Siena junior guard Marquis Wright will continue to come off the bench against Iona at Times Union Center on Monday, according to head coach Jimmy Patsos.
And Wright, back from a broken foot, said it?s fine with him if he remains in a reserve role the rest of the season.
Wright made his return in a 20-point win at Rider on Friday, scoring eight points and handing out five assists in 27 minutes. He subbed in for the first time with 14:50 left in the first half.
?I told (Patsos) that I want to come off the bench,? Wright said after today?s practice. ?I don?t think it?s fair to my teammates, me being out so long and just coming back and starting. They deserve it. Just got to keep going with the flow. It wouldn?t bother me (if he didn?t start again this year) because we?re a team. Just play my role coming off the bench now.?
Wright, who leads the team with a 16.6 scoring average, had started 80 of the 81 career games he?d played in until Friday?s contest.
Patsos intends to keep freshman Kenny Wormley and senior Ryan Oliver in their starting roles as point guard and shooting guard, respectively. Wright plays both positions.
?I give Kenny his minutes by starting him,? Patsos explained. ?If you don?t start him, all you?re doing is looking down (the bench), `When am I going to put him in?'?
Wright?s return coincided with freshman sensation Nico Clareth playing 20 minutes and scoring eight points, breaking his streak of 13 straight double-figure scoring games.
Patsos was asked if Clareth, whose minutes had increased with Wright out, will see his role change now.
?Not really,? Patsos said. ?I just wanted to play Ryan (Oliver) the other night. Nico was cool with it the other day. He?s like, ?I don?t want to go back in. We?re up 12. Let the other guys play.'?
While Wright?s foot felt good after the Rider game, his left hand was still bothering him. He took seven stitches in the hand after cutting it during art class 10 days ago. He did practice this afternoon.
?First of all, I think adrenaline makes your first game back always good,? Patsos said. ?His foot was OK, but his hand was really sore. He?s back a little early from the sutures, but he wants to play.?
?I feel like just because it?s stiff and I guess not being used as much,? Wright explained. ?When it happened, I couldn?t lift (weights) or dribble with it, so I had to let (the hand) heal. So now that it?s healing, I?ve just got to get back into the flow and bending it more because it?s just stiff.?
Obviously, no one on the Saints was doing cartwheels when Wright first hurt his foot on Dec. 26.
But the Saints went 10-5 without him as other players assumed larger roles. And when Wright finally returned last Friday, he fit back in fairly smoothly with his teammates. He did note his teammates have to get accustomed again to his passes. He committed a turnover on his first possession Friday on a miscommunication with Oliver on a backdoor cut.
With the benefit of hindsight, Siena says that in the long run, playing without Wright for seven weeks may have helped the team?s development. Even Wright himself agrees with that theory.
?I do,? Wright said. ?They did a lot of good things without me. Everybody thought we were going to sink and just not accomplish anything. But they did it without me.?
Oliver stepped into Wright?s starting shooting guard role and played solidly. Wormley got experience and Clareth responded in a big way in extended minutes, vaulting himself into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year consideration.
?Not to knock Marquis, but I think it allowed some other people, some younger guys, to get some experience,? junior forward Brett Bisping said. ?That could help us down the stretch and in the postseason. So it could have made us better.?
--albany times union
And Wright, back from a broken foot, said it?s fine with him if he remains in a reserve role the rest of the season.
Wright made his return in a 20-point win at Rider on Friday, scoring eight points and handing out five assists in 27 minutes. He subbed in for the first time with 14:50 left in the first half.
?I told (Patsos) that I want to come off the bench,? Wright said after today?s practice. ?I don?t think it?s fair to my teammates, me being out so long and just coming back and starting. They deserve it. Just got to keep going with the flow. It wouldn?t bother me (if he didn?t start again this year) because we?re a team. Just play my role coming off the bench now.?
Wright, who leads the team with a 16.6 scoring average, had started 80 of the 81 career games he?d played in until Friday?s contest.
Patsos intends to keep freshman Kenny Wormley and senior Ryan Oliver in their starting roles as point guard and shooting guard, respectively. Wright plays both positions.
?I give Kenny his minutes by starting him,? Patsos explained. ?If you don?t start him, all you?re doing is looking down (the bench), `When am I going to put him in?'?
Wright?s return coincided with freshman sensation Nico Clareth playing 20 minutes and scoring eight points, breaking his streak of 13 straight double-figure scoring games.
Patsos was asked if Clareth, whose minutes had increased with Wright out, will see his role change now.
?Not really,? Patsos said. ?I just wanted to play Ryan (Oliver) the other night. Nico was cool with it the other day. He?s like, ?I don?t want to go back in. We?re up 12. Let the other guys play.'?
While Wright?s foot felt good after the Rider game, his left hand was still bothering him. He took seven stitches in the hand after cutting it during art class 10 days ago. He did practice this afternoon.
?First of all, I think adrenaline makes your first game back always good,? Patsos said. ?His foot was OK, but his hand was really sore. He?s back a little early from the sutures, but he wants to play.?
?I feel like just because it?s stiff and I guess not being used as much,? Wright explained. ?When it happened, I couldn?t lift (weights) or dribble with it, so I had to let (the hand) heal. So now that it?s healing, I?ve just got to get back into the flow and bending it more because it?s just stiff.?
Obviously, no one on the Saints was doing cartwheels when Wright first hurt his foot on Dec. 26.
But the Saints went 10-5 without him as other players assumed larger roles. And when Wright finally returned last Friday, he fit back in fairly smoothly with his teammates. He did note his teammates have to get accustomed again to his passes. He committed a turnover on his first possession Friday on a miscommunication with Oliver on a backdoor cut.
With the benefit of hindsight, Siena says that in the long run, playing without Wright for seven weeks may have helped the team?s development. Even Wright himself agrees with that theory.
?I do,? Wright said. ?They did a lot of good things without me. Everybody thought we were going to sink and just not accomplish anything. But they did it without me.?
Oliver stepped into Wright?s starting shooting guard role and played solidly. Wormley got experience and Clareth responded in a big way in extended minutes, vaulting himself into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year consideration.
?Not to knock Marquis, but I think it allowed some other people, some younger guys, to get some experience,? junior forward Brett Bisping said. ?That could help us down the stretch and in the postseason. So it could have made us better.?
--albany times union
