Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Robert Wright III will usually get phone calls on weekends from his brothers, who are back home in Wilmington. It’s about 8 a.m. there, and while the Brigham Young University guard says he’s a morning person, those calls for him are at 6 a.m. Mountain Standard Time — a bit too early for his liking. Sometimes he’ll answer. Other times, he’s leaving his phone on silent. Wright is still getting adjusted to this new chapter in Utah. The sophomore transferred to BYU in the offseason from Baylor, where he spent his freshman year playing alongside current 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe and was a key contributor on a team that made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Wright had success with the Bears, setting the team record for assists in a season with 148, but he wanted to grow another phase of his game that will prepare the point guard to be an NBA player. He believes coach Kevin Young can help him get there with eighth-ranked BYU. Wright began his Cougars career by scoring 14 points in a 71-66 win against Villanova on Monday. “Learning and getting to grow with [Young] will be really good for me,” said Wright, who played three seasons at Neumann Goretti. “Also just playing with guys like Richie Saunders and AJ Dybantsa — those guys are going to be superstars. So playing with a first-team-caliber guy like Richie is going to be great for me. Then playing with AJ, all the national hype and everything — it’s an opportunity you couldn’t pass up.” A name, image, and likeness contract may have played a part in getting Wright to BYU. The 18-year-old, 6-foot-9 Dybantsa, who was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the class of 2025, is rumored to have the largest NIL deal in college basketball history at $7 million. He’s projected to be a one-and-done. » READ MORE: What we learned from Villanova’s near upset of No. 8 BYU in Las Vegas But the 6-1 Wright has felt overlooked for most of his playing career. He plays with an extra edge and wants the opportunity to be challenged by the best. Throughout his journey, from earning a Catholic League title as a sophomore at Neumann to winning a national championship as a senior at Florida’s Montverde Academy, each milestone is a step closer to his goal. “I want to be an NBA player,” Wright said. “If that happens this year, if I play my way into that, I’ll be really grateful for that, and that’s what I’m kind of striving for.” Wright was a standout at Neumann Goretti under longtime coach Carl Arrigale. He won PCL and state championships with the Saints as a sophomore in 2022 and was named Pennsylvania’s Gatorade boys’ basketball player of the year as a junior. In the spring of 2023, with his college commitment to Baylor behind him, Wright announced that he would be leaving the area for national powerhouse Montverde Academy. The decision was difficult. Arrigale didn’t want him to leave, but knew it could be the best for his development. “I think we were all kind of on the same page,” Wright said. “Nobody wanted me to leave home, but it was probably the best thing for my game. I think everybody respected my decision and really encouraged and supported me while I was going far away from home, being a boarding school student — it was different, but it was a new challenge." It helped him play alongside a star who is now in the NBA. Wright, who averaged 12.2 points and 5.8 assists during his one season with the Eagles, was teammates with the Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg, who was the first overall pick out of Duke in the 2025 NBA draft. » READ MORE: Temple showcases its new talent and look in a season-opening win against Delaware State He also played against Edgecombe, Dybantsa, Ace Bailey (Jazz), and Dylan Harper (Spurs) throughout the season and at the City of Palms Classic, an annual high school showcase in Fort Myers, Fla., featuring some of the top teams in the nation. The exposure to high-level competition, Wright said, prepared him to play as a freshman at Baylor. He did not see action right away, though. Wright, who averaged 11.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 rebounds last season, started 21 of Baylor’s 35 games. When a couple of injuries impacted the Bears lineup, Wright stepped in as a starter and took advantage of the moment. During the year, he formed a close relationship with his roommate, Edgecombe. “That’s my brother,” Wright said. “We talk every single day. ... We came into college together and just got to be with each other every day and lean on each other through the ups and downs in my freshman year. I’m thankful for that. “He’s very energetic, as you can probably see. His sleeping hours were a lot different than mine. I would go to sleep pretty early because I was more of a morning person. And he is not — I don’t know if he is now, he told me he’s starting to change — but he was not the biggest morning person last year. So he would sleep later, and I hear him listening to music or being loud on the game. We just enjoyed being freshmen together and just having each other’s company.” » READ MORE: Sixers’ Jared McCain ‘just grateful’ to play again after long recovery from knee and thumb surgeries Wright was ecstatic when his former teammate was drafted by the Sixers with the third overall pick. It has been even better to see Edgecombe get off to a hot start, which Wright knew “he would be able to do.” If he keeps up the pace, Wright believes the 20-year-old will win NBA Rookie of the Year. “I don’t think no one has as high of a motor as he does on both sides of the floor,” Wright said. “It’s just hard to keep up with a guy like that.” Wright’s family will attend Sixers games to watch Edgecombe play. The BYU star hasn’t been in the area since August, but he’s hoping to be in Wilmington for the holidays and catch a Neumann Goretti game. His brother, Stephon Ashley-Wright, is a senior point guard on the team — and maybe Robert will bring Edgecombe with him. For now, Wright is soaking in a new environment in Utah, where “the fans here are super crazy, and I’ve been enjoying it.”
