When all was said and done Monday night, with a disappointing 18-point loss to Florida State in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 being the final result for Colorado and its solid senior class, the below embrace of McKinley Wright IV and Tad Boyle took center stage.
The hug between Wright IV and Boyle closed the book on a highly successful player-coach partnership that got underway in the fall of 2017. In four years, the Wright IV-led Buffaloes won 84 games, including three straight seasons of 20-plus victories.
His long list of personal accomplishment as he prepares to leave Boulder has been well-documented: three first-team all-conference honors, the university's all-time assists record, top-ten finishes in program history for points (sixth, 1,857), starts (second, 130), minutes played (second, 4,339) and converted field goals (sixth, 686) to name a few.
Wright IV's legacy at Colorado is as rich as it is secured, and as he has on multiple occasions before, Boyle last night held back tears in discussing his outgoing senior point guard.
“I told him I loved him — I do. The kid’s special," Boyle said. "What he’s been through to get to the University of Colorado and what he’s given this program the last four years — the player is supposed to be crying, not the coach. But there were tears in my eyes, like there are now. He’s a special, special young man.”
"He’s given so much to this program from the time he stepped on campus and I really, really appreciate him. He knows that and I told him that.”
The Buffaloes' inability to advance further in the NCAA Tournament is something that likely will always bother Wright IV and Colorado's outgoing senior class.
Making the Big Dance has long been the proclaimed goal of this group, and to go from a dominating, offensive sharpshooting display against Georgetown only to cool down significantly 48 hours later and score the second-lowest amount of points on the year — second only to the 47 CU managed Dec. 8 at Tennessee — against FSU doubtless stings.
A performance such as the Buffs had in the biggest game of the season, a game that would have served as a springboard to the Sweet 16 — in other words uncharted territory for Colorado in the last half century —obviously leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
After Monday's loss to the Seminoles, Wright IV himself had to fight back emotions in reflecting on his time at Colorado.
“This hurts. I’m trying to hold back my tears again right now," he said. "I gave this university everything I had for four years, man. I tried my best to win as many games as possible and that’s all I care about — winning. I don’t care about stats. My recruiting class, we didn’t care about stats."
"We wanted to come in and win and we created that bond and love for each other. They mean a lot to me. I’m so thankful for Colorado, for welcoming me: a small, 6-foot, skinny point guard from Minneapolis. This university changed my life."
Wright IV has been open about the life he came from in North Robbinsdale, his at times troubled family life and the environment around him in which he grew up.
It's surreal to think that four years ago, Wright IV was committed and signed to play basketball for Archie Miller at Dayton and Boyle was kicking his feet up on vacation with his family in Mexico.
If there is a such thing as fate and destiny, perhaps it's fair to say both kicked in when Miller left Dayton for Indiana, starting a chain reaction that released Wright IV from his NLI. Shortly thereafter, Wright IV and Boyle first met in Minneapolis, a meeting that quickly evolved into a visit to Boulder.
From there, Wright IV signed on with the Buffs as a late spring addition to their Class of 2017 and a few months later, what would become an unforgettable career at Colorado had begun.
Throughout that career, Boyle has undoubtedly served as both a coach and mentor to Wright IV in a relationship where honesty, accountability and effort have served as pillars that define things between the two men.
“Coach Boyle means so much to me, more than basketball," Wright IV said. "I’ve been in his office just me, him and our coaching staff and we've talked about some of the struggles I’ve been through and some of the trials and tribulations me and my family have been through. Coach Boyle cares about everybody on the team outside of basketball. He wants the best for us and he wants us to succeed in life. He’s meant a lot to me."
"...He truly cares about me and my family and he’s meant so much to me, more than I can put into words. I’m just so thankful for him and am looking forward to him leading the young guys after I’m gone. He’s meant a lot to me. That’s my guy.”
When Wright IV was a freshman in 2017-2018, the Buffs limped to a 17-15 record and did not participate in a postseason competition after the annual Pac-12 Tournament.
Something then-senior George King would frequently say down the stretch of that season, as his Colorado career came to an end, was that he wanted to leave the program in better shape than he found it.
A year after King graduated, Colorado came within six points of playing for a Pac-12 Tournament championship, as Wright IV and CU's sophomore-dominated unit fell to regular season champs and senior-laden Washington.
A further three years after King's CU career had ended, the freshmen he had mentored, now seniors, took Colorado to rare territory in the NCAA Tournament.
In terms of personal achievements, sacrifice, being the best teammate possible and how he conducted himself on and off the basketball court on a day-to-day basis, Wright IV's legacy is totally solidified.
