Former Vanderbilt forward Jordan Wright sits starting out at the crowd at Southeastern Conference media day looking satisfied. He's wearing the jersey number of his favorite childhood player LeBron James and most importantly; he's home.

Wright dons the jersey of his favorite childhood team with a certain level of maturity. One he admits the trials he faced at Vanderbilt instilled in him.

"I’m a better person because of it," Wright said of his time at Vanderbilt. "I dealt with adversity there, dealt with losing, dealt with tough times, dealt with slumps, dealt with everything there and through everything there I still had my teammates, still had coach (Jerry) Stackhouse and still had the fans’ support and it just made me a better man."

Although Wright admits that the way Stackhouse went about teaching wasn't always popular with him, the former Vanderbilt wing learned plenty.

“In the time I can say I really wasn’t too pleased, honestly. But he taught me how to be a man," Wright said.

“I think I definitely grew as a leader and I definitely grew as a person and as a man. I think that’s the biggest thing for me with playing for coach Stackhouse; he teaches you how to be a man.”

“He teaches you the game of basketball but he teaches you how to be a man, how to carry yourself and overall how to be a better person. I’m grateful for my time there,” Wright added.

That realization was crafted by plenty of adversity, something that Wright felt before finally reaching his breakthrough during his senior season.

"In life it’s never gonna be smooth sailing but (Stackhouse) taught me that when adversity hits ‘what are you gonna do, are you gonna fold or are you gonna get your head down and get back to work?’" Wright said. "I think I did that at the end of my senior year last year, going through that stretch where I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to or we had a rough patch or whatever it may be but at the end of the season, at the end of the year I think I showed who I truly was and the work paid off for me then."

That breakthrough marks a time that reinvigorated Wright and seemed to make things worth the while.

“Those 11 or 12 games at Vanderbilt was some of the most fun I’ve had playing basketball," the former Vanderbilt wing said. "We were projected to finish 13th or 14th in the league last year and we finished tied for fourth. It was incredible for me to see that and experience that with my brothers."

It's hard to find a player more deserving of that breakthrough than Wright. The now LSU wing was Stackhouse's first recruit, committed to Vanderbilt before the fifth-year coach had put a staff together and was there for all of Stackhouse's early ups and downs.

Wright is proud of that as well as how the program grew while he was a part of it.

"I feel like I left it better than I found it and I was very satisfied with the way everything ended there," Wright said. "The year before I got to Vanderbilt, they were 0-18, then to finish 11-7 last year, it still felt like if we made it to March Madness we could’ve made a run there."

The 23-year-old hopes that the Vanderbilt fanbase will take notice of that as he returns to Memorial Gymnasium with LSU on March 2nd.

“I hope I’m received well, I gave my all to Vanderbilt. Wright said. “My time there was I hope one of great memories and I left it out on the line every night. I just hope that the fans receive that and don’t think of it kinda like I left, I just hope it goes well.”

Regardless of the crowd's reaction to Wright, the now-LSU wing will still take time to appreciate the memories created in a place that's been special to him since he stepped on campus in 2019.

“The emotion is definitely gonna be high, I have great memories in that gym, from walking in as a freshman," Wright said. "I remember my first time walking in and when I first got to campus in June of 2019, just the pride that I felt to walk into Memorial Gym. I feel like it’s gonna be kind of that same feeling again this year, I’m just gonna have an overall pride and sense of happiness."

The 6-foot-6 Tigers' forward also wants to cherish the people who he'll be playing against. Particularly Tyrin Lawrence and Ezra Manjon. A pair that has talked about themselves as one of if not the best backcourt in the country.

“I can’t wait, I think we get to play them twice, too so I’m looking forward to them," Wright said. "Those are my brothers, they feel like they’re the best backcourt and I support them 100%, this will be my job for the LSU Tigers and show them that they’re not but if that’s how they feel then I agree with them."

"I don’t have any ill feelings about or any ill intentions, I’m happy with the way those two guys played at the end of the season. Like I said, we had an incredible run. I’m happy for them and I can’t wait to see them play this year."

Wright wants to make it clear that despite his departure, none of those ill feelings exist. In the Waggaman, Louisiana, native's mind it was just time to go home.

"There’s definitely never ill intentions to anybody at Vanderbilt. I loved my time there and I’m grateful for my time there but ultimately I just felt like it was time for a fresh start. I got my degree from Vanderbilt, that was just my main goal was to get that degree. Also, just the knowledge I learned from Vanderbilt and coach Stackhouse, I felt like it was time to take that and impart that on somewhere else and go back home."

Expanding his network to take a step towards his goal of being an NBA gm doesn't hurt, either. Wright feels as if the combination of what the schools provide have him in a position to where that career path can be a possibility.

"If you look at the staff at Vanderbilt they were riddled with NBA guys from coach Stack to coach Mazarei to coach Curry, even coach Conroy," Wright said. "Everybody that I know there has incredible connections and resources and now that I’m at LSU you have a lot of legends that come through the door every single day that have stepped foot in the NBA so I think I fit two great universities to help me to have resources to align me with resources to align myself with those goals that I have."

“I definitely want to work my way into the NBA as a GM, that’s my ultimate goal to be a general manager for an NBA team and work in the front office so whatever that course is to reach that goal, I’ll do," Wright said.

The position that Wright is in career wise and on the floor along with his growth as a man is something that he attributes to Stackhouse taking a chance on him as a lightly-recruited high schooler.

“Coach Stackhouse gave me an opportunity when not many other coaches did and I was his first recruit ever and I’ll forever be grateful for that," Wright reflects.