CHICAGO — Twenty questions were asked during Georgetown’s press conference Thursday at the United Center. Half concerned Chris Wright’s infamous left hand.
Yes, the hand is fine. Yes, the senior point guard will play in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Virginia Commonwealth.
After breaking a bone in the hand Feb. 23, Wright returned to practice Monday. During Georgetown’s open practice Thursday, he didn’t have any protection on the hand, dribbled with both hands, made left-handed layups and looked like, well, Chris Wright.
The only evidence something was amiss is the thin scar that runs from the knuckle on his middle finger down his hand and, of course, the questions.
“Nothing is restricted or anything,” Wright said. “My teammates came up to me and said, ’You look fine, you played fine.’ I wasn’t favoring it or anything. So, I feel good.”
Wright did cardio work while sidelined. Freshman Nate Lubick believes Wright is at 100 percent. But, more importantly, something feels different when Wright steps on the court. Even in practice.
“It feels like everybody’s back together, everything’s back to normal,” Lubick said. “He’s just back to normal.”
Still, Wright hasn’t played in over three weeks. Returning against VCU’s press while trying to steady a struggling team is a tall order.
“Are we a different team, are we a better team with Chris back? Yes,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “But everyone has to do their job. It’s not just like, OK, you plop Chris into the equation so that means it’s going to be smooth sailing.”
• Nathan Fenno can be reached at nfenno@washingtontimes.com.
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