Where Are They Now? Luther Wright

A big man with the personality to match, former men's basketball star Luther Wright was quite literally a centerpiece for the prolific Pirates teams of the early 1990's. Adding to the lineage of venerable SHU big men that includes the likes of Walter Dukes and Glenn Mosley, Wright manned the middle as The Hall was crowned BIG EAST Regular Season Champions in each of his two years on campus (1991-93).

In 1992-93, Wright was named a Third-Team All-Met selection as Seton Hall added a BIG EAST Tournament Championship and went on to finish the year as the sixth-ranked team in the nation in the final AP poll.

Despite spending a short time in an SHU uniform, Wright still ranks among the most imposing defensive forces in school history. In his final season, the 7-2 Jersey City native swatted 76 shots, the fifth-highest single season total in program history. He currently sits 10th all-time with 118 blocked shots and fourth among all Pirates with a 1.84 blocks per game average for his career.

An unstoppable force in the paint on the offensive end, Wright also ranks among the top-five in the school record books with a career field goal percentage of 52.5 percent.

Following the conclusion of his sophomore season, Wright was selected 18th overall by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1993 NBA Draft. He has since returned to his hometown of Jersey City and helped pen a memoir entitled A Perfect Fit that was published in 2010.

On the heels of the 20th Anniversary celebration 1992-93 championship team that took place at the men's basketball game against Cincinnati, the Seton Hall great took some time to answer a few questions for SHUPirates.com as we continue our “Where Are They Now?” series.

Q: Where do you live now and what are you up to these days?

Wright: I live in Jersey City, N.J. with my wife and my two pit bulls, Nina and Sarge. I am currently a networking event coordinator at Cafe Sole' in Jersey City and spend time volunteering with Jerry Walker's Team Walker. I also work as a vocal coach, engineer, producer, composer and studio session musician at L&I Studios (Bayonne N.J.)

Q: What is your favorite memory as a Pirate?

Wright: There are so many to remember, but I guess the ones that stick out are my performances against Syracuse and also against North Carolina and Eric Montross who was there at the time. People still talk about how I played like a "man-child" in these two games. Even though they were both losing efforts, I think I established myself as a force in the paint.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with any of your former teammates and if so, who?

Wright: I still keep in touch with Arty K [Arturas Karnisovas], B-Cave [Bryan Caver], T-Dehere [Terry Dehere], Jerry Gee Walker, Tchaka Shipp, Coach A-D [Adrian] Griffin, Chris Davis, Darryl Mims, John Leahy, and Danny Hurley. It was great to see so many of them at last weekend's 20th Anniversary reunion. 

Q: Do you still follow the Pirates and what are your thoughts on the program today?

Wright: Yes, and like [former head coach] P.J. (Carlesimo) said, we need to support our  current Pirates. The program is still a great opportunity for young boys to learn how to be men and future leaders. It's still a brotherhood that you will take with you through the end of your playing career whether you make it to the next level or not.

Q: As you know, the support of former student-athletes to Pirate Blue is critically important. Why do you think it's important to give back to the current generation of student-athletes?

Wright: It's important to let the new kids on campus the importance of being a responsible student-athlete on and off the court as a representative of the Pirate Program. A lot of times scholarship athletes forget that they have two jobs to do while attending school; to do their best in the classroom as well as on the playing field each and every day. As former student-athletes, it's up to us to teach them to make full use of all the support SHU provides, from the best equipment to access to learning tools such as tutors and academic advisors.

Check back soon to see if one of your favorite former Pirates is the subject of our next installment of "Where Are They Now?"

Previous Where Are They Now? Interviews

January 16, 2013