Prospect Spotlight: Ricky Goode-Wright (2021)
When your Dad is a renowned coach and trainer of youth players, it makes sense that you’ll be a very skilled and high IQ guy among your peers. For James Monroe freshman Ricky Goode-Wright, he didn’t just excel as a freshman, he was one of the better point guards in the Fredericksburg area regardless of class.
Now he split time at the point with sophomore Mike Gray, but he still managed to average around 16 points and five assists per game. Still, for a perfectionist like Ricky it wasn’t good enough.
“A lot of people in the area think I had a good freshman year, but I really didn’t’t live up to the expectations or goals I set for myself such as making First Team and being in the conversation for Conference Player of the Year,” he said.
As any freshman would do, Goode-Wright went through ups and downs his first year on varsity, but really finished strong as the season came to an end. With Gray transferring to Blue Ridge School and reclassifying to the 2021 class, it will be his team moving forward, and he hopes to reach those goals this season.
“My sophomore year, I want to up my averages and take the place of our main scorer in Mike Gray, but also become a better facilitator than I was last year,” he said. I want to get more exposure and show that I can lead my team.”
“As far as our team goals, I want us to win the district and conference titles and be able to compete against the best for a state championship. I think we could have one of the best James Monroe teams in the past 5-7 years this year.”
Goode-Wright is only about 5’10”, but he has the skill set to make it happen. He has a tight handle with good wiggle and he can really run the pick-and-roll. He can shoot it off the bounce, he’s a good finisher for his size and he has good instincts on both ends of the floor. As far as what he can improve on, he always has something he’s working on.
“For me to continue the success I had latte last year, I have to stay in the gym and continue to grind, make my legs stronger to be able to finish above the rim consistently and become a knock down shooter from deep.”
He has a great understanding of the game, which he likely gets from his father who is tough but knows how to get players better. He has a great understanding of his game and what he does well and what he needs to work on to become a more complete player moving forward.
“My biggest strength right now is my ability to knock down shots and create for others. Moving forward I need to work on my pace and limiting my turnovers, especially in heated games where my emotions sometimes get the best of me. If I can work on limiting my mistakes I can make everyone on my team play at a higher level.”
Goode-Wright is still very young, so he’s going to continue to develop as a true point guard, but he’s still ahead of most players his age. His mix of skill with the ball in his hands and leadership at a young age means that he’s going to be able to take over games and still make others around him better.
Keep an eye out for him and his James Monroe team to be one of the better teams in Fredericksburg this year, and they should be a dark horse candidate in 3A as well.