Nothing’s Wrong for Stanford’s Howard Wright : Patrick Henry Alumnus Prepares for Pacific 10 Tournament at Pauley Pavilion

Howard Wright, Stanford University basketball player, credits his success as a player, a student and a person to his family.

“Without my family there would be no way that I could be in a position to graduate from Stanford in a couple of years,” The Times’ 1985 San Diego high school player of the year said. “The support is just unbelievable, and when I go to L.A. it’s really nice to see everybody in the stands.” Wright, a 6-foot 8-inch forward from Patrick Henry High, will travel to Los Angeles with Stanford to participate in the Pacific 10 tournament this weekend. Stanford plays Washington at 7 p.m. Friday at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.

“Los Angeles is where I pretty much have my home base,” said Wright, 19. “A lot of my family is there.”

And if not permanently, then at least whenever the youngest member of former Charger Ernie Wright’s family is playing.

“My parents, although they were separated a couple of years ago, come to every game and every awards banquet they can,” Wright said. “All of us in my family, except me right now, have graduated from college. That is first and foremost in our house.”

When Wright was recruited out of Patrick Henry, one of the biggest concerns he had was his education. And, again, his family helped in his choice.

“If I didn’t have my family to support me, I would have been really, really taken aback by some of the things that people told me and I think I might have made a wrong decision,” he said. “I almost overlooked what Stanford had to offer me and I finally realized that this is the place for me. Coach (Tom Davis, now at Iowa) told me coming in, ‘This is not like other schools and we think the quality of your education is going to be your meal ticket after you graduate.’ ”

Wright has a B-minus average in finance.

“I just want to improve this year and throughout my (academic) career,” he said. “Hopefully, (I can) make some all-academic team, whether it be Pac-10, West Coast or national.”

On the court, where he started 27 of 30 games as a freshman and all 27 so far this season, he is improving.

Last season, Wright set a Stanford freshman record with 41 blocked shots and led the team with in rebounding with a 6.3 average.

Midway through this season, first-year Coach Mike Montgomery moved Wright from center to his natural position, forward. That has allowed Wright to increase his scoring output (15.0 average over the last three games), as burly Eric Reveno has taken over the more physical center position. It has helped Stanford win its last three games, including an upset of Arizona. Wright hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer for the victory.

The move from center to forward may have been dictated more by Wright’s image as a nice guy on the court than Reveno’s strong play.

Montgomery said: “He’s such a nice kid that sometimes I think he’s too nice on the basketball court. In fact, I know that’s the case. He’s trying to work on that competitive instinct that says on the court, ‘You’re mean and tough and angry . . . and dominant.’ Off the court, you can still be the same type of person that Howard is.”

Wright admits that even in high school his perceived disinterest on the court presented a negative image to recruiters.

“Some recruiters thought that I was apathetic,” he said. “I’m just not really emotional. I’m giving 100% and I’m not necessarily one to jump up and down or be a cheerleader.”

Montgomery and Wright both credit Wright’s developing aggressiveness to former NBA player Kermit Washington, now a strength coach at Stanford. Washington was an assistant under Davis and helped recruit Wright.

“I call him (Washington) after good games and I call him after bad games,” Wright said. “He’s actually too young to be my father and too old to be my brother. It’s a relationship that I really need right now.

“He just told me, ‘Put things back in perspective. Make sure you’re getting your grades first. . . . That you play as hard as you can every game. . . . That you have fun and that you don’t worry about what people say.’ ”

Wright has listened to Washington and says he’s gotten a lot more enjoyment out of basketball this season.

“Last year, there was a time when we seemed to be going through the motions,” he said. “This year, I have got a chance to sit back and say, ‘Wait! I’m playing basketball, while I go to school, just to have fun.’ I’m going to play my hardest every game and I’m not going to be worried about what people think about me as long as I please myself and my family.”