SALT LAKE CITY — The decision to return for his senior season was not an easy one, especially with a viable chance of making an NBA roster after only one season in Division I basketball. But a senior season for Utah point guard Delon Wright was more than just a basketball decision.

The 6-foot-5 senior has a multitude of skills that teams covet in a guard at both the collegiate and NBA level. And as such, Wright is seen by many scouts and national analysts as one of the top returning college guards in the country.

Although the court is where Wright shines, it’s the promise he made to his mother to get a degree that matters most to him right now.

Wright, who is currently pursuing a degree in sociology, decided to load up his school workload in the fall semester to ensure he’d graduate before taking the necessary steps in preparation for his hopes of playing in the NBA.

“I felt like I should really knock it out this semester and the second semester I’ll have an easy load to focus on basketball and my body and stuff,” Delon said. “I think it’s important to get it done now.”

Runnin’ Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak said he gave Wright the option of taking an easy workload so he could focus on basketball and prepare for the NBA, but Wright was determined to get his degree before he left the university.

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“I’ve kinda presented that opportunity for Delon if it (the NBA) happens, that he can focus on the basketball. It was his decision,” Krystkowiak said. “He was the first person to go into the academic department and say, ‘No, I don’t want the slow track. I want the fast track. I want to get my degree when I leave.’ I think that speak volumes in where he wants to be and what type of person he is.”

Although the academic side is important, and one that Krystkowiak has made as an emphasis with his team, Wright’s ability to play a multi-faceted style of basketball will be greatly benefitted by playing another season of college basketball.

Wright’s brother, Portland Trail Blazer Dorell Wright, encouraged him to stay in school to develop his basketball game and to be more prepared come the 2015 NBA draft.

“It was more of a basketball decision coming from him,” Delon said, speaking of his brother’s advice following the conclusion of the 2013-14 season. “He told me to come back and be patient. The degree was also a part of it, but he wanted me to come back and have a good year this year, and then go.”

“He always asks me for my opinion. I had the privilege to ask different people, just to pick people’s minds,” Dorell said in an interview earlier this year. “But I think there’s a lot of things he wants to improve about his game, and it’s the obvious things because everything else he does is good.”

Dorell, who made the leap to the NBA from high school, said he’s happy for his brother’s accomplishments in the classroom and that he’s “proud of him for that,” but how he handles himself against current NBA players proves he can play at the next level.

“He always holds his own,” Dorell said. “He always stands out because of the little things that he does on the court that not too many other guys do.

“He’s just got to be a little more aggressive and just go out there with that killer mentality every single night — I’ve got something to prove, I’ve got something to show,” Dorell added. “I’m just rooting for him and hoping for the best for him.”

And that aggressive, confident attitude is exactly what Krystkowiak said Delon has brought back for his senior season.

“I think he’s a really solid kid and he’s growing up, he’s making decisions,” Krystkowiak said. “Kids on our team like to play with him. He makes them better. He’s soft spoken, but he’s starting to lead now — a lot of different types of leadership.

“I don’t know if a year ago that we would have said he would have been working as hard,” Krystkowiak added. “And it wasn’t because he was ill-willed about it, part of it was the junior college newness. We’re seeing a lot more of that leadership skill come out of him.”

Late in games last season, Krystkowiak said Wright made mistakes that might have cost the team some wins as a result of not having the confidence he needed to take over a game. Now, though, Krystkowiak said Wright seems like a different player.

“I think Delon is a guy that is 10 times more aggressive in practice this year than he was last year,” Krystkowiak said. “He was always ahead of the curve, I think, but he still deferred. Late games we put the ball in his hands and he wasn’t quite ready to make those plays. And this year, in our practice settings, he’s very assertive with that kind of stuff.”

“I feel at times he just wasn’t as confident in shooting or things like that when people would say stuff,” teammate Jordan Loveridge said. “But now I think he’s not really listening to anything that anyone has to say. He’s putting in enough work and enough time that he’s confident in every part of his game.”

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