Big South Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

12. John-Michael Wright

For starters, Wright was Tubby Smith’s best player at High Point. A 6’1 guard from Fayetteville, North Carolina, he stayed in his home-state to play for the Hall of Fame coach with the Panthers, albeit in the Big South. Wright was an impressive offensive weapon for High Point for three seasons before transferring to Oklahoma State last year.

Productive already as a freshman in the pandemic-shortened season, he averaged 14.2 points and 5.3 rebounds a game in 2020. High Point didn’t experience a ton of success, but Wright became one of the league’s best scorers, averaging 20.7 points a game as a sophomore and 18.4 as a junior. He scored a career-high 34 points against Charleston Southern n that junior season and saw his long-range shooting numbers increase with each passing season.

Wright likely gets more notoriety at a bigger school than High Point but still earned First Team All-Big South honors as both a sophomore and junior. He led the conference in scoring in that final season before leaving for Oklahoma State and the Big 12, having done quite a fair bit for the Panthers while at High Point. While his numbers this past year with the Cowboys weren’t as impressive as at High Point, he does return for one last ride next season, hoping to replicate that same success from the Big South.