He also posted 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

"He's a very coachable kid," Schaake said. "I was very pleased to see his progress throughout the year. I think our personalities kind of aligned a little bit. He's kind of a quiet kid. But he goes at you. I like that in a silent-killer type."

Wright finished with 1,457 points for his career. He helped Joplin to a 19-8 overall record this past season, headlined by capturing the Kaminsky Classic tournament title for the first time since 2001.

"We did some things we haven't done in a while," Schaake said. "We had a really good season, and I think he showed the younger guys the winning aspect of it. Work-ethic wise, he came in for about two hours every morning and worked on his game.

"The kids would see that as they got to school and how he went about the game, too. There were a lot of games I never took him out. Just to keep the level of play he did, I think other kids saw that."

Wright, who received significant college interest for both sports, said last month he's focused on playing his first love in basketball at the next level.

At that time, Division I schools like North Texas, Nebraska-Omaha and Buffalo expressed interest. Wright said he plans to commit following his AAU season with Michael Porter Jr. Elite this month.

"I think it has to be the right fit and the right style," Schaake said. "I view him as a point guard. It maybe depends on the style of play or school that's looking at him — he could be a one or a two. He's a kid you don't have to worry about being there and working hard. In the classroom, he's going to be fine.

"He's a well-rounded kid that will work hard. He's going to be productive wherever he goes, especially as he gets physically stronger. He will do really good things for any program."