The Return of Wroten

John Lok/The Seattle Times

Posted: Ted Conroy

Way back in July of ’09, we at The Fizz introduced you to SU recruit Tony Wroten, the lefty shooting guard who didn’t play his high school’s sophomore year because of eligibility issues, but was still a prep star considering the ‘Cuse and Louisville.

Well unfortunately, the consensus Top-10 player in 2011 again wasn’t on the floor this year for his team. This time, it was the dreaded knee shred.

“Wroten Jr., a 6-foot-5 junior regarded as one of the top recruits in the class of 2011, tore his ACL during Garfield’s opening football game last fall and had surgery in late September.”

Poor kid. Luckily, his rehab went well and he’ll be playing Team USA ball this summer. But still, the AAU circuit is the only place anyone has really been able to see him shine.

Wroten is now listed by some websites as big as 206 pounds, adding some lean to his 6’5″ frame – good if he wants to compete in the Big East. But some wonder if it’s just the body that’s getting the work done.

ESPN had this to say:

“Wroten can be a mixed bag at times; sometimes he looks like a world beater that dominates the competition with his strength and play making ability and other times he struggles as his own worst enemy trying to create something out of nothing by forcing the issue.”

He also has an NBAdraft.net profile, which is pretty good considering he won’t be eligible for the Association another two years.

“A little too reliant on his physical gifts … Remains to be seen how he will fare against players who he cannot outrun, out jump, or outmuscle … Can sometimes drift on defense when his man doesn’t have the ball.”

These are all common concerns with Wroten. However, the fact remains that nobody has seen him play since last summer’s AAU rounds. This upcoming season is going to say a lot about where Wroten ends up landing – and The Fizz is already starting the Wroten Watch.