Why Jacobi Wright remained patient and stayed loyal to South Carolina
It would’ve been easy for Jacobi Wright to leave South Carolina. His first coach would no longer be around after his freshman year. He had plenty of time to start a new journey if he wanted to.
But instead, the junior guard decided to stay a Gamecock. In fact, he was one of the only ones to do so. It wasn’t always easy, though, as there a lot low points over the course of the next season.
“My first year, we were solid, we were in the middle of the pack in the SEC, on the bubble of the tournament,” Wright told GamecockCentral’s Jack Veltri in a Garnet Trust exclusive interview. “We didn’t end up making it and then last year was rough for us. But I’ve just been sticking through it. I’ve been loyal to the university.”
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While South Carolina only won 11 games in 2023, Wright stuck to his guns and believed in what Lamont Paris could do given more time. And so far, his patience and faith in his head coach have paid off tremendously.
“I’ve believed in what coach Paris could do last year,” Wright said. “We had a lot of close games, even though it was tough on us last year. I just really believe in my coach and the players he brought in to help us out and it’s really worked out for us this year.”
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In what has been one of the best stories all year, the Gamecocks will be playing in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 2017. And Wright has been a big part of the turnaround, shooting 35.8 percent from the field in 22.7 minutes per game.
“It’s just all a blessing, I love all the guys we play with, they like my brothers,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, man. Sticking through the lows and now we’re being here, it’s a great feeling, man. I’m extremely blessed to be here.”
For Wright, this week has extra meaning to him. He grew up watching March Madness games with his parents and grandfather. As a result, he said he recently texted his grandfather to reminisce about how exciting it was to have those memories.
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And now, he’ll get to live out that childhood dream. But on top of that, Wright will get to do it as the hometown kid. The Fort Mill native couldn’t be more excited to try and make a run in this year’s tournament.
“I take a lot of pride in being from South Carolina and being able to wear South Carolina across my chest. That was a big reason why I came here,” Wright said. “It’s my home state school and I get to represent being a South Carolina kid. Being able to just represent the school and the university and my family in the tournament, man, it’s huge. It’s one of the things I worked hard for growing up. It’s like a dream come true to a young kid and it’s amazing.”
