Benet guard Jayden Wright learned a lot about basketball from his father Jason, who played at Eastern Illinois from 2001 to 2005.
But Wright, a 5-foot-11 junior, was in middle school when he deduced something important about his game on his own.
“I’ve been playing basketball my whole life,” he said. “I’ve always worked pretty hard on my shot. I’m not the tallest, so I’m not going to be able to shoot over people. So I’ve got to adjust and start shooting farther. A lot of people aren’t expecting to guard that far.”
As defenders witnessed Wright’s shooting prowess, they started guarding him on the 3-point line. So he took a step back — and then another.
These days, Wright regularly lets it fly from NBA 3-point range. He can consistently hit shots from 25 feet, a rare feat for a high school player, and is shooting 43% from beyond the arc.
“That’s a really unique ability,” Benet senior guard Blake Fagbemi said. “Honestly, I do not see that very often. Once he gets it going, he’s a real threat.”
Unlike some shooters, Wright can get it going from the get-go. He demonstrated that by making an NBA-range 3-pointer on the opening possession of Benet’s 61-41 East Suburban Catholic Conference win against Nazareth in Lisle on Friday night.
Wright hit another 3-pointer early in the second quarter. On the next possession, he made a steal and fed 7-0 junior center Colin Stack for a turnaround jumper to give the Redwings (23-5, 7-1) a 31-4 lead.
Wright finished with eight points, two rebounds and two assists before exiting along with the rest of the starters shortly after halftime.
“He’s just really good at all facets of the game,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He shoots the ball from deep, which we saw a little bit tonight. He’s a really good ballhandler, he’s a very solid defender and he’s got a lot of experience.
“Today was his 50th win on the varsity, and he’s only a junior. We’re expecting big things from him as he continues on.”
Wright was a key contributor last season as the Redwings won 27 games and a regional title. Now he’s a full-time starter with the game and poise to match the role. He’s averaging 12.0 points, 3.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
“I’ve just got a lot more confidence,” Wright said. “Last year, I just had to learn and adapt well, so I’ve learned a lot. I’m also calm, and I feel like I’ve definitely gotten stronger and a little bit more athletic. I know the game better, and I’m just a lot more comfortable out there.”
Some coaches would hesitate to let their players shoot regularly from as far back as Wright does. Not Heidkamp.
“He can shoot the ball out to 25 feet, and he shoots it with the same accuracy from 25 as he does from 20,” Heidkamp said. “So I don’t have any problem with him shooting those shots because those are shots he can make consistently.
“It provides us with great spacing, and it allows us to stretch the floor. It allows the other players a little bit more room in the lane, and it makes it a little more difficult for them to guard us.”
Indeed, while the Redwings have several highly regarded players — Stack, Truman State commit Fagbemi and 6-9 senior forward Daniel Pauliukonis, a Southern Illinois commit — it’s hard to overemphasize Wright’s shooting ability.
“He’s been playing really well,” Fagbemi said. “When he has big games, we play really, really well. He can definitely be a big-time college player. He puts in the work, and he’s already got the skills.”
Those skills go far beyond shooting.
“I thought today he really passed the ball ahead in transition,” Heidkamp said. “He had like four passes that got our break started that led to either layups or open shots in transition.
“Things like that don’t always show up in the scorebook but are winning plays. He knows how to make winning plays at both ends.”
Wright wants to continue doing that for the Redwings, who are seeded third in the Class 4A Benet Sectional behind Bolingbrook and Waubonsie Valley. They will play 14th-seeded Plainfield East in the Oswego East Regional semifinals on Feb. 26.
“We’re feeling good,” Wright said. “We know we’ve got to pick it up because we’ve got a lot of tough games coming up in the playoffs.
“We have a high standard to live up to, and we know that. So we just go out there every day and try to play our brand of basketball.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
