In life, it’s important to find the right fit. Whether you’re talking about what you choose to study, what you want to do with your life, or who you want to surround yourself with, it’s all about finding the right fit.
It’s what junior guard Kedar Wright has been trying to find his whole academic and athletic career.
“I struggled a lot in my first year [academically],” he explained.
When Wright first came to university from his home in Toronto, it was at UBC. And at first, he wanted to do engineering.
“I was good at math. I was good at physics, but I didn’t necessarily want to do that,” Wright said.
He admitted he struggled with the intense course load that comes with engineering, while juggling the many hours he had to put in as a student athlete.
“One semester, I knew I was out of that [. . .] I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I was just taking courses to stay eligible, to be honest.”
Today, he has a much clearer picture of his goals. He’s pursuing a bachelor of education, with a minor in kinesiology. He is a personal trainer, and when basketball is done and his schooling is done, he wants to pursue that.
The basketball, however, started off pretty good. In his freshman year at UBC in 2013-14 — where he played two years with current SFU assistant coach Bret Macdonald — Wright started seven games and put up 9.2 points per game. Near the end of the season, he put up a 28-point game in a playoff game versus the University of Alberta.
He even earned a spot on the Canada West (UBC’s conference in the Canadian Inter-University Sport (CIS) All-Rookie Team).
Wright credited his high school coach Omar Miles, now an assistant coach at Humber College, for preparing him for his first year of university.
“I feel like that program at St. Edmund Campion, my high school, just did a good job of preparing us as, like, men, rather than approaching things with a juvenile attitude. So I came and I had the right mentality and mindframe to approach that challenge.”
In his second year with UBC, he was a regular offensive contributor, and put up double-digit points on a nearly nightly basis.
“I feel like this is the best I’ve gotten along with a group of guys. I appreciate all these guys.”
However, after the 2014-15 year ended, though he looked poised to become one of the key players on the Thunderbirds as a junior, he left the program.
“If there is anything I could tell to a high schooler, or anybody looking to transfer, or anybody looking for an institution in general, it’s all about fit,” said Wright. “The basketball could be going well, your grades could be going well, but in terms of fit, if it’s not a good fit, you’re going to have a rough time in general. And it’s probably not going to be the best experience on both sides.”
That’s when then-SFU head coach Virgil Hill contacted Wright about joining the Clan. Wright visited the campus and liked what he saw. However, the timing didn’t work out for Wright to join the team for the 2015-16 season, and he sat out the season at home, working, and getting ready for the next season.
When he arrived at SFU, he was a changed man.
“When I first came to UBC, I was like a totally different person, in general. The biggest change has been internal,” said Wright. “Just the way I deal with things has been different.”
So far, from an athletic perspective at least, it seems like Wright has found the right fit. He has become the team’s offensive leader, putting up 14.9 points per game, while playing, on average, 28.1 minutes per game. He regularly plays 30-plus minutes a game, and puts up 20-plus points on regular basis.
“I’d say out of all the teams I’ve ever played for, I feel like this is the best I’ve gotten along with a group of guys. I appreciate all these guys,” he said of his new team.
With the team, he has one goal.
“First and foremost, SFU hasn’t clinched the playoffs ever. I’d like to do that and I only have one more year of eligibility left.
“That’s definitely a goal that we can do,” he explained. “We have the personnel to do it, it’s just putting it together. Our biggest challenge is the fact that everybody’s new, you know, new coach, I’d say almost 40% of our team is new, myself included.”
How do they make that step to become playoff contenders?
“We’ve got to win some games,” he said with a laugh.
“I think that’s just cohesion, got to get used to playing with each other,” he elaborated. “Finding out what works is what we need to do.”
While it may be early to call it a fit, he’s got a team where he’s a leader on the court, and he appreciates the community of SFU athletes who show up to each others’ games. He may just have found what he was looking for.
FUN FACT: Favourite thing about SFU?
“I’d say the people here are a little bit down to Earth, and I appreciate that.”
