 His Turkish name was Ali Karadeniz.Wright played his high school basketball at Farragut Academy, where, as a freshman, he was part of one of the best teams in the country, which boasted future professionals Willie Farley and Ronnie Fields, as well as Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Garnett.At 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), Wright played center after Garnett's departure, and moved to power forward in college.