By Joseph Staszewski
Justin Wright-Foreman sensed his breakout performance was coming, but even he couldn’t have expected what happened next.
“I just felt good going into the game,” he said. “I got a good rest at the hotel. I told myself, ‘I think I’ll have a good game today.’ I came out energetic and it happened.”
The rising Construction senior guard put on a near-flawless performance with plenty of college coaches looking on. He poured in 48 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists to help his New York Rens travel team in a win over the Ohio Basketball Club at the Adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas in late July.
The 6-foot-1 Wright-Foreman was a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range, shot 14-for-16 from the field and made 15-of-17 free throws.
Rens Coach Artie Cox said the effort left many college coaches shaking their heads while looking at the box score. They were wondering who Wright-Foreman was. Many of them came to watch Christ the King star Rawle Alkins, one of the nation’s top recruiters, play. Wright-Foreman opened the game with consecutive treys and things rolled on from there.
“His shot was just perfect,” Cox said. “Every shot looked great. I didn’t realize he had 48. It just came in the flow of the game. It was a natural 48. It was amazing that he didn’t miss. It was just an amazing game.”
Wright-Foreman, a combo-guard, increased his number of scholarship offers and is beginning to get interest from Atlantic-10 schools. Niagara, Fairfield, High Point, Kent State, Cal-State Bakersfield (FIX), Canisius, Iona, Sacred Heart, LIU, St. Francis Brooklyn and Hofstra have all offered Wright-Foreman.
“Smaller version of Bootsy Thornton that played at St. John’s,” said one Division-I assistant coach who watched Wright-Foreman on multiple occasions. “Lefty scorer who is not really a shooter, but when the ball is in his hands, it more than likely ends up in the basket.”
The 48-point game was part of an outstanding overall tournament. Wright-Foreman led in the event in field goal percentage at 72.1 percent and was second in scoring with 27 points per contest. He attributes some of it in part to the 6 a.m. shooting workouts he had before heading to Vegas with trainer and Queens HS of Teaching Assistant Coach Jonathan Blount.
“It was just a matter of him getting a chance to show his talent at a higher level,” Construction Coach Cory Semper said.
Wright-Foreman, who is just 16, finally got that chance this year at Construction after transferring from Christ the King in the middle of his sophomore year. He averaged 21 points during the regular season and 25 points and five rounds in five postseason games. Wright-Foreman helped lead the Red Hawks to their first PSAL Queens title by knocking off eventual city champion Benjamin Cardozo in the borough final.
Semper said Wright-Foreman is the rare kid who doesn’t immediately look for a gym to work out in. He is happy enough with the playground courts. His success and the newfound attention are only adding more fuel to his competitive fire.
“All these schools are looking at me now,” Wright-Foreman said. “It’s just giving me more motivation to grind and work hard.”
