Virginia's Wright Takes a Vocal Role

Monica Wright gets on the phone and immediately apologizes for her raspy voice.

"I was kind of screaming at the game the other day," she said of the Cavaliers' 88-43 not-exactly-a-nail-biter victory over Morehead State on Monday night.

Wright apparently is taking her role as a vocal leader for the Virginia women's basketball team quite seriously these days. While the 5-foot-11 sophomore guard usually deferred to the upperclassmen last season, she has made a concerted effort to speak out more as a sophomore. And she isn't shy about taking her teammates to task, Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan said. She calls Wright an "enforcer as well as an encourager," a description some might find hard to believe given Wright's sweet demeanor.

"She really wants to be someone that her teammates like, but she also is someone who understands what it takes to win," Ryan said. "I think she's willing to step outside her comfort zone and become a better leader in order for us to win, and that's what I've been most proud of."

Wright's transformation into a vocal leader began this past summer when she was captain of the USA Basketball under-19 team that won the gold medal at the world championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. Wright scored a team-high 19 points in the title game against Sweden.

"I was one of the oldest on the team," Wright said. "I really grew a lot in my leadership, whether it was on the court or being vocal."

In the past, Wright let her actions speak for her. She led Woodbridge's Forest Park High School to two Virginia AAA championships and was selected the 2006 All-Met Player of the Year her senior year. Last season, she averaged 15.1 points and 2.3 steals per game to become a unanimous selection as ACC rookie of the year.

This season, Wright, who has started every game of her college career, is a big reason Virginia (17-5, 5-1 ACC) is in third place in the conference standings as well as why the Cavaliers rank third in the league in scoring at 74 points per game. She is the conference's third-leading scorer at 17.4 points per game. She also averages the fourth-most steals in the league (2.8 per game).

"God gave her a lot of great things: speed, strength and quickness," Ryan said. "One of the other things that sets her apart from a lot of players is her work ethic. She's really an extremely hard worker. You have to kick her out of the gym sometimes to get her a day off."

Wright admits to logging several extra hours a week working on her game, whether it's putting up shots or watching film. Last season, she practically lived in the coaches' offices, trying to absorb as much information as she could. She would go over game film play by play, learning what she could have done differently in each situation. Those sessions led to better decision-making, which, as a result, have cut down on her turnovers.

"In high school you just play and play," Wright said. "Now, one play can determine your whole game. Realizing that is what changed a lot of" the turnovers.

Starting with Virginia's 10-day trip to Senegal and the Canary Islands last spring for three exhibition games to her summer with USA Basketball to the grind of the ACC season, Wright has experienced a full complement of basketball over the past 12 months. But she's not complaining.

"I'm not the type to believe in getting worn out," she said. "There can never be enough basketball."