Wright to stay in school

IU coach Mike Davis said sophomore guard Bracey Wright will be returning to IU next season.\n"I met with Bracey and his mom, and we discussed his options," Davis said. "He's our most experienced player coming back, and considering the young talent we have coming in, we definitely need his leadership."\nIU lost seniors A.J. Moye, George Leach and Jason Stewart this year to graduation. Next year's squad will feature seniors Donald Perry, Mark Johnson, Mike Roberts and Ryan Tapak.\nWright, who will be a junior next season, has been a permanent starter for two years -- the only permanent starter among the four seniors for next season.\nWright averaged 18.5 points per game while shooting 34.3 percent from three-point range. He ranked third on the team in rebounds per game with 5.4. \nWright has said all along he wasn't planning on announcing his decision on entering the NBA draft or not until May; the deadline for early entry is May 12. \nWright came to IU in 2002 as a heralded McDonald's All-American player. He had back surgery after his freshman season and was limited in the amount of offseason preparations he could make. \nAs the season wore on, Wright had trouble adjusting to defenses centering their attention on him. Consequently, Wright suffered through a mid-Big Ten season slump, during which he averaged 13 points per game in the 6-game stretch in which the Hoosiers went 1-5. IU finished 14-15 and failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1985.\nThe young talent Davis speaks of is one of the highest ranked recruiting classes in the country. The class includes guard/forward James Hardy, guard A.J. Ratliff, forward Josh Smith, forward Robert Vaden and center D.J. White. Ratliff won the 2004 Indiana Mr. Basketball, and Hardy finished third. Hardy also has signed a football letter of intent for IU coach Gerry DiNardo. \n"I don't like to set personal goals. But as talk started, I knew it would be nice to have. It's a great honor to be with some of the people that have won Mr. Basketball," Ratliff told The Indianapolis Star.\nThe 6-foot-2 Ratliff averaged 19 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.6 steals while leading the North Central Panthers to a 21-4 record.\nWISH-TV reported Sunday night that California recruit Robert Rothbart has verbally committed to IU. An announcement is forthcoming this week.\nSmith has been projected as a high NBA draft pick and is rumored to be forsaking college to enter the league. His participation in three high school all-star games would forfeit Smith's first year of eligibility under NCAA regulations.\nWright could not be reached for comment at press time.\nThe Associated Press \ncontributed to the this report.