“I could count on one hand, and still have some fingers left, how many bad practices he’s had," Boyle said. "He’s been that everyday guy that competes. He’s prepared himself in the offseason. He’s gotten his teammates better. McKinley not just made his own game better from his freshman year to his senior year and improved every single year, but he’s made his teammates better."
"He’s challenged his teammates and encouraged his teammates. The biggest compliment you can give your best player is if he’s a great teammate. You can say that about McKinley Wright."
As Wright IV and in all likelihood the majority of Colorado's senior class look ahead in life and end their own collegiate basketball careers, a new era of CU hoops prepares to kick off this upcoming fall.
Whereas Wright IV, D'Shawn Schwartz, Dallas Walton and Co. chased an NCAA Tournament appearance for the entirety of their time at CU, achieving it in their final campaign, Colorado's robust Class of 2020 begins their college experience with the Big Dance.
Jabari Walker has shown convincing flashes of the player he can evolve into in the years to come. Tristan da Silva was able to get his feet wet in a meaningful way this year while Nique Clifford and Luke O'Brien took their freebie year of eligibility to improve in practice every day and prepare themselves for the call that'll come next year, with Wright IV and Schwartz leaving big shoes that'll need filled.
Without a doubt, Wright IV has achieved the goal that King aspired towards years before him: leaving the program at Colorado in better shape than he found it.
As of right now, the reinforcements that Colorado is set to receive in 2021 comes in the form of the No. 17-ranked class in the nation.
Whether Colorado's roster next year will feature any seniors who decide to take advantage of another year of eligibility remains to be seen.
But at a minimum, that class will have the presence of Evan Battey, Eli Parquet and the corps of young bucks who were able to learn from the example set down by the team's seniors in their final act in Boulder.
"The example they set this year was a very high bar and a leadership they showed through tough times," Boyle said. "...If our young guys can learn one thing from this class, it’s constant improvement and leadership. That’s what it’s going to take to keep this program rolling. It’s in good shape, we’ve got good, young players and we’ll add a piece or two to the mix."
"We’ve got a good class coming in next year but the bar’s been set pretty high. We didn’t get to the Sweet 16 this year but we’re going to get there. That’s something that I’m committed to as long as I’m coach at Colorado.”
McKinley Wright IV is a Mt. Rushmore figure in Colorado basketball history and will be remembered as such for many years to come. He unfailingly proved himself as a student-athlete, point guard, teammate and leader during his time in Boulder and leaves the Buffaloes teams of the immediate future in good position to pick up where he left off.
Thank you, McKinley.
The hug between Wright IV and Boyle closed the book on a highly successful player-coach partnership that got underway in the fall of 2017. In four years, the Wright IV-led Buffaloes won 84 games, including three straight seasons of 20-plus victories.
His long list of personal accomplishment as he prepares to leave Boulder has been well-documented: three first-team all-conference honors, the university's all-time assists record, top-ten finishes in program history for points (sixth, 1,857), starts (second, 130), minutes played (second, 4,339) and converted field goals (sixth, 686) to name a few.
Wright IV's legacy at Colorado is as rich as it is secured, and as he has on multiple occasions before, Boyle last night held back tears in discussing his outgoing senior point guard.
“I told him I loved him — I do. The kid’s special," Boyle said. "What he’s been through to get to the University of Colorado and what he’s given this program the last four years — the player is supposed to be crying, not the coach. But there were tears in my eyes, like there are now. He’s a special, special young man.”
"He’s given so much to this program from the time he stepped on campus and I really, really appreciate him. He knows that and I told him that.”
The Buffaloes' inability to advance further in the NCAA Tournament is something that likely will always bother Wright IV and Colorado's outgoing senior class.
Making the Big Dance has long been the proclaimed goal of this group, and to go from a dominating, offensive sharpshooting display against Georgetown only to cool down significantly 48 hours later and score the second-lowest amount of points on the year — second only to the 47 CU managed Dec. 8 at Tennessee — against FSU doubtless stings.
A performance such as the Buffs had in the biggest game of the season, a game that would have served as a springboard to the Sweet 16 — in other words uncharted territory for Colorado in the last half century —obviously leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
After Monday's loss to the Seminoles, Wright IV himself had to fight back emotions in reflecting on his time at Colorado.
“This hurts. I’m trying to hold back my tears again right now," he said. "I gave this university everything I had for four years, man. I tried my best to win as many games as possible and that’s all I care about — winning. I don’t care about stats. My recruiting class, we didn’t care about stats."
"We wanted to come in and win and we created that bond and love for each other. They mean a lot to me. I’m so thankful for Colorado, for welcoming me: a small, 6-foot, skinny point guard from Minneapolis. This university changed my life."
Wright IV has been open about the life he came from in North Robbinsdale, his at times troubled family life and the environment around him in which he grew up.
