Lamont Paris shares what Jacobi Wright needs to do to work out of recent struggles
Jacobi Wright has been here since the beginning. Well, really even before the beginning.
When South Carolina underwent a coaching change after the 2021-22 season, which saw Lamont Paris become the next head coach, Wright stayed when many didn’t. Three years later, the senior guard is the last player remaining from the previous staff in Columbia.
For most of his college career, Wright has been a reliable fixture off the bench, assuming the role of “sixth man” when the Gamecocks won 26 games last season. Now in his final year, he’s been counted on as a regular in the starting lineup. While he’s averaging his best overall numbers, his production has taken a bit of a hit in SEC play.
After scoring 20 points against Alabama earlier in the month, Wright has only reached double digits one time. His struggles culminated in a zero-point performance over 27 minutes in a 71-60 loss to Georgia.
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So, what has led to his recent skid, which coincides with South Carolina’s 0-8 conference start? Paris felt Wright didn’t look “real aggressive” on Tuesday.
“If you go down guns blazing, because you just can’t make a shot, then that is what it is,” Paris said. “But, you know, we need him to be aggressive. We need him to play. We need him to play well.”
Over the last eight games, Wright has shot 17-for-52 from the field (32.7 percent) and 3-for-17 from behind the arc. More than 40 percent of his made shots came from that Alabama game where he went 7-for-12 shooting. Since then, he’s went 9-for-36 (25 percent), with two games, including Georgia, where he was held scoreless.
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Being one of the oldest players on the team, Paris expects more from Wright. Going through the ebbs and flows is part of basketball, but the third-year coach has always expected him to play with aggression at the very least.
“He’s one of the guys that I talked to specifically, and I look at him specifically when I when I talk about this basketball gods and the relationship that you need to have,” Paris said. “You’re a senior. He’s a senior. We have other seniors, but he’s a senior. He’s been in this program. He’s familiar with what we do. I think he’s just got to be aggressive and competitive.”
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With 10 games left to go in the regular season, South Carolina has a long way to go to get back on track, let alone getting its first SEC win out of the way. To do that, though, the Gamecocks will need Wright at his best, which they believe will come soon.
“He’s been in the league for a long time, so he knows how good this league is,” Jamarii Thomas said. “He knows more than me, but at the same time, just being an older guy, I’m trying to motivate him and keep him up. Just motivate him to come out to the next game and be aggressive and be the player we know him to be.”
