Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk —- Jamari Wright (Cambridge , Cambridgeshire) has been offered the opportunity to join The University of St Thomas (Minnesota, USA) to continue his educational and basketball career.
Jamari becomes the second CU player to join an American University this year, the third County Upper player to join a NCAA Div 3 School and the 12th over all player to join an American University in three years.
St Thomas University are Currently the NCAA Div 3 National Champions, having won the title in March of this year. Their winning margin (34 points 78 – 54) in the National Championship game tied the largest in NCAA D3 history as they matched UW-Stevens Point’s 73-49 win over Rochester in 2005. The University of St Thomas is coached by Steve Fritz who will be entering his 31st season as head coach. In total Coach Fritz has been with the Tommie basketball programme for a total of 44 years as a player, assistant coach and then head coaching from 1980 till present. During his tenure with St Thomas University he has compiled a total of 776 wins and 361 losses (67.5%).
Coach Fritz has been the MIAC Conference Coach of the Year no fewer than 14 times, and has been the NCAA West Region Coach of the Year three times, he is also the National Coach of the year this year.
As the head coach his teams have won 14 Conference Championships, and reached the MIAC playoff finals 15 out of the last 21 years. His teams have also reached the National Tournament nine of the last 19 seasons.
Jamari had this to say about joining St Thomas University:
“Before coming to County Upper I did not think I would have the chance at playing basketball at an American University . I had seen the changes in my brothers and Billy’s (Billy Beddow, an ex-County Upper player) game after their experience at County Upper and I knew after I saw that, it was where I needed to go to get to the next level. The two years I have spent at County Upper have been hard but very enjoyable as well. In my last year Coach Johnson helped to find me Universities that are suitable for what I wanted to do and then I chose the university of St Thomas, because of it’s established basketball team and the academics that they offered. I now have the opportunity to play basketball at the University of St Thomas I know it is going to be hard to play in the team but I am willing to take the challenge”.
Coach Johnson said:
“This is fantastic news for County Upper School , Cambridge Cats and Jamari” said coach Johnson, Director of County Upper Basketball Academy. “Jamari came to us two years ago with the goal of playing in the USA and working towards a US degree. Since joining he has dedicated himself 100% to developing as a student in the classroom and as a player on the basketball court. All his hard work and dedication have really paid off by being offered the opportunity to join a basketball programme full of history. This is a great honour for Jamari. However, the easy part is being offered an opportunity, the hardest part will start once he sets foot on campus. It will not be easy proving yourself on a programme that has just won the NCAA Division 3 National Title. He will have to work hard to earn his spot on the team”.
“With The University of St Thomas being one of the top 5 universities in Minnesota Jamari will also be challenged academically. I am glad to have been able to help Jamari achieve this goal and wish him all the best for the coming season”
