FORT MYERS, Fla. – FSW men’s basketball forward Marice Wright has signed his National Letter of Intent to play for head coach Lewis Jackson and Alabama State University from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Wright signing with NCAA Division I ASU means that FSW men's basketball head coach Marty Richter is now 3-for-3 on sending his first class to Division I institutions (Nych Smith - Winthrop, Ed Porter - Lehigh).
The 6-foot-11, 210-pound post will join the Hornets for the 2017-18 academic year. ASU, finished the season 8-23 overall and 6-12 in the SWAC.
Wright helped lead the Purple and Aqua, who ranked No. 31 in the final NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Rankings (Feb. 28), to a 26-7 overall record this season. The Bucs earned a berth to the NJCAA District VIII Championship in the first year of the program after winning a 4-team Suncoast Conference playoff, defeating SCF (98-75; Feb. 25) and Polk State (99-94; Feb.27) The Bucs also won 16 of their last 18 games to close the regular season and were one of four schools in the state with both its men’s and women’s basketball teams represented in the State Tournament (Central Florida, Broward, Tallahassee).
The Buccaneers finished the regular season ranked 21st nationally in assists per game (19.4), 46th in steals (9.0) and 56th in blocks (4.1). FSW also ranked in the top 60 nationally in points (52nd, 86.7) and field goal percentage (59th, 47.8 percent).
Last season, Wright appeared in 32 games (18 starts) and averaged 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per contest. During Suncoast Conference play, Wright averaged 3.0 points, 3.3 boards and shot 36.4 percent from behind the arc. The big man recorded a season-high 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from long distance at Hillsborough CC (Jan. 28). He pulled down a season-high eight boards on two occasions (vs. Combine Academy on Nov. 4; vs. Hillsborough CC on Jan. 11).
A native of Clarksville, Tenn., Wright averaged 3.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during the 2015-16 season for Wayne County Community College (14-13 overall). He registered a season-high 10 points against Schoolcraft CC (Mar. 4) and tallied season-high in rebounds (11) and blocks (7) against Marygrove College (Dec. 19).
The big man also averaged 7.0 points 11.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks as a senior at Northwest HS.
For the latest information on Alabama State men’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@BamaStateMBB).
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FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball).
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers is the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (completed in fall 2016), where FSW’s men’s and women’s basketball compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8, THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE & THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.
The women’s basketball program is Southern Conference with Broward College, Eastern Florida State College, Indian River State College, Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College.
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.