Benet sophomore Jayden Wright is a take-charge kind of guy, even if it means taking charges.
Every team needs — but not all have — a point guard with that type of mentality.
“I’m just all about winning,” Wright said. “I’m just trying to do anything to give our team the best chance to win, whether it’s scoring, taking charges, making steals.
“I’d rather have zero points and win then have whatever and lose. All I want to do is win.”
The Redwings have done a lot of winning with the 5-foot-10 Wright at the helm of a young but extremely talented team. He has been impressive even in defeat.
Wright hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals during Benet’s 67-60 East Suburban Catholic Conference loss to Marian Catholic in Lisle on Sunday. He also took two charges.
“He’s had a really good season for us, very competitive,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He’s contributing on both sides of the floor, offensively and defensively.
“He’s shot the ball at a really high percentage, and he’s created a lot of offense for our team. We thought he’d have a chance to have a very good season, and he hasn’t disappointed us.”
Wright, whose father Jason played at Eastern Illinois from 2001 to 2005, said he has been playing basketball since he was a little kid and suiting up for Benet is a thrill for him.
“It’s a blessing, for sure, getting the opportunity as a sophomore to play for this school and our coach,” Wright said. “I love our coach and all my teammates. It’s just a blessing, and I’m really thankful for it.”
The Redwings (20-5, 11-2), who reached the Class 4A state championship game with a much different lineup last year, are thankful to have Wright and 6-6 sophomore Gabriel Sularski in their backcourt this season. They’re proving to be a deadly duo.
“I’ve played with Jayden since eighth grade,” Sularski said. “We’ve kind of made a huge connection since then, and we play off each other really well. He’s been doing terrific this year. I’m really proud of him.”
Wright and Sularski, who finished with 10 points and five assists, combined to score Benet’s first 13 points against Marian Catholic. The Redwings led 29-22 late in the second quarter, when the Spartans (19-8, 10-3) hit them with a 23-1 run to take a 45-30 lead.
Many young teams would have crumbled at that point, but not the Redwings. Wright passed to senior forward Ewola Moukoulou for a 3-pointer to stop the skid and then scored 12 points on a variety of drives and deep 3-pointers as Benet came storming back.
Wright’s pull-up 3-pointer cut Marian Catholic’s lead to 61-58 with 54 seconds left. He then forced a pair of jump balls to give Benet possession, with junior forward Daniel Pauliukonis converting one into a layup that made it 63-60 with 21.4 seconds to go.
Marian Catholic clinched the win at the free-throw line, but that did little to take away from Wright’s effort.
“He really played with a lot of grit and toughness down the stretch,” Heidkamp said. “The charges were big, and I thought he was aggressive offensively. The moral of the story is we have to play better defensively.”
The Redwings can do that by following Wright’s example.
“His defensive intensity brings us up, gets us fired up,” Sularski said. “He’s a really good shooter, can really handle the ball for us, get us into our plays but also create off the bounce for a lot of us.
“He typically guards the best ballhandler on other teams. He’s a huge part of our team.”
Wright will be around for a while too.
“I just want to play as long as I can because I love basketball,” he said. “I definitely want to play in college, but I’m just trying to work to get there. I’m just taking it one step at a time. There’s still a lot to improve, a lot of things I’ve got to work on.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