It's surreal to think that four years ago, Wright IV was committed and signed to play basketball for Archie Miller at Dayton and Boyle was kicking his feet up on vacation with his family in Mexico.
If there is a such thing as fate and destiny, perhaps it's fair to say both kicked in when Miller left Dayton for Indiana, starting a chain reaction that released Wright IV from his NLI. Shortly thereafter, Wright IV and Boyle first met in Minneapolis, a meeting that quickly evolved into a visit to Boulder.
From there, Wright IV signed on with the Buffs as a late spring addition to their Class of 2017 and a few months later, what would become an unforgettable career at Colorado had begun.
Throughout that career, Boyle has undoubtedly served as both a coach and mentor to Wright IV in a relationship where honesty, accountability and effort have served as pillars that define things between the two men.
“Coach Boyle means so much to me, more than basketball," Wright IV said. "I’ve been in his office just me, him and our coaching staff and we've talked about some of the struggles I’ve been through and some of the trials and tribulations me and my family have been through. Coach Boyle cares about everybody on the team outside of basketball. He wants the best for us and he wants us to succeed in life. He’s meant a lot to me."
"...He truly cares about me and my family and he’s meant so much to me, more than I can put into words. I’m just so thankful for him and am looking forward to him leading the young guys after I’m gone. He’s meant a lot to me. That’s my guy.”
When Wright IV was a freshman in 2017-2018, the Buffs limped to a 17-15 record and did not participate in a postseason competition after the annual Pac-12 Tournament.
Something then-senior George King would frequently say down the stretch of that season, as his Colorado career came to an end, was that he wanted to leave the program in better shape than he found it.
A year after King graduated, Colorado came within six points of playing for a Pac-12 Tournament championship, as Wright IV and CU's sophomore-dominated unit fell to regular season champs and senior-laden Washington.
A further three years after King's CU career had ended, the freshmen he had mentored, now seniors, took Colorado to rare territory in the NCAA Tournament.
In terms of personal achievements, sacrifice, being the best teammate possible and how he conducted himself on and off the basketball court on a day-to-day basis, Wright IV's legacy is totally solidified.
“I could count on one hand, and still have some fingers left, how many bad practices he’s had," Boyle said. "He’s been that everyday guy that competes. He’s prepared himself in the offseason. He’s gotten his teammates better. McKinley not just made his own game better from his freshman year to his senior year and improved every single year, but he’s made his teammates better."
"He’s challenged his teammates and encouraged his teammates. The biggest compliment you can give your best player is if he’s a great teammate. You can say that about McKinley Wright."
As Wright IV and in all likelihood the majority of Colorado's senior class look ahead in life and end their own collegiate basketball careers, a new era of CU hoops prepares to kick off this upcoming fall.
Whereas Wright IV, D'Shawn Schwartz, Dallas Walton and Co. chased an NCAA Tournament appearance for the entirety of their time at CU, achieving it in their final campaign, Colorado's robust Class of 2020 begins their college experience with the Big Dance.
Jabari Walker has shown convincing flashes of the player he can evolve into in the years to come. Tristan da Silva was able to get his feet wet in a meaningful way this year while Nique Clifford and Luke O'Brien took their freebie year of eligibility to improve in practice every day and prepare themselves for the call that'll come next year, with Wright IV and Schwartz leaving big shoes that'll need filled.
Without a doubt, Wright IV has achieved the goal that King aspired towards years before him: leaving the program at Colorado in better shape than he found it.
As of right now, the reinforcements that Colorado is set to receive in 2021 comes in the form of the No. 17-ranked class in the nation.
Whether Colorado's roster next year will feature any seniors who decide to take advantage of another year of eligibility remains to be seen.
But at a minimum, that class will have the presence of Evan Battey, Eli Parquet and the corps of young bucks who were able to learn from the example set down by the team's seniors in their final act in Boulder.
"The example they set this year was a very high bar and a leadership they showed through tough times," Boyle said. "...If our young guys can learn one thing from this class, it’s constant improvement and leadership. That’s what it’s going to take to keep this program rolling. It’s in good shape, we’ve got good, young players and we’ll add a piece or two to the mix."
"We’ve got a good class coming in next year but the bar’s been set pretty high. We didn’t get to the Sweet 16 this year but we’re going to get there. That’s something that I’m committed to as long as I’m coach at Colorado.”
McKinley Wright IV is a Mt. Rushmore figure in Colorado basketball history and will be remembered as such for many years to come. He unfailingly proved himself as a student-athlete, point guard, teammate and leader during his time in Boulder and leaves the Buffaloes teams of the immediate future in good position to pick up where he left off.
Thank you, McKinley.
