After transferring from Georgia Tech over the offseason, sophomore forward Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright spoke following summer practice on her decision to join the Iowa women’s basketball program.
During her lone season at Georgia Tech, the 5-foot-4 guard from Atlanta appeared in all 33 games and started 12 with the Yellow Jackets, averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 37.1% from the field, 32.3% from 3-point range, and 88.6% from the free-throw line.
Wright was a four-star signee in the 2024 class for Georgia Tech. According to ESPN, Wright was the nation’s No. 49 player overall and its No. 12 point guard.
In terms of her decision to commit to the Hawkeyes so early in her transfer portal journey, Wright said she did not want to waste anybody’s time and felt that Iowa City was the place to be.
“It was great because official visits are, like, very long, so just all the time, I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time. I knew this is where I wanted to be, and I felt like that would be selfish of me to just keep going on visits, spending money, and all that, so it felt really great,” Wright said.
When asked about her reaction to being recruited by Iowa, she said that she received lots of congratulations from friends who stated Iowa is an excellent program in order to get noticed and to play against top-tier competition.
“I mean, everybody knows about Iowa. And when I posted it, everybody was like congratulating me, saying this is really big and this is where you come to get your name branded, to play just on the highest level, and play for great teammates,” Wright said.
Wright was also asked how her previous relationship with assistant coach LaSondra Barrett played an impact on her decision.
“So once she signed and everything to come here, then I was like ‘Okay, I mean, that is a good choice for me.’ There were other schools reaching out, but it was just something about Iowa that really attracted me, and it was very appealing, so I came, I took my visit, and I just really loved it. So I committed right then and there on my visit,” Wright said.
Barrett was hired by Iowa on March 18 after spending the previous three seasons in the same role at Georgia Tech. She also was the Yellow Jackets’ primary recruiter of Wright out of high school, which created familiarity between the two that ultimately benefitted the Hawkeyes.
As Wright finds her role as a part of the Hawkeyes’ talent-filled 2025 class, Iowa hopes she can be a consistent scoring option as the team looks to capitalize on their excellent end to the 2024-25 season.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Chazadi Wright discusses decision to join Iowa women’s basketball
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
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