Former KU forward Julian Wright headed to Taiwan to resume pro basketball career
Julian Wright knew there was a slight chance he’d play professional basketball again when he announced his retirement last April.
“As of now I have retired. Many people obviously come out of retirement,” Wright, a 33-year-old former University of Kansas forward told The Star on April 9. At the time he was preparing for the opening of his new state-of-the-art 5,000 square foot basketball training facility in Fort Mill, South Carolina, 15 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Though his new business venture, ADAPT Basketball, is off to a promising start, Wright has indeed decided to have others run his business a few months while he returns to competitive hoops.
Wright, a 6-8 forward from Chicago, announced Tuesday he has signed a contract to play for the Hsinchu Lioneers, a team based in Taiwan.
“I’ve decided to take my talents to Taiwan playing with the Hsinchu Lioneers,” Wright said in an Instagram video, jokingly copying LeBron James’ script when James left Cleveland for the Miami Heat. “I’m excited because I know that region loves basketball,” added Wright, now entering his 14th season as a professional player after leaving KU after his sophomore campaign in 2006-07.
“I’m excited to get back into it and open another chapter. In regard to my business I wanted to say I’m thankful to God I was able to have time to plan, get my staff in place and get to meet a lot of clientele prior to taking another job, I’m thankful to all the people who have shown support thus far,” he said.
Wright last played for the Tianjin Pioneers of the Chinese Basketball Association, returning to the U.S. in late January because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
He also played four years in the NBA and in such places as Israel, Russia, Greece, Puerto Rico, Italy and China.
“While I’m away,” Wright said in a message to his clients, “I hope many people call our facility their ‘House of Hoops’ — a place they can improve in a variety of ways — with our staff, team practices, and DIY Shooting to sharpen their technique during ‘target practice’ throughout the season. This is a team effort. Just like @cp3 (Chris Paul) has his CP3 academy operating with staff while he’s actively playing, I aspire to do the same thing and be of service to our growing clientele.”
Champions Classic unofficially is Dec. 1
The Champions Classic will be moved from Chicago to Orlando, Florida and be contested on Dec. 1 according to Jeff Goodman of watchstadium.com. ESPN, which runs the one-day doubleheader (KU vs. Kentucky; Duke vs. Michigan State) has not yet confirmed his report. Originally the Classic was set for Nov. 10 in Chicago. That was before the start of the 2020-21 season was moved to Nov. 25 by the NCAA.
