The Duquesne men's basketball team signed 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward Joel Wright to a financial aid agreement. He will be part of the men's basketball program this fall, immediately eligible. Wright, nicknamed "Air Jamaica" was born in Jamaica, lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. and attended Brittain Academy in North Carolina.

"We're excited to have Joel as part of the Duquesne basketball family," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said of the player native who moved to the United States at age 12. "He is very talented, very mature and a hard worker as well. I think Duquesne is a great fit for Joel and Joel is a great fit for Duquesne."

Wright verbally committed to Fordham in January of 2009 but decommitted when then-head coach Dereck Whittenburg was replaced five games into the 2009-10 season. He also made a verbal commitment to Manhattan College in early March, but opted not to sign a National Letter of Intent with the Jaspers.

Wright didn't begin playing basketball until the eighth grade. A five-inch growth spurt enabled him begin dunking a basketball by the end of eighth grade. That ability earned him the nickname of "Air Jamaica."

Wright is the fifth member of the 2010-11 recruiting class, joining guards T.J. McConnell (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich./Melvindale Academy for Business and Technology), who signed with Duquesne during the fall early-signing period, and guard/forward Jerry Jones (Detroit, Mich./Inkster) and forward/center Derrick Martin (Montgomery, Ala./George Washington Carver/Flora MacDonald (NC) Academy).

